BISC Hot Topics: SAE High Voltage Training at ABC Companies Supports EV Fleet Adoption in North America

ABC EV Fleet Technicians Complete High Voltage Training

EV acceptance continues to surge and as more commercial operators add EVs to their fleets, they are reaping the rewards of going green. From reducing carbon emissions and increasing savings in fuel costs, fleet operations and maintenance and more, ABC Companies diverse EV product lineup and complete support services can help owners ramp up EV integration. Understanding how to maintain and protect EV assets and the people who design, perform testing, diagnostics and service on these high voltage vehicles is essential.

As a Tier 1 OEM distributor of EV products and leader in zero-emission mobility, ABC provides its teams with ongoing EV High Voltage Training. Designed to enable ABC employees to support zero-emission adoption throughout North America, the SAE certified training provides on-demand and hands-on training using learning modules developed by SAE, the global leader in technical learning for the mobility industry. ABC technicians, its Customer Care support team and engineers have completed the SAE course work in conjunction with intensive learning content covering Proterra battery systems and the Van Hool EV platform.

Built-in Safety Features

ABC’s – Van Hool CX45 and TDX25E – feature integrated onboard Proterra-powered vehicles. These Integrated Smart technology features leverage active thermal management software to ensure optimal charging and allow energy reserve to dynamically adjust over to time for maximum performance. Proterra’s battery architecture features built-in safety mechanisms in a compact, efficient design that enables record-breaking range capabilities. Strong, lightweight ballistic-grade materials are used to withstand the toughest conditions. Proven in over the road conditions, Proterra-powered vehicles including the Van Hool CX45E and Van Hool TDX25E double-deck model have logged over 25+ million miles since 2004 in customer operations and during long-distance demonstrations. Multiple vehicles representing both models are actively running in service enabling ABC Companies Fleet Electrification Services to capture real time data during duty-cycles and long-distance road demonstrations.

On-demand training via ABC University, Focused on Safety

Course work for all training modules is offered through the ABC University portal which provides on-demand access to integral course segments. Engineers, engineering technologists, and related professionals involved in the design, development, testing, support, and service of high voltage EV components and systems, as well as technicians involved in testing, diagnosing, disabling, and servicing high voltage EV may all benefit from this course. As expected, the training’s primary focus is on education. With learning modules designed to explain EV safety fundamentals, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and how to develop and establish common safety procedures for working around high voltage vehicles. Such as how to safely connect and disable a high voltage system for testing and diagnostic purposes. The course material also covers various types of EV’s, their characteristics, architecture, and components, including how to determine critical connection and disconnection procedures. The course explains the tools, PPE, safety procedures, and practices that should be in place, as well as methods to establish new procedures and test PPE.

“The importance of safety in all aspects of high voltage work cannot be overstated”, said Mike Papp Warranty Department Manager. “From my own experience working with high voltage, I know that the safety steps and equipment at ABC facilities is designed to mitigate the risks associated with high voltage interface.” Critical to that mitigation is adherence to all of the of the safety rules and steps. All of these require your technicians to have a considerable level of experience working with electricity in conjunction with training, PPE and tools necessary to service electrical systems.

“Expanding our teams’ HV (High Voltage) skill set adds to our technical arsenal – enhancing our own expertise, and more importantly it demonstrates our long-term commitment to EV in North America”, said Michael Anstead, Director of Customer Care. Whether developing, verifying, or validating a vehicle electrification system, performing service or diagnostics and testing, SAE Training is essential to protecting EV assets and the people who work around these high voltage platforms. Continued hv training is essential to protecting EV assets and the people who work around these HV platforms.

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The Bus Industry Safety Council [BISC] is an American Bus Association [ABA]-sponsored organization that serves as an industry-wide bus safety advisory group. BISC brings together top safety professionals in the North American motorcoach industry with a mission to develop and promote methods, materials and procedure to enhance motorcoach safety and security. Through education, knowledge, experience, and the sharing of information, BISC provides a platform for the continuance of garnered information for passenger ground transportation.