AT YOUR SE
SCHOOL BUS CONTRACTORS ARE SERIOUS ABOUT MODERNIZING AND IMPROVING MAINTENANCE WRITTEN BY JOHN WHELAN
W
ith technology and safety requirements on the rise, school bus contractors have to keep up with the latest trends and find better ways to operate their maintenance facilities. Innovation within a maintenance facility takes time and research, but the
payoff is far greater with more time to concentrate on fleet repairs and training. Tere are many ways to run a maintenance program, and contractors have
their own preferred methods that suit their needs. Computers and software are new tools that maintenance facilities cannot do without. Te software options available can be customized to keep track of work orders and sched- ules, reducing the workload on shop managers. School bus fleet managers set up their own preventive maintenance
program that works for them while still meeting state and provincial motor vehicle inspection regulations. A typical school bus service is quite involved considering that safety is the main focus and cannot be compromised. Even the smallest change in a maintenance procedure or physical
change in the shop can make a world of difference. A moderate change in a procedure that saves a few minutes every service adds up to a big payback in increased production. It’s not surprising then that the leading school bus contractors are finding innovative ways to improve their maintenance programs.
Te motto at school bus contractor First Student is that saving time on maintenance is a valuable asset to all of their operations. Every minute saved in their maintenance operations adds up quickly with approximately 52,000 school buses running across North America. To improve the efficiency of their preventive maintenance program, they wanted to find out how much time they could save for each service on a fleet school bus. Teir goal was to improve production and reduce wasted time by analyzing each step of a service procedure.
50 School Transportation News June 2014
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