By Ryan Gray W THOMAS
WHEN THOMAS BUILT BUSES REDESIGNED ITS SAFE-T-LINER EFX front-engine, transit-style school bus last year, it relied on customer feedback to drive a new design that company officials said better married the vehicle to its rear-engine cousin, the HDX. Many of the improvements were aesthetic in nature,
such as additional storage space for drivers, new data readers on the dash and increased accessibility to the en- gine, but they also meant a reduction in the total cost of ownership of the vehicle. Tis is a concept the company continues toward with a redesign of the EFX and a new anti-corrosion feature for its flagship, the Saf-T-Liner C2. Te EFX redesign encompasses the same desire to cre-
ate a family look for the company’s transit-style offerings but to also implement ideas gained from customer focus groups. Tis means greater commonality of parts that provide greater economies of scale and more bang for the customer’s buck. Common assembly at the plant for the EFX and HDX will result in more consistent, quality manu- facturing, said Ken Frazier, Tomas’ market development manager, and cost savings passed along to operators. For example, Frazier said Tomas’ plant requires few-
er parts on the production floor and reduces logistics. Many sub-assembly fixtures are now common to free up work space. For example, the buses use the same lights, windshield, bumpers and roof caps. “We are in the process of looking at HDK upgrades to
increase commonality even further, both internally and externally,” Frazier said, adding that the company plans to hold another focus group this fall, which customers can join via their local dealers. Tis fall at the NAPT Summit, Tomas is set to unveil
New anti-corrosion material is coming to the Safe-T-Liner C2 front and rear bumpers, step well (center) and the luggage compartment (bottom) to protect customers’ total investments in new school buses.
the new anti-corrosion protection for the C2 that is simi- lar to high-performance coating found in pickup-truck bed liners. Te chemical is durable, flexible, and water resistant as it creeps into the smallest crevices while also reducing vehicle vibration noise. “Every time we do a focus group, the major topic is
corrosion,” said Ed Swaim, Tomas’ C2 product manager. “It’s even worse now because of the chemicals used on roads, especially magnesium chloride (road salt).” Like with the EFX and HDX, the new C2 options resulted from customer focus groups held by a team
34 School Transportation News Magazine August 2012
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