Technician Shortage Is Focus of New TMC Chairman White

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting closes March 3, Douglas White Sr. will become the group's next chairman and take his turn at trying to wrestle with the technician shortage.

The vice president of fleet maintenance for Dunbar Armored, White, 59, succeeds Kevin Tomlinson of South Shore Transportation as TMC’s top officer. Speaking here Feb. 29, White said the tech shortage is clearly the greatest challenge for the maintenance profession.

“We’re suffering a severe shortage of technicians today, and it will probably get substantially worse. We can’t fix it tomorrow, but we can start,” he said.

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White said he wants to address the situation with schools, including high schools, but elementary schools would be better, he said.

Four-year colleges have been stressed beyond reason, whereas trade school education has been shunned, he said.

“Students who aren’t college material could make a really good living. That needs to be talked about,” said White, who has been TMC’s vice chairman under Tomlinson.

White’s company is an armored car carrier. His fleet has 1,700 vehicles, mainly Class 6, but also some in Classes 7 and 8. He supervises 76 technicians at 66 locations nationwide, and said he would happily hire 10 to 15 more experienced techs tomorrow if he could find them.

Dunbar’s fleet does not have lots of the largest vehicles, but they are bulletproof. White works with bodybuilders to make sure they meet specifications established by the National Institute of Justice.

Technically, White said, his trucks are bulletproof only on certain caliber weapons at specific distances. That makes them bullet-resistant, whereas military combat vehicles are truly bulletproof.

Read more about White in the March 7 edition of Transport Topics