program, as it will save them time and being inconvenienced by mechanical breakdowns,” he added. “Tese men and women need to look critically at all aspects of the school bus to identify items, like cracks, leaks, frayed or chaffed hoses, etc., that could cause a road call and inconvenience our passengers.” Lawrence further stated that the Fairport CSD fleet benefits from inspections by the New York State Department of Transpor- tation every six months, which provides an
extra level of professional scrutiny to make sure the buses adhere to the precise standards of school bus safety. In catching maintenance items early, the benefits
are that inspections provide large rewards down the road. According to Lawrence, the Fairport fleet had a 99-percent pass rate last year. “We rely on NYSDOT regulations and OEM recom- mendations for determining repairs,” he said. “If an item may affect safety, it must be done ASAP. If an item can be cleaned and scheduled for a slow time we do that as well provided safety is not compromised.” Sterling reported that the minor repairs are the ones that require the most attention, and addressing them
YES
40%
Does your district or company
purchase new school buses with a rust or corrosion protection package included?
extends the shelf life of the vehicles. Technicians and mechanics keep a close eye on brakes, tires and filters. One feature that is overlooked, but no less important to the general upkeep of the school is the seats, which are “repaired as needed,” Sterling said. “Seats and seat coverings are mostly repaired due to students tearing and ripping them apart.” Coverking is an Anaheim-based company that special-
60% NO
izes in custom-tailored seat covers, among things, and works with the Anaheim school district. Alex Puente, an account manager at Coverking, observed that students repeatedly peel and pick at the vinyl seat cov- ers, which “is time consuming for the district to fix.” According to Puente, Coverking has repaired the seats on the roughly 40 school buses in the Anaheim fleet. Te company has also forged a partnership with nearby Garden Grove Unified School District with plans to target to Los Angeles-area district before expanding operations nationwide. “(Coverking) makes standard seat covers for cars but wanted to see how they could help,” Puente said. “De- veloped vinyl that goes over seat and can be installed in a minute. Ticker material. Not much of a price increase at all.” ●
March 17-22
EMBASSY SUITES Frisco, Texas (a suburb of Dallas)
2017
• Specialized Training • Networking • Compliance • Certification
Save the Date
www.tsdconference.com
www.stnonline.com 47
17TSD_STD_Frisco_QS.indd 1 5/17/16 10:05 AM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
