Abstract
The Community College of Philadelphia’s 2nd year project will consist of offering training for students, technicians and educators in transportation. There will be two parts to this project the first is focused on providing our transportation students with assistance in learning how to drive both automobiles and heavy trucks. The transportation industry has an incredialble shortage in qualified technicians and one of the main qualification is a valid driver’s license. In this project we will work for Jitsik LLC to develop a aguemented reality driving simulator so our Medium and Heavy Trucj students can better prepare for the Commercial Drivers Licensing exam. This project will use technology that Jitsik LLC previously created for automobiles and is being used in the Digital Twin project, previously supported by Safety21.
The second of the two projects will provide opportunities for Philadelphia region automotive high school and college instructors to attend a week long training around Electric and Hybrid Vehicles. This is a hands on training program developed by Craig Van Batenburg a leader in the EV and Hybrid training industry. Instructors will get a chance to work with various vehicles both EV and Hybrids and take those skills back to their classroom. Instructors will take back a solid understanding of the difference between the vehicles, safety requirements when training students on HVs, diagnostic techniques and the best tools for testing these vehicles. This program will set instructors up with a solid understand of what they need to do to bring this to their students.
Description
Timeline
Strategic Description / RD&T
Alignment with US DOT RD&T Plan:
• Safety Promotion: Equipping technicians with EV expertise enhances safety, aligning with the goal of reducing fatalities and injuries in transportation.
• Economic Growth: Creating pathways to quality jobs and fostering a sustainable economy by preparing individuals for roles in the evolving transportation industry.
• Equity and Sustainability: Addressing transportation system inequities and contributing to a sustainable future by tackling the climate crisis through specialized training in emerging technologies.
CCP's proposed initiative aligns with Safety21's objectives by prioritizing workforce development, industry preparedness, and community equity in the transportation sector. Through this grant, we aim to not only meet the immediate needs of the industry but also contribute to a safer, more inclusive, and sustainable transportation future.
Development of the simulator can be leveraged in the long term by its use in many educational settings including High Schools, Technical Training Centers, and Community Colleges to help train the next generation of truck drivers.
The EV and Hybrid instructor training program will provide their students with an opportunity to be full prepared for working in the future of the transportation industry. Even if EV and Hybrids are not the only drivetrain platform being used by the next generation of vehicles it will be part of the whatever is developed for the future.
Deployment Plan
The Electrical and Hybrid vehicle training for transportation instructors will be conducted in June of 2025. Because of the availability of the instructors and this is a weeklong course it is important to offer this at a time that the instructors are available.
We have the schedule of events already planned with ACDC and our main objective is to advertise enough to get a full class of instructors. Some of the ideas to make sure instructors attend is to offer them things around the training, Stipends, Tools, Curriculum, and accommodations. I am not sure how we will address this, but we will need to discuss these ideas with the financial team at CMU to see what we can charge to the grant.
We will create a marketing plan in the 3rd quarter 2024.
Implement the plan beginning in the 4th quarter 2024, as well as sure the various items necessary to conduct the training.
During the 1st quarter 2025 we will meet with area instructors to market the program and make final decisions on what we are offering the instructors.
During the 2nd quarter we will host the event and survey the instructors.
Expected Outcomes/Impacts
The truck driving shortage has been a nonstop topic of conversation for the last several years, and it has only gotten worse since the pandemic. There have been several reasons for this shortage: most drivers are in their late 40s and 50s and getting close to retirement, CDL age requirement to age 21 for interstate commercial driver’s license is a limitation, women make less than 15% of truck drivers. The VR driving simulator will allow for our students to better prepare for their driver training and licensing exam.
The electric and hybrid instructor training will prepare high school and college faculty to enhance their curriculum to include electric and hybrid vehicle training around, safety, diagnosis and repair of this advanced technology vehicles. This will help build the what the future transportation technician looks like. Since the number of these vehicles on the road continue to grow quickly and the industry doesn't have a suitable number of technicians with the understanding of how these vehicles work in order to repair issue and keep the vehicles on the road.
Expected Outputs
TRID
Individuals Involved
| Email |
Name |
Affiliation |
Role |
Position |
| Sbacher@ccp.edu |
Bacher, Steve |
Community College of Philadelphia |
Other |
Other |
| shartshepherd@ccp.edu |
Hart Shepherd, Samatha |
Community College of Philadelphia |
Other |
Other |
| helensloeb@gmail.com |
Loeb, Helen |
JitSik LLC |
Co-PI |
Other |
| Anorment@ccp.edu |
Norment, Arielle |
Community College of Philadelphia |
Other |
Other |
| rsaxton@ccp.edu |
Saxton, Richard |
Community College of Philadelphia |
PI |
Faculty - Tenured |
Budget
Amount of UTC Funds Awarded
$100000.00
Total Project Budget (from all funding sources)
$10000.00
Documents
Match Sources
No match sources!
Partners
| Name |
Type |
| Jitsik LLC |
Deployment & Equity Partner Deployment & Equity Partner |
| Automotive Career Development Center |
Deployment Partner Deployment Partner |
