“Tis system give us that diagnostic information without having to physically touch the bus.” Te district, which encountered its own wintry weather last month, implemented OnCommand for the start of school after IC Bus offered to retrofit the existing fleet at no charge. Te technology also came included in the district’s recent new purchase. School buses download data via Wi-Fi as they return to the bus lot, or at some school campus hotspots, to provide trouble codes and conditions. “Tis system give us that diagnostic information without having to physically touch the bus,” Vaughn added. At this writing, 199 of Garland ISD’s 225 home-to-school route buses had OnCommand installed.


At this writing, about 25 percent of the district’s campuses had Wi-FI. Vaughn said the goal is to equip the district’s remaining 140 buses used for vocational high schools, mid-day transportation, extracurricular activities and sports trips as part of the replacement cycle. “More information is good for the consumer as it helps them better understand the health of their


fleet,” added Sean Slyman, director of connected services for bus solutions at Navistar. “However, making sense of that much information can deter some consumers from even adopting IoT as part of their fleet maintenance programs.” Slyman explained that OnCommand Connection is piloting OnCommand Connection Live Action


Plans, a feature that is expected to predict when a part is going to fail before it actually does. “Tese are prognostic models developed using both our field service intelligence and algorithms based in big data analytics,” he said. “When certain adverse conditions are identified on a vehicle, OnCommand Connection would provide the customer with alerts about potential corrective actions, the potential repair, the parts needed, and the training required to make the repair.” Zonar’s fleet management technology is installed on Tomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner EFX, Saf-T- Liner HDX and Minotour buses. Te technology can monitor school bus location, mileage, fuel us- age, driver behavior and remote engine and system diagnostics. Te data provides fleet managers with an aperture into maintenance issues before they become bigger problems, minimizing repair costs and time out of service. Routine maintenance can be automated and scheduled. Adopting this technology is slow going, however, and it still has a way to go. Most readers sur-


veyed this month by STN said they remain optimistic and see value in the technology, even if they have yet to test it. “I have not had the pleasure of working with it at this time,” said Kathy Roadlander, director of transportation with Sequoia Charter School of the Edkey School District near Phoenix. “I can see where it would be a benefit to all school transportation facilities and any facility that utilizes the services. It is very costly to tow a vehicle long distance and at times just to find out we could have changed a relay and solved the issue.” She added that she would like to see a system that could diagnose a vehicle from afar as her district’s


Mike Stotler, service education manager for Thomas Built Buses


buses cover the majority of the state of Arizona. “We like most schools travel for field trips, (and) sports; this would be a great tool.”


MULTIPLE BENEFITS WITH A PAYBACK Justin McInturff, channel sales manager at Forward Tinking Systems—a firm that develops technology innovations for fleet management—said the benefits of technology are numerous. “Remote sensor monitoring can help provide additional information such as door open (or) closed, wheelchair lifts in use and stop lights en- gaged, just to name a few,” he explained. “Also,


driver behavior can be monitored remotely based on speeding, harsh acceleration and harsh braking events. Tis can help boost efficiency by identifying coaching opportunities and building incentive pro- grams for those who drive safely and efficiently.” Te many benefits offer payback. Michael Stot- ler, manager of service education at Tomas Built


34 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2018


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