Spika Speaker Series

SpikaMfg

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Brought to you by Spika Design & Manufacturing, Inc., in Lewistown, Montana, this podcast is a companion to Spika Knowledge Center (https://spikamfg.com/knowledge), bringing you professional insights from the shop floor, about work and worker safety at varying heights and over-reaches in complex manufacturing and assembly environments across different industries. Spika stands for safety and productivity. Learn more about our work at https://spikamfg.com.

23/06/2025

Driving CapMetro to Zero Emissions - A Conversation with Dottie Watkins, President & CEO, CapMetro.

Spika's Knowledge Center had the privilege of hosting a conversation with one of the foremost leaders in the transit industry, one who is driving CapMetro toward a zero emission future, Ms. Dottie Watkins, President & CEO, CapMetro in Austin, Texas.In this deep dive, you will learn about a day in the life of what Ms. Watkins refers to as 'the accidental CEO' who first started as a bus driver, her views on a variety of aspects of a zero emission fleet from technology choices to workforce development and policy impacts, her take on funding innovation in transit, and among other things, her advice for young entrants to the industry. A compelling speaker and storyteller, in this episode of the Spika Speaker Series, you will know what makes Ms. Dottie Watkins an iconic and inspirational leader, and why "Austin can't Austin without CapMetro." This conversation was hosted by Bekhi Spika, Vice President and Chief Revenue Office of Spika Design & Manufacturing out of Lewistown, Montana, and Chad Catron, the industry specialist at Spika. Spika Design & Manufacturing, the sponsor of this program, custom-design and manufactures OSHA compliant work platforms for lanyard-free fall protection at varying heights and cantilevers, to fit any fleet and any maintenance facility of a transit agency. Learn more about the sponsor at https://spikamfg.com

48 min
23/06/2025

Schooling for ZEB Skilling – Deciphering the 2024 GAO Report on Transit Workforce Development.

Enjoy this virtual fireside chat style conversation with Mr. Andrew Von Ah of the U.S. Government Accountability Office about the research effort that he directed at the behest of the U.S. Congress, later published as a report titled 'Transit Workforce Development: Actions to Support Transition to Zero-Emission Buses'. Among other things, Mr. Von Ah discusses their findings about lining up a prepared workforce to ensure the smooth transition of transit fleets to zero emission, their observations on the ground, and what they learned from the experience of other nations with ZEB mass transit fleets. The report, which was released in November 2024, is available at https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-1.... Mr. Von Ah has been a Director in GAO’s Physical Infrastructure team since 2017. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Von Ah served as an Acting Director in GAO’s Defense Capabilities and Management team, leading work on DOD Business Operations issues for 2 years, and was an Assistant Director for Physical Infrastructure for over 7 years, conducting work on issues in surface transportation, aviation, telecommunications, and federal real property. A recipient of the Richard J. Hillman Human Capital Management Award, a congressional client service award and two meritorious service awards, as well as numerous other awards for high quality products from GAO, Mr. Von Ah entered federal service with GAO in 2000 in the Los Angeles field office and has largely spent his entire career in that office examining various issues related to infrastructure. Mr. Von Ah received a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of California at Los Angeles in 2000, and a Bachelor’s of Cultural Anthropology from the University of California at Irvine in 1992. In 2016, he received a certificate from American University’s Key Executive Leadership Program. This program, under the Spika Speaker Series, is a presentation of The Spika Knowledge Center, created to generate greater awareness about safe and productive access at heights and cantilevers, especially in the world of manufacturing and maintenance. Learn more at https://spikamfg.com or email us at info [at] spikamfg [dot] com.

32 min
23/06/2025

Will ZEB become a verb - Crystal ball gazing with Mike Hynes of CALSTART

Join us for a fireside chat as yet another subject matter expert on Zero Emissions in mass transit walks us through his journey, his team's research and talks about where all the road signs to zero emission transition in the world of mass transit point in the years to come.Mike Hynes is National Transit Bus Program Manager at CALSTART. Mike joined CALSTART in September 2022 as the National Transit Bus Program Manager. He leads the transit bus program as a member of the Bus Initiative team to assist agencies with planning, procuring, and deploying zero-emission vehicles. With more than 20 years of experience in the public transportation sector, Mike strives to expand CALSTART’s role in the adoption and implementation of zero emission transit fleets across the nation. Prior to joining CALSTART, Mike worked for Spokane Transit Authority in both planning and operations roles to include implementation of zero emission fleets and held operational roles with agencies in suburban Chicago, Reno, Nevada and Santa Clarita, California. Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.This program, under the Spika Speaker Series, is a presentation of The Spika Knowledge Center, created to generate greater awareness about safe and productive access at heights and cantilevers, especially in the world of manufacturing and maintenance. Learn more at https://spikamfg.com/knowledge or email us at info [at] spikamfg [dot] com.

29 min
22/05/2024

For ZEB, Top of Bus Is Top Of Mind - A conversation with David Carr of CapMetro

In this fascinating and highly informative deep dive on the topic of transit agencies adopting Zero Emission Bus fleets, Mr. David Carr, Director, Zero Emission Vehicle Program, CapMetro, in Austin, Texas, shares his perspective on the state of the industry and what it takes to navigate this generational change in bus technology and the level of preparation that it takes. Mr. David Carr has over 20 years of experience in transit, utility, and university transportation management. Highlights of his career including deploying electric buses and infrastructure at RTC in Reno Nevada from 2014 to 2022, as well as working as an Assistant Director of Transportation at the University of Washington and Duke University. Currently Mr. Carr is the Director, Zero Emission Vehicle Program at CapMetro in Austin Texas where he leads the efforts on deploying a 100% zero emissions fleet by 2040. He graduated from Cal State LA with a degree in business administration. Mr. Carr currently serves on the ZEBRA Executive Council, and APTA Zero Emissions Fleet Committee, and has served in APTA as the Chair of the Electric Bus Subcommittee. This program, under the Spika Speaker Series, is a presentation of The Spika Knowledge Center, created to generate greater awareness about safe and productive access at heights and cantilevers, especially in the world of manufacturing and maintenance. Learn more at https://spikamfg.com/knowledge or email us at info [at] spikamfg [dot] com.

38 min
15/02/2024

How to train for the Bus – The Zero Emission Bus (ZEB), with James Hall of ZEB Tech

James Hall, Principal & Founder of ZEB Tech, in conversation with Bekhi Spika, Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer, Spika Design & Manufacturing, Montana. James is an industry-leading expert in zero-emission buses and infrastructure with over fifteen years of experience in various forms of transit and automotive applications. He is the Principal and Founder of ZEB Tech, a specialized workforce development consultancy focused on guiding transit agencies and transportation partners through their transition to a zero-emission fleet. His career has positioned him at the forefront of significant advancements in vehicle technologies of all types including hybrid-electric systems, medium-duty railcars, and battery-electric technologies and infrastructure. During his tenure with ITLC, he led an industry-wide effort to author the Recommended Practices for Zero-Emission Bus Maintenance Training through the APTA Standards Program, development of the first publicly available BEB familiarization courseware, and expansion of available ZEB best practices and resources. At Proterra, James led the transit industry into a new era of operating and maintaining ZEBs by building a coalition of industry experts to support continued advancements in transit technology. He assembled a team of nine training and development experts to guide transit labor and management in their transition to battery-electric fleets. His team created brand-new instructional curriculum and courseware to deliver extensive technical programs for their national and international customers. James is a devoted advocate for workforce development in transit and actively participates in several committees within APTA and the California Transit Association, as well as serving as the vice-chair of the West Coast Center of Excellence.

52 min
10/02/2024

Zeroing in on New Standards for the Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Fleet - with Bryan Sooter P.E., Director - Standards, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

The Spika Speaker Series in Spika Design & Manufacturing's Knowledge Center presents a conversation with Bryan Sooter, P.E., Director - Standards, American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in conversation with Bekhi Spika, VP and CRO, Spika Design & Manufacturing, Montana. This wide ranging conversation on ZEB standards covers the gamut, from how standards are created in public transportation, the challenges faced by transit agencies in getting prepared for an entirely new way of operating with entirely new technology in existing, new or modified infrastructure, the kinds of areas that new standards on ZEB can be expected to encompass, to the guidance on resources available from APTA for transit agencies shifting to ZEB fleets. Along the way, viewers will also learn the importance of treating ZEB acqusitions as complete only after a plan is in place for post-purchase opeations and maintenance, including safe and OSHA-compliant access to sensitive and expensive state of the art buses during training and maintenance of ZEB personnel, with fall protection standards commensurate with the investment made in the high-tech ZEB. Learn more about APTA Standards at https://apta.com/standards. This session is brought to you by Spika's Knowledge Center. Watch more videos at https://spikamfg.com/knowledge.

31 min
24/08/2021

The Versatility of Work Platforms and Their Use in the Defense Industry - presented by @SpikaMfg.

In the third webinar in our series titled 'In Our Defense', learn from the experience of the team at Spika Design & Manufacturing about the versatility of work platforms and their uses in the defense industry for safe access for personnel at varying heights and cantilevers during the maintenance or manufacture of tactical equipment such as tanks and tankers. Throughout Spika’s 20 years of experience designing and manufacturing military maintenance stands, end users have shared their preference for work platforms to ladders due to the significant time savings and efficiency gains. This discussion includes deep insights on design considerations for work platforms to not only keep personnel safe, but also to protect sensitive equipment from damage while it is being accessed in facilities short on space and time. See more designs and configurations at https://www.spikamfg.com/ or contact the Spika team at info@spikamfg.com to learn more. The audio for this podcast was extracted from the video recording of the same session that is available for viewing at https://spikamfg.com/knowledge.

19 min
19/08/2021

Lessons from ACTransit & Stanford's ZETBTA Study on Zero Emission Bus - @SpikaMfg Knowledge Center Event

The Knowledge Center at Spika Design & Manufacturing, Inc., in conjunction with OSHA’s 2021 Safe + Sound Week presents a recording of a special event on the Zero-Emission Transit Bus Technology Analysis (ZETBTA) study recently published by The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), with Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy (Here is a link to the study for your ready reference: https://www.actransit.org/sites/default/files/2021-07/EDT-060420_Report-ZETBTA.pdf). The featured speakers in this virtual fireside chat were: H. E. Christian (Chris) Peeples, At-Large Director, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, and Jimmy Chen, Ph.D., Managing Director, SECA – Stanford Energy Corporate Affiliates, Precourt Institute for Energy. The virtual session was moderated by Spika Design & Manufacturing’s President & CEO, Katie Spika, and Vice President & Director of Sales, Bekhi Spika. The goal of this Knowledge Center event was to help the audience better understand the impacts of the study and among other things, understand how manufacturers and buyers of zero-emission mass transit buses ought to consider safety and training for the maintenance of the buses, especially with regard to safe access at heights and cantilevers. This event is a part of OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week 2021. Time-stamped knowledge components of this presentation: 00:02:19 About AC Transit and the genesis of the ZETBTA study published in June 2021 00:04:42 Stanford University's role in the ZETBTA study 00:06:55 Fuel cell technology and how the global energy transformation impacts transportation 00:11:00 Why hydrogen fuel cell technology is not yet well known, and matters of energy storage 00:18:20 Hydrogen as a zero emission fuel - the "new diesel". 00:22:00 Price and costs of zero emission fuel and bus, pace of innovation and transition plans. 00:28:05 On AC Transit's decision to take the initiative for the ZETBTA study 00:32:37 What are you learning from the ZETBTA study? 00:33:40 Specifications of the buses in the study and understanding some of the data. 00:44:38 Other aspects that need to be understood as the ZETBTA study continues 00:46:10 AC Transit's Zero Emission University 00:48:56 Safety considerations in Zero Emission Bus technologies. 00:54:00 Why is there a straw broom behind the driver of a fuel cell bus? 00:55:00 Are maintenance costs in a Zero Emission Bus lower? 00:58:20 Infrastructure changes in the emerging field of Zero Emission transit. 01:00:01 The global spread of ZEB technologies. For more programs like this one, please visit Spika Design & Manufacturing's Knowledge Center at https://spikamfg.com/knowledge.

1hr 15min

See All (13)

Creator

SpikaMfg
Years Active

2020 - 2025
Episodes

13
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Spika Speaker Series

Spika Speaker Series

Episodes

Driving CapMetro to Zero Emissions - A Conversation with Dottie Watkins, President & CEO, CapMetro.

Schooling for ZEB Skilling – Deciphering the 2024 GAO Report on Transit Workforce Development.

Will ZEB become a verb - Crystal ball gazing with Mike Hynes of CALSTART

For ZEB, Top of Bus Is Top Of Mind - A conversation with David Carr of CapMetro

How to train for the Bus – The Zero Emission Bus (ZEB), with James Hall of ZEB Tech

Zeroing in on New Standards for the Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Fleet - with Bryan Sooter P.E., Director - Standards, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

The Versatility of Work Platforms and Their Use in the Defense Industry - presented by @SpikaMfg.

Lessons from ACTransit & Stanford's ZETBTA Study on Zero Emission Bus - @SpikaMfg Knowledge Center Event

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