Five Good Things: Students trucking toward the future

There is much concern in the industry as to whether trucking will be able to recruit enough young people to replace those who are retiring and meet the freight needs of an expanding U.S. population. Fortunately, there is hope, as exemplified by the following high schools. Also: One FleetOwner 500 carrier honors over 160 drivers and one manufacturing plant wins another major award.

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High schoolers educate themselves on electric truck servicing

Fresno, California’s Unified School District has bought a Mack LR Electric refuse truck to be used in Duncan Polytechnical High School’s Medium and Heavy Duty Truck Technology Pathway.

Duncan Polytechnical High School, a state and federally-funded school, offers the program to students seeking training as a core component of their work-based learning in both medium- and heavy-duty truck technology. The truck’s dealer, Affinity Truck Center, offers internship opportunities to a select group of students each year.

“Mack has given students a great opportunity to see the next evolution of the industry with their electric truck purchased by Fresno Unified School District,” said Marina Garcia, a senior Medium/Heavy Truck student at Duncan. “This gives the next generations the opportunity to learn early on and obtain the skills needed to operate the electric vehicles that will soon be in everyday normal use.”

See also: Preparing trucking to safely service electric vehicles

Cara Jurado, college and career readiness coordinator at Duncan Polytechnical High School, said Duncan offers a robust training program, enabling students to acquire the necessary knowledge to work in the industry.

“We felt that acquiring a Mack LR Electric vehicle would leverage the educational and internship partnership with Affinity to facilitate this training,” Jurado said. “It is imperative that students receive training surrounding electrical vehicle awareness and safety in order to be prepared to work with these vehicles.”

The Mack LR Electric is a bare chassis configuration so students are better able to see all components. Students will earn various certifications including ASE Entry-Level certification for Heavy Trucks, one of which is for electronics and electrical systems. Duncan hopes the students will eventually get EV-specific certifications, and the school is working to enhance their current training by developing an EV training partnership with Affinity Truck Center.

“We are excited that the Fresno Unified School District chose to purchase the Mack LR Electric vehicle to help educate future heavy-duty truck technicians,” said Jonathan Randall, president of Mack Trucks North America. “Through this training, these students will start their journey ahead of the curve by learning about electrification on a leading Mack LR Electric vehicle.”

At this point, the internship at Affinity is more focused on product familiarity and safety. In time, minor diagnostics and maintenance will be added to the program.

“The fact that Affinity was able to sell a cutting-edge Mack LR Electric into Duncan Polytech is incredibly exciting,” said Kim Mesfin, president of Affinity Truck Center. “The current students and potential technicians of the future are being exposed and trained on the newest technology entering our marketplace long before most current technicians in the industry will have the opportunity to work on these vehicles. It is preparing our industry in advance rather than in arrears.”

Currently, 26 seniors and 25 juniors are enrolled in the heavy truck program. Next year, 27 sophomores will be admitted to the program. Mesfin said Affinity typically has six to eight interns per semester working across all dealership departments.

Duncan instructor Eric Rubio is constantly seeking new opportunities for training and certifications for himself and his students, and he regularly meets with an advisory group from several local service shops to receive feedback on curriculum and equipment to keep the program relevant. Mesfin said the hope is that seniors participating in the internship will interview for a part- or full-time position in Affinity’s two-year apprentice program or other positions.

Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix hits the Midwest

The Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix came to the Midwest, where STEM students put their skills to the test building and operating small hydrogen-electric vehicles—which according to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) will likely play a major role in trucking's future.

“We're thrilled to expand the Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix to the Midwest”, said Kamil Jelinek, CEO of Horizon Educational. “Hundreds of schools in 20 countries are already taking part in H2GP, and we believe learners in the Midwest will love learning about renewable energy through the fun and excitement of hydrogen-powered racing”.

Six teams from middle and high schools raced 1:10 scale EVs to see whose vehicle could complete the most laps in a given time frame—a valuable skill for future engineers in trucking, given the industry's current focus on decarbonization and fuel efficiency.

See also: A big YES that trucking’s future is in good hands

Through partnerships from Illinois Science and Technology Coalition (ISTC), BayoTech, University of Michigan, Constellation, and GTI Energy, 5 schools in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri took part in the inaugural Horizon Hydrogen Grand Prix Pro (H2GP) Midwest series.

Winners will compete at the world final in Las Vegas Sept. 11-14.

Centurion visits students for National Careers Week

Third-party logistics company Centurion hit the road to educate high schoolers about the many career opportunities available in transportation.

PGT Trucking celebrates, honors more than 160 elite drivers

PGT Trucking recognized 50 Million Mile Drivers, 100 Safe Drivers, and 25 Premier Professionals at their annual awards event held at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh on May 20.

"Annually, this event recognizes the proudest of the proud professionals, our Million Mile and Safe Drivers," said Pat Gallagher, CEO of the FleetOwner 500 For-Hire fleet. "By achieving the criteria necessary to be eligible for these prestigious awards, they are acknowledged as the very pinnacle of what it takes to make this company successful. Without their efforts and attention to detail regarding safety, PGT Trucking would never have achieved 42 years in business."

Bridgestone Americas’ commercial truck and bus radial (TBR) tire manufacturing facility in Warren County, Tennessee, has received its sixth Volunteer STAR (Safety Through Accountability and Recognition) award. The Volunteer STAR Award is the state’s highest honor for workplace safety and health and is a nationally recognized program patterned after the OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). 

“As we expand and continue to invest in our operations in Warren County, we are thankful to all of our teammates and retirees who are directly responsible for delivering the best-in-class commercial truck and bus tires our customers know and expect from Bridgestone. The cooperation between the plant and the local union is a positive contributor to our continued success,” said Tim Painter, plant manager, Warren County Tire Plant, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC. “The Warren County Team continues to embody manufacturing excellence as one of the company’s most productive operations globally. The impact our Warren County teammates make through the products they manufacture is at the core of our business, and we couldn’t do it without this team’s daily commitment to safety, quality, innovation, and efficiency in all of our operations.”

There are currently 33 Volunteer STAR sites in Tennessee. The standard for participation in the STAR program confirms a company’s safety and health program helps reduce accidents and injuries. As part of the program, TOSHA removes employers from programmed compliance inspection lists for three years.

“We set the bar very high for this award and Bridgestone rose to the challenge and not only met but exceeded TOSHA’s high standards for workplace safety in Tennessee,” said Dewayne Scott, deputy commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. “It takes a tremendous amount of effort and determination from everyone at the facility to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace at this level.”  

In addition to this latest achievement, the Bridgestone Warren Plant recently was awarded ​​​​​​the 2022 Community Impact Award by the McMinnville - Warren County Chamber of Commerce. The Warren Plant is committed to the local community through its support of Meals on Wheels, Warren County Schools, Kids of the Community, the McMinnville - Warren County Senior Center, Habitat for Humanity, and Blood Assurance. The Warren Plant is home to Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom and Habitat (BEECH), one of Bridgestone’s certified wildlife habitat sites that also provides educational programming to area students.