ficiency and reliability—technicians must communicate, coordinate tasks and support each other to keep buses running smoothly and students safe.” Each Buncombe attendance district has a dedicated
two-person team responsible for the maintenance, safety inspections and overall condition of the buses serving the area. The team works on a total of 280 school buses and 40 smaller vehicles. The maintenance facility has embraced technology in two keyways. The first being that each bus is equipped
with a tablet connected to the Edulog parent app, which enhances communication and route tracking. The second is mechanics use up-to-date diagnostic tools, like Cummins Insite and Snap-on scanners to quickly and accurately diagnose issues, which saves time and improves repair efficiency. Their advice to newcomers entering the industry? “Don’t mistake the school bus industry for being
slow-paced,” they concluded. “In reality, it requires quick thinking and adaptability.”
New Hanover County Schools garage stars are lauded for their tech installations amid a short staff.
New Hanover County Schools, North Carolina — Technology Focused When fully staffed, New Hanover County Schools in
North Carolina would have a maintenance team of 17. However, the transportation department was two me- chanics short at this report. Despite this, New Hanover boasts 177 years of total experience across the depart- ment and works hard to cover extra workloads each day. “Working as a team is paramount to the success of our school bus maintenance team,” said David Bittner, assis- tant director of transportation. He noted the team faces everday challenges such as unexpected breakdowns, the need to activate a spare, or major repairs like transmission or engine replacements that take buses out of service. “As a team, each of our technicians is able to jump in on any role. However, we typically divide [maintenance inspections] between three team members, [preventive maintenance] across another three team members, and repairs, upgrades and
other shop work across the remaining team members,” Bittner noted. One passion project at New Hanover has been major
safety and diagnostic upgrades. During the spring of the 2023-2024 school year, the technicians upgraded 75 percent of the 128 school buses to fully illuminated school bus stop arms and signs. “This work enhanced the safety for all of the families we serve by vastly increasing the vis- ibility of all our buses, as they travel down dark roads and make stops to board and deboard students,” Bittner said. Then, last fall, the technicians outfitted 80 percent of
its school buses with Samsara units. “These dashcams, gateways and camera connectors helped to bring our fleet into the 21st Century,” Bittner added, noting that increased safety resulted. “We are now able to send drivers real-time safety alerts, such as unbuckled seatbelts. We can also utilize Samsara’s AI assisted Safety Inbox to
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