Meeting a
TEXAS-SIZED Challenge
Houston-area fleet services pro heads this year’s list of maintenance superstars
WRITTEN BY DAVID GEORGE |
DAVID@STNONLINE.COM Joel Mooneyham, left in both photos, review J
oel Mooneyham cuts a handsome path with his broad- brimmed Stetson, Texas-tall frame and nicely-tailored black jacket. It is easy to see what earned him the admira- tion, affection and respect of his professional colleagues.
But talking shop with him truly unveils his expertise, the reason he was selected to head this year’s list of Garage Stars. As assistant director of fleet services for Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Transportation near Houston, Mooneyham has bridged the com- mon generational and technological divide, while helping to run a top professional organization. His journey began when he first completed two years of automotive technology in high school. He remains close to his roots by hiring Cy-Fair ISD high school automotive students via the district’s Automotive Youth Education Systems Initiative (AYES), which he developed. In continuing the valued tradition of one generation transferring better technology and lessons learned to following generations, Mooneyham’s transportation department shops have hired seven students full-time right after they graduated from high school. In this operation, they are gaining a valuable career, a good future, stability, self-respect and a better life. Ryan Clifford, the director of enterprise sales for Zonar Systems
in Austin, nominated Mooneyham for this award and commented that Cy-Fair ISD “is far and away” his most important customer, and “honestly, the most important I’ve ever had.” And for many noteworthy reasons. Clifford explained to School Transportation News that while he
has worked with school district fleets nationwide, Cypress-Fair- banks ISD is the most organized, ambitious and best-managed department he’s ever worked with. “Teir priorities when they began researching telematics providers were primarily on the operations and campus side. But with Joel’s leadership, they have leveraged the maintenance portion of our system as well as any customer I’m aware of,” he added.
24 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2018
Te massive scale of the district would be a Texas-sized challenge for the management team of any fleet operation. But Mooneyham, Clifford said, “manages a very large team that is widely dispersed. He’s essentially a CEO of maintenance, because it’s impossible to be everywhere at once in a district that size. At a higher level, Cy- Fair is held to a very high standard by parents and residents of the district. CFISD is truly excellent.” Currently, Mooneyham’s hands are filled with implement-
ing DOT inspections for all fleet school buses, in lieu of safety inspections, while acquiring new propane school buses, as well as gasoline-powered school buses. Having recently completed the replacement of old fleet software with a new fleet software, he can’t help but proclaim, “What a challenge!” Mooneyham explained that transferring data from a corrupted fleet system into the new software system, plus validating the data was transferred correctly and the vehicle information was correct, qualified as a major project to be remembered. He also managed the training of the shop management team and technicians on operational procedures while transitioning to the new fleet software vendor to revise the work order form to fit the department’s needs. He also needed to ensure parts inventories were accurate, create a parts transfer distribution between transpor- tation centers and enter all shop personnel into the new system. “Cy-Fair transports an estimated 80,000 students twice a day to
and from home,” Mooneyham said. “Student safety is paramount for Cy-Fair ISD. School buses in the state of Texas are only allowed to travel at 50 mph with a safety inspection. Tis sometimes causes congestion on highways and freeways. Te DOT inspection allows the school bus an additional 10 mph.” He said the school district felt it would be more thorough to inspect the buses bumper-to-bumper, rather than via a typical safety inspection. Mastering the approval process was also vital when Mooney-
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