DOT told to assess skills of employees able to meet automation challenge

Dave Wickenhauser on Mon, December 21, 2020

Last Updated: Sun, December 20, 2020

In a 38-page report released Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office the conclusion was that the U.S. Department of Transportation and its three main administrations do not have the skilled staff necessary to oversee the growing automation technology that is taking place in the trucking industry.

GAO's concern stems from the fact that there is increasing development of automated technologies in planes, trains, and passenger vehicles today, and that it is likely to become more widespread in the future.

"While these technologies hold promise, accidents involving them demonstrate potential safety challenges. DOT is responsible for overseeing the safety of all modes of transportation," GAO stated in its introduction to the report.

The GAO report noted that the levels of automation in commercial vehicles varies considerably, from a simple lane-keeping feature all the way to total automation with no human driver input.

"These technologies hold many potentially transformative benefits, [but] accidents involving them -- such as Uber and Tesla crashes in 2018 caused in part by the drivers’ overreliance on the automated technologies in the vehicle -- demonstrate their potential safety challenges," the report authors stated.

The report acknowledged that the DOT has identified and addressed some skills needed as cited by such industry organizations as the American Trucking Associations, Women in Trucking and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the report warned that the DOT has not reached a level necessary to assess skill gaps in data analysis or cybersecurity areas.

"DOT did not survey staff or assess skill gaps in data analysis or cybersecurity positions important to automated technology oversight," the report stated. "As a result, DOT lacks critical information needed to identify skill gaps and ensure key relevant staff are equipped to oversee the safety of these technologies now and in the future."

FMCSA, NHTSA and FRA told to take notice

These comments were pointedly made to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Railroad Administration.

The report emphasized that, "As more vehicle functions become automated, and therefore controlled by computer systems, the need for DOT to employ staff skilled in varied fields of engineering will continue to increase."

That's important because these agencies will need to have engineers on board who understand software systems that control automated features like braking systems when requests come in from carriers for waiver or exemptions. Without the necessary employee skill set agencies won't know to approve or deny such requests.

Agency officials interviewed for the report stated that one problem in upgrading their staffing to engineers expert in automated technology is the agency has to compete against the private sector for these types of positions.

The problem arises, "given the private sector's high demand for such skills, ability to offer higher pay and the comparatively lengthy federal hiring process."

Another issue cited by the responding agencies is that like the trucking industry itself the agencies are staffed by a workforce that will shrink in the near future due to retirements.

The NHTSA, for example, stated that nearly one-third of its engineering workforce will be gone in the next five years; which correlates to one-third of the DOT's entire 55,000-person workforce reaching retirement age within those same five years.

The report indentified cybersecurity as a major and growing concern, but found critical gaps in the DOT's deploying of personnel skilled in detecting and combating cyber hacking.

"Although both stakeholders and DOT officials we interviewed identified cybersecurity as important to automated technology oversight, the department of human resources only surveyed cybersecurity staff in those occupations that ensure the security of DOT's internal networks and systems," GAO stated in its report.

"Therefore, the department of human resources could not determine if DOT has the cybersecurity skills needed to oversee the safety of automated technologies."

The GAO recommends

In its recommendations, the GAO report stated that the Director of DOT’s Department of Human Resources should:

• Complete efforts to identify all cybersecurity occupations across the agency, and incorporate those related to overseeing the cybersecurity of automated technologies into its workforce planning efforts.
• Assess skill gaps in key occupations that are involved in overseeing the safety of automated technologies.
• Regularly measure the progress of strategies implemented to close skill gaps—such as on an annual basis—and ensure modal administrations offer training to close those gaps.
• Collect and analyze information on the effectiveness of recruiting strategies, such as special payment authorities, in attracting staff to occupations that oversee the safety of automated technologies, and share effective strategies with modal administrations.

Before publication of the final draft the GAO gave the DOT an opportunity to review the report and offer comments.

In response, the DOT agreed with the need for a priority of having a workforce with the skills needed to meet the challenges of the future. But DOT suggested a three-year period to regularly measure the progress in closing the skill gaps.

"Due to the labor-intensive nature of effectively and accurately measuring skill gap closures, conducting a comprehensive assessment every 3 years—rather than on an annual basis—is sufficient," DOT suggested.

The GAO holds to its original recommendation for an annual assessment, however, citing as an example DOT's failure to make progress on closing certain skill gaps after a 2016 order to do so.

"As a result, DOT staff did not receive training in all areas identified as skill gaps. Measuring interim progress of the implementation of strategies to close skill gaps would help DOT evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies and make course corrections, as needed, between assessments," the GAO report stated.

"Accordingly, we believe that DOT should implement this recommendation."

Sources: Yahoo Finance, GAO report

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