ANALYSIS


Why Have Maintenance Policy and Procedures?


WRITTEN BY ROBERT T. PUDLEWSKI


Sarbanes Oxley Act in 2002, most publicly traded organizations did not have written documentation to support their organizational policies and procedures relative to how employees should perform and work within an organization. Most practices were either learned by show-me-how, on-the-job training, or out of necessity to meet any given regulatory compliance issue. Section 404


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of the Sarbanes Oxley Act requires management of publicly traded companies to formally attest to the effectiveness of their internal controls. While school districts, government entities and privately held bus companies are not currently required to adhere to these same laws, it is certainly in the best interest of all school districts and bus companies,


regardless of their size, to have formal, documented maintenance policies and procedures and to periodically verify that they are operating effectively. Tey provide clarity to the employee when dealing with accountability issues or activities that are of critical importance to the school district or company, such as, health and safety, legal liabilities, regulatory requirements or issues that have serious consequences. Te objective of established maintenance policies


and procedures is to document an organization’s policy for operation and the procedures or process


56 School Transportation News March 2013


ritten policies and procedures should be at the heart of every organization. Before the passage of the


necessary to fulfill that policy. Maintenance policies and procedures answer the “what” and “how” questions for individuals within an organization. For example, “What is the company’s policy regarding brake inspections?” And, “How do I perform the air brake inspection and brake maintenance procedure? Written documentation will allow for consistent treatment across school transportation management whether school district or private, school bus transportation maintenance systems. Maintenance policies and procedures are


the strategic link between the school district or company’s vision, goals and its day-to-day operations. But why is that so important? Well, written policies and procedures allow employees to understand their roles and responsibilities within predefined limits. Basically, maintenance policies and procedures allow transportation management to guide maintenance operations without constant management intervention. Policies and procedures also help to create an


internal control framework. It is this internal control framework that operations management will rely upon and that will ensure its organizational objectives are being met while complying with Federal and State regulatory agencies. In order to understand why policies and


procedures are so important, we need to know what they are and differences between them. Let’s start by taking a look at policy and then procedure. A “Policy” is a predetermined course of action, or a particular way of accomplishing something which is established to provide a guide toward accepted business strategies and objectives. It is a direct link between a school’s transportation department or its contractor’s organizational strategy, and how that fits into their school transportation day-to- day operations. Policies identify key activities and provide a general strategy to decision-makers on how to handle issues as they arise. Tis is accomplished by providing the maintenance employee with limits, and a choice of alternatives used to guide their decision-making process as they attempt to overcome work-related problems. Te ultimate goal of every “procedure” is to provide the employee with a clear, easily understood plan of


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