Where are the Mechanics?

[hetkind]

All you really have to do is raise the wages and status of the mechanics to get folks back into the field.

 

[Wes J]

Maybe I need to get back into the repair business. Manufacturing is dead in this area, so I have nowhere to go but up.

For what it's worth, I never knew how bad being a mechanic could be until I started working part time at a used car dealer my last year of college. That's when I learned about "Mitchell" and the flat rate system. I couldn't believe that someone had boiled down almost every possible repair on almost every possible vehicle to a "by the book" procedure. It didn't matter if all bolts broke off in the block when you tried to change a water pump, if the book said 1.5 hours, you got paid for 1.5 hours.

I work on vehicles that I own, but I would never again work on cars for hire. Everything is cramped and hard to access. The pay is terrible. Lots of things are not even serviceable and were never meant to be fixed (I suppose they were never meant to break either).

Working on trucks was more fun. The salt and rust was a challenge, but at least it was all indoors.

 

[theironoracle]

Hetkind,

I totally agree with this statement. However it would take nearly ten years to see the effects, but better late than never. As I age and become more confident in my business management skills I think more about hiring mechanics in my business, I will use the business model to pay the best which in turn I will have to charge the most. As I try to do now I will provide the best service to the best customers.....TIO

 

[kshansen]

For what it's worth, I never knew how bad being a mechanic could be until I started working part time at a used car dealer my last year of college. That's when I learned about "Mitchell" and the flat rate system. I couldn't believe that someone had boiled down almost every possible repair on almost every possible vehicle to a "by the book" procedure. It didn't matter if all bolts broke off in the block when you tried to change a water pump, if the book said 1.5 hours, you got paid for 1.5 hours.

I never had the "pleasure" of working flat rate. But from talking to some poor souls who did one of the worst things was to get service writer pi$$ed at you. If you did every time some old rust bucket came in the door your name would be on it.

The other side of the story is the poor customer. If a job comes in wrote up as needing a head gasket but the "mechanic" sees that it is only a valve cover gasket two guesses at what is actually done? Either the head gasket gets replaced even if it wasn't leaking or the valve cover gasket that was the problem gets replaced but "mechanic" turns it in as a head gasket job while pretending to work on car for the flat rate books time and just replaces the valve cover gasket. These are just tow of the scams that flat rate feed.

 

[02Dmax]

All you really have to do is raise the wages and status of the mechanics to get folks back into the field.

This sounds like a good theory but it has failed miserably in my region.

Particularly in the field mechanic sector.

Alot of younger guys have been lured in by good pay. But when they figure out that it's actual work, and it's actually out in all kinds of weather, they just walk away.

We also have a great shortage of skilled workers in my region which compounds the problem.

Luckily I'm passionate about heavy equipment and being outside so it's a perfect match for me. And I'm also fortunate enough to have 2 very good hired men that are equally dedicated to the trade.

I'm currently on an advisory committee at our local tech school where they're starting a heavy equipment tech program. And the more we've studied the issue the more complicated it gets.

However, it always seems to come back to the same issues.
- society in general has pushed for college and white collar jobs, which is fine but obviously not everyone can do that.
- Many corporate run companies have turned employees into "numbers" and squashed employees desire to excel or take pride in what they do. Along with hiring "educated" upper management as leaders that end up causing even more division.
- pride in what you do and desire to produce quality has taken a back seat to the bottom line.

Good pay is a must but good working environment, good equipment, good benefits, AND rewards for quality work is a good start.

 

[kshansen]

Wes J.

I am at the end of my career, only have a few more years left and then I will close up my tool box and fade away and let the next generation of mechanics take over.

I did just that back in April!

Some of the old guys that I worked with years ago had time on steam engines. I wonder what they would think if they saw these new DD16 engines we run in our trucks now. Hard to even tell it is an engine with all the plastic and wires on it.

Back when I started one of the "old Guys" talked about the mules they used to haul stone to the crusher, yes the four legged big eared kind!

And talk about complicated things, if you ever have the chance to look at a 966C Cat then walk over to a 980K It will scare you, or at least it does me. Not to mention the difference between a 74TD R-35 Euclid and even an "old" 769D Cat truck. That 769D looks ancient next to the 773G they got a couple years back!

 

[lantraxco]

And then there's the testing issue... talked to one outfit, had over a hundred applicants for a mechanic position, only about half showed up to pee in the jar, about seven passed the test. They ended up not hiring any of them, due to background checks, bad references, no experience. It's tough out there.

 

[hetkind]

yes, good pay and HIGH status...good pay alone with terrible management won't do it. The status aspect is more of a motivator that just a few extra bucks an hour. And much value can be added to the process by giving the mechanic respect, decision making and status in the organization. Well equiped shops and trucks plus top quality uniforms go a long way in elevating the worker.

Howard

 

[JDOFMEMI]

One of the other problems feeding the lack of skilled help is the length of the great recession. From about 2008 to 2015 there was little opportunity for young people to enter the industry.
When work slowed down, only the experienced help was retained, so most who entered the business after say 2003 were let go.
Many of the older hands retired, while many with skills retrained and got out of the business.
That leaves a gap of young people moving up and learning as they go to the point we are at now where many of the skilled people that stuck it out are retiring soon, and there is no ready replacement for them.

Those hired recently since work has started building again are not ready to replace those who are retiring, and with the new workload we need to not only replace them, but add to the ranks. It leaves a pretty bad situation, and those with the skill and work ethic will be in higher and higher demand, while operating costs will rise due to the lack of skilled service personnel.

 

[Wes J]

That is a great point. Guys my age (I'm 31) are kind of a lost generation. We were told to study and go to college and were promised great jobs when we graduated. We did our part, but those job weren't there any more when we were ready for them. I graduated in 2007 and that year I thought I had the world by the tail. I had no idea the storm that was brewing. Soon came layoffs and pay cuts and IMO general stagnation for young people in the workforce.

I don't think we will succeed in turning all those English and Psychology majors into diesel mechanics. However, I'd think we would do well to send fewer down the 4 year path.

I am convinced we are headed back into a recession. So, it's unlikely that this problem will be remedied any time soon. Though, with low commodity prices, it will be hard to justify replacing old equipment, so we may need more mechanics than ever.

I don't know what to say about the drug situation. My dad took a tour at the John Deere harvester works a few years ago and they said they could hire 80 welders on the spot. They could not find enough who could pass the test.

 

[02Dmax]

^^^Exactly^^^

I'll be 31 in 2 months and you pretty much summed up my thoughts as well.

 

[simonsrplant]

32 now, I'm ex military so slightly ahead of the game but essentially in the same boat.

 

[kshansen]

I'm currently on an advisory committee at our local tech school where they're starting a heavy equipment tech program. And the more we've studied the issue the more complicated it gets.

However, it always seems to come back to the same issues.
- society in general has pushed for college and white collar jobs, which is fine but obviously not everyone can do that.
- Many corporate run companies have turned employees into "numbers" and squashed employees desire to excel or take pride in what they do. Along with hiring "educated" upper management as leaders that end up causing even more division.
- pride in what you do and desire to produce quality has taken a back seat to the bottom line.

Good pay is a must but good working environment, good equipment, good benefits, AND rewards for quality work is a good start.

This problem is nothing new. Back in the mid-sixties when I was a teen in junior high the area schools got together and formed BOCES which is basically a trade school. When I heard they were going to have classes in mechanics I tried to sign up. Well I got shot down by the "guidance counselor" she said I was not right for that school as I was "college material". I was just your average "B" student who actually failed 11th grade math due to lack of effort. Well the day after high school graduation I was working in the quarry summers and after 1 1/2 years in community college there was an opening in the new shop the company that owned the quarry was just starting. 45 years later I retired from that shop. Unfortunately due to those "educated" upper management types the shop was fazed out and I was the only one left doing the service and repairs for the local quarry.

And the younger guy who ended up taking over my duties, a good farm mechanic, was given all of two weeks to work with me to "learn the ropes" and even at that he was told he "might" get the job as they needed to advertise the job and "post" it on the chance someone else was available or better qualified!

That's the kind of "management" I'm sure way too many people have to deal with, need a dozen 1/2 fine thread nuts call the hardware store and you have them in five minutes, need a mechanic just go down the the nearest steer corner and grab the first guy you find stick a hammer in one had and a pair of pliers in the other and you're all set! Training, hey I think there is a book somewhere in the shop, Oh! and we need that machine before noon.

 

[fixou812]

I was reading somewhere here and other places that the shortage of truck drivers will soon be epidemic!
Also the shortage of Craftsman Tradesman is close behind!
One of the problems with management is the human resource department.
And I do realize their hands are tied to a certain extent.
The shortage of drivers would be a Very simple fix compared to the shortage of Craftsmen or Mechanics.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out in ten years.
The people turning the wrenches now are fed up and about used up.

 

[lantraxco]

That's why they're building trucks that drive themselves. At first of course there will be a driver in the cab, to monitor the truck and take care of city driving and the tedious part at each end of a run backing in to the dock or whatever, but it won't be long after that you will be driving the interstates alongside autonomous vehicles. Serious, Freightliner is testing self-driving trucks in Nevada as we speak, it's kind of a cruise control on steroids at the moment.

I always enjoyed driving truck, I did mostly lowboy with some end spill, belly dump, and a few months on a long haul transfer dump, but the over the road stuff is horrible now. They changed the hours of service to supposedly make it safer but in truth the industry got a better deal than the drivers. When you break it all down the pay sucks and you're away from home 90% of the time. The lease to own deal (are they still doing that?) is a sucker bet, if you manage to run hard enough and long enough to get to the end, the truck will fall apart the day after it's paid for. No thanks.

 

[Oxbow]

They changed the hours of service to supposedly make it safer but in truth the industry got a better deal than the drivers.

I don't know, I think the industry was hurt as well. Lost productivity from the equipment, the need for more units to haul the same amount of freight because now a driver spends at least 10 hours in a truck stop, and more with the 14 hour rule. The difficulty in finding a place to park is ever increasing with a legal load, let alone a wide and/or long load. I am all for safety, but I believe I could argue a pretty good case that the current hours of service rules can cause sleep related accidents in many circumstances. The manufacturers and truck stops should do well though.

Sorry, got a bit off track of the thread theme there.

 

[ohiofleet]

the driver shortage the government just brings in more foreigners and give them cdls that's what there fdoing around here

 

[fixou812]

the driver shortage the government just brings in more foreigners and give them cdls that's what there fdoing around here

Doing Fleet repair on "Long Trucks"is very Hard Work. ....Low Pay and you're treated like dirt. But Great pay for drivers and they Kiss their Arses.
To do Fleet work in the USA most companies require a CDL ( to pull the truck in the door )
So if you have your CDL Why buy all those tools and sign up for abuse and Half the yearly pay a (foreign? ) driver makes?

 

[Wes J]

Doing Fleet repair on "Long Trucks"is very Hard Work. ....Low Pay and you're treated like dirt. But Great pay for drivers and they Kiss their Arses.
To do Fleet work in the USA most companies require a CDL ( to pull the truck in the door )
So if you have your CDL Why buy all those tools and sign up for abuse and Half the yearly pay a (foreign? ) driver makes?

Have you worked as an over the road truck driver? Many of these outfit expect you to drive 11 hours every day and stay out on the road up to 3 weeks at a time. Experienced owner operators can usually work out a schedule to get home every weekend, but the cost to play at that level is much more than the average mechanic puts into his tools.

The best thing that the US could do about the driver shortage is increase the max gross weight drivers can haul. Even if that comes with higher standards for testing or costs for registration, it would certainly save money. There is no reason that Michigan can allow 165,000 lbs gross or Washington lets you pull 120,000 lbs on a super B but everyone else is stuck with 5 axles and 80,000 lbs.

 

[hetkind]

Have you worked as an over the road truck driver? Many of these outfit expect you to drive 11 hours every day and stay out on the road up to 3 weeks at a time. Experienced owner operators can usually work out a schedule to get home every weekend, but the cost to play at that level is much more than the average mechanic puts into his tools.

The best thing that the US could do about the driver shortage is increase the max gross weight drivers can haul. Even if that comes with higher standards for testing or costs for registration, it would certainly save money. There is no reason that Michigan can allow 165,000 lbs gross or Washington lets you pull 120,000 lbs on a super B but everyone else is stuck with 5 axles and 80,000 lbs.

I would be fine in increasing the maximum gross vehicle weight as long as we had a progressive ton-mile tax...The higher your weight is above 80k, you go up on mile rates based on damage to the road bed by the extra weight. I call it pay as you go. There is NO free lunch. If you want better wages and working conditions, join a union. Or, tell your congressmen to cut tax cuts to big business and improve the roads and highways.