What better way to start a new year than with an announcement about four new alternative fuel-related courses? The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium is pleased to do just that.

The four courses, developed through a U.S. Department of Energy grant, are:

1. AFV/EV Collision Repair Training
2. AFV/EV Fueling, Repair, Maintenance, and Conversion Facility Training
3. Online AFV/EV Training for Towing and Roadside Assistance Personnel
4. Online AFV/EV Training for Automotive Recycling Personnel

More About the Courses

Automotive collision repair personnel require specialized training to educate them about the safe and effective procedures to disable and repair collision damage on alternative fuel and electric drive vehicles. The AFV/EV Collision Repair Training course has been developed primarily for trainers and pre- and in-service collision technicians, and covers the fundamentals, system design, diagnostic considerations, and special service topics for AFVs and EVs.

To support the increased numbers of AFVs and EVs on the road, maintenance and repair facilities must be designed and equipped to repair and service these vehicles safely. The AFV/EV Fueling, Maintenance and Repair Facility is designed for technicians, fleet operators, inspectors, fire marshals, authorities having jurisdiction, and other AFV owners. This course covers the requirements of repair and maintenance facilities that elect to maintain alternative vehicles, including electric drive, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane autogas, hydrogen, ethanol, and biodiesel-fueled vehicles.

Both the collision and facility training courses are traditional instructor-led classroom courses and are eight hours in length. Materials available for these two classes include:

• A participant textbook 
• An instructor textbook 
• Lesson plans 
• Learning objectives 
• Instructor PowerPoint presentations 
• Key terms and acronyms 
• Pre- and post-tests 
• End of course survey 
• Instructor web link resource 
• Recommended tool list 
• Shop activities 
• Practical exercises 
• Detailed course description 
• End of course certificate 

The other two courses—Online AFV/EV Training for Towing and Roadside Assistance Personnel and Online AFV/EV Training for Automotive Recycling Personnel—are, as their titles suggest, available through the NAFTC online learning management system. Each online course can be completed in approximately one hour.

The AFV/EV Online Safety Training for Tow Operators will help train towing and roadside assistance providers about safety, proper procedures to follow when interacting with EVs and AFVs, and the possible hazards of dealing with AFVs and EVs. This online course features information about:

• General safety procedures to be followed when towing or offering roadside assistance to an AFV or EV.
• Basic properties of: high voltage electricity, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biodiesel, ethanol, and hydrogen.
• Correct personal protective equipment 
• Possible hazards of EVs and AFVs 
• Assessing and approaching an EV or AFV 
• Fuel storage and components 
• Spills and leaks 
• Towing procedures
• Roadside assistance 
• Safety and first aid 

The Online AFV/EV Training for Salvage Yard and Recycling Operators provides these workers with training about safety, proper procedures to follow when interacting with AFVs and EVs, and the possible hazards of dealing with AFVs and EVs in a salvage yard or automotive recycling environment. This online course features information about:

• General safety procedures to follow when recycling an AFV or EV
• Basic properties of: high voltage electricity, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, biodiesel, ethanol, and hydrogen.
• Correct personal protective equipment
• Possible hazards of EVs and AFVs
• How to identify EVs and AFVs
• Fuel storage and system components
• Spills and leaks
• Dismantling and recycling EVs and AFVs
• Crushing EVs and AFVs 
• Safety and first aid 

 Using the Courses in Your Community

One community has told us about their plans to use the two online courses as a prerequisite for hands-on training. Participants will get up-to-speed on the fundamentals of either recycling or towing, then get into more specifics in a classroom session with experts. We see this as an excellent use of the online courses.

In addition to the curricula, the four courses have support resources for publicizing the training. Comprised of numerous marketing and communication resources to help training hosts, the free materials include flyers, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and social media language. These materials are also easily adapted for other training events.

If any (or all) of these courses sound like something you’d like to do in your area, please contact me at (304) 293-7882 or via e-mail at micheal.smyth@mail.wvu.edu. We are always eager to help bring AFV education wherever we can!