The Montgomery County Community College Automotive Technology program is using a portion of f critical job training grant money it received from the federal government in 2007 to bolster its program in a more environmentally friendly way.
Specifically, the auto tech program is preparing its students better for a future in an industry that is creating and maintaining more efficient vehicles. Recently it used some of a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor towards the purchase of two hybrid cars that will give students their first-ever hands-on education of this important technology.
Although auto tech students have had a familiarization with hybrid technology at the College, beginning fall 2009, they will get a hands-on education on a duo of Toyota Prius cars.
The program’s instructors are currently undergoing training for teaching on the hybrids, which bring an extra need for safety instruction due to the 200 volt battery pack in the car. The hybrid cars will be integrated into all auto tech study areas, including transmission, suspension, and electrical classes.
The students are "excited," said John Byrne, director of the Automotive Technology program. "They want to learn all about it."
In addition to acquiring hybrid vehicles, the program is also making changes that help reduce the amount of energy and hazardous materials expended during its courses. Classroom training on automotive transmissions has shifted to a simulated transmission that utilizes pressed air instead of hydrocarbon fluid, something that would have to be repeatedly dumped out. The transmission, also purchased with the federal grant, sits on a stand and has a compressed air valve in lieu of one for fluid.
The Auto Tech program purchased an engine situated on a stand that students can learn from hands-on without running a full size car. It runs on half of the fluid needed to run a car. The program is has also begun using a degreaser and parts washer that uses a biodegradable, non-toxic liquid with oil-eating bacteria.
The automotive industry has been known to be a large producer of hazardous waste and other environmentally unfriendly materials, Byrne said. But just as the industry at large is trying to change that, the College’s Auto Tech program is leading the way.
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by Sam Hansell
