News


SPECIAL REPORT


Strategic Supply Chain Management


Efficient parts procurement is critical for the strategic supply chain management of today’s lean bus fleets


WRITTEN BY JIM ROMEO T 28School Transportation News • AUGUST 2017


he Keller Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas learned in an independent televi- sion news report that its buses were operating with numerous broken safety features that


their drivers reported anonymously to reporters. Student video captured a part that emitted smoke. Te video along with voice-disguised driver testimonies made it onto the evening news. Te story also brought up bro- ken horns, stop signs and even faulty brakes. As parents and constituents of the district learned of the situation, the district subsequently lost confidence in the service provider that manages their school bus system. Other districts have discovered faulty parts as well. In


rural Virginia, several buses were missing a safety device on their brakes. Tis wasn’t the only district with the faulty parts. It turned out 4000 such parts were in place in buses across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Te Virginia Department of Education alerted all schools to be aware of, and check for, the defect. Tey blame the manufacturer who shipped the parts with the defect. Fleet management cannot afford the risk that inferior and broken parts bring to school bus operations. Tey


CELEBRATING25YEARS


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