Innovation Description and Benefit:

The Joplin garage has collaborated with the Diesel Technology program at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. The college is in need of real, live work experience on all types of equipment. We take equipment over to the college that have faults and the students are overseen by the instructors where they then diagnose and repair our MoDOT equipment and charge us no labor. We only pay for the parts and supplies needed to make the repair. Once the unit has been repaired a QA/QC is performed on it by the instructor and once it is picked up, a MoDOT technician looks over it a second time to ensure quality. We have also used this partnership as a way to get into the college and meet prospective candidates for employment at MoDOT. We have conducted two tours so far of our facilities and spoke with the students in both the diesel technology and truck driving programs about both technician and maintenance career opportunities. Students include both College and High School Students.