Best Practices in a Changing Shop

Electronics defines the school bus garage, complicating preventative maintenance

Perhaps nothing embodies the changing landscape of pupil transportation over the last several years as much as the school bus garage.

The basic look remains. But, amid the wrenches and battery cables, the tires and crowbars, you now find state-of-the-art computer displays and wires, diagnostic printouts and laptops. With federal 2007 diesel engine regulations looming, transportation employees who perform maintenance work on school buses are no longer merely mechanics. The term service technician has arisen out of a need to obtain certifications to understand the complexities of electronic engine diagnostics, ABS brakes and electronic transmission, just to name a few.

"Eventually everything's turned electronic," said Dick Bauder, transportation supervisor for Columbia Local School District in Columbia Station, Ohio. "You don't take the toolbox to the school bus anymore, you use the computer."

The 31-year pupil transportation veteran has seen a lot over the years. Last August, he thought he was retiring for good from Firelands Local District in Oberlin and its 28 school buses. He was set to embark on new life travels, but for a phone call from a former superintendent and the prospects of a healthy paycheck to bring him back to the yellow bus.

Now, overseeing only 18 school buses, one vehicle technician and about half as many student riders at about 1,000, one would think Bauder has it made in the shade. But with several new school buses to be purchased next year with the EGR technology, plus running International diagnostics and the Cummins diagnostic tool Insite, the department will be taking a crash course on electronics.

"When I got the job 31 years ago, I had never worked on a school bus in my life," the former auto mechanic recalled, with even limited experience working on trucks. "When I went to work (at Firelands Local) that's how I learned."

School districts more than ever must remain on top of the preventative maintenance game, and with the inclusion of so much electronic gadgetry, training and professional assistance is key.

"One of the reasons we started the (Ohio School Bus Mechanics Association), say I have a problem with something, I can call one of the mechanics in the assoc for assistance, maybe they've encountered the same problem."

The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence says the electronic garage is here to stay.

"Electronics is in everything," said spokesman Tony Molla, citing diesel and emissions controls. "It constantly changes. The ASE certification is only good for five years. The certification drives more training. It's growing in importance."

Across the country, new innovations like multiplex wiring and LED lights have complicated matters like never before. "We're seeing this here in Colorado," said Bruce Little, Sr., a transportation specialist with the Department of Education in Denver. "We're offering engine electronics classes every year and we overfill them. Since vehicles are becoming more complex, we need to elevate the position of mechanic."

Little says he prefers the term service tech to describe today's mechanics. By rewriting their job descriptions to reflect the need to have computer and electronics know-how, pay will increase as well as expectations, "so that district won't think we can hire anyone off the street. We need a certain standard," he said.

Detroit Public Schools created a school bus maintenance program, the first of its kind in the nation, for just this reason. Now called the Michigan School Bus Maintenance Program, it is recommended for all state school districts by the Pupil Transportation Advisory Committee, which works alongside the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation and the Michigan Department of Education. The program includes six components, one of which is a 36-day inspection schedule for all buses.

"This topic is of considerable interest to me since there is little guidance for school bus operations other than manufacturer recommendations," said Dale Goby, the executive director of DPS' Office of Student Transportation. "There is very little in national guidelines in terms of vehicle maintenance, little guidance other than what manufacturers recommend. It's our view this has potential because nothing else existed."

The preventative maintenance program essentially reviews every system on the bus approximately over a month span. School districts could choose to employ a set interval for scheduling thorough in-house fleet inspections based on mileage, for example 3,500 miles, or by fuel consumption, for example for every 300 gallons.

Goby advocated the replacement of alternators at a set mileage, based on data collected to reduce down time. Compressors also tend to expire on a regular basis, as do belts and hoses.

"If you have good records, which are a problem in school districts, you can use that information to be proactive to better maintain vehicle and serve customers, your students," he said.

The daily pre- and post-trip driver inspections are extremely important, as well as regular vehicle maintenance reports. Michigan does not mandate these but the Michigan School Bus Maintenance Program recommends them. Like those coming out of the National Conference for School Transportation in Warrensburg, Mo., the 14 th of which was held last month, Goby said the recommendations become standards "after a while."

"The key is getting ahead of it all," Goby said. "You can't wait until a vehicle breaks down."

But, he cautioned, too many operations are driver dependent instead of mechanic dependent.

"If we assume the driver is very knowledgeable about the vehicle regarding maintenance, many times that's an incorrect assumption," he added, pointing to the penchant of some drivers to treat the school bus like their private automobile in terms of keeping an eye on regular maintenance. "Driver dependent is destined to fail. It's good to have driver knowledgeable about the vehicle but (the) repair function can't be dependent on the driver."

Ted Teline, general manager of Schmitty and Sons Bus Sales in Lakeville, Minn., agreed.

"Drivers have to do the pre-trip, but for the under the hood stuff, we go the extra mile," he said of the company's inspectors. "They're trained, that's what they do. School bus drivers are part time. Drivers are not mechanics."

The company's fleet of 200 school buses serving a local high school, two other school districts and two private schools travels about 1.4 million miles a year. "A lot of places have drivers do underhood inspections. I've heard a whole bunch of horror stories," said Andy Sandstrom, shop manager for Schmitty and Sons. "That stuff doesn't work. Drivers don't tell you until something happens."

Instead the company employs rig checkers. They are certified mechanics with the only job description of inspect the vehicles. When a vehicle is reported with leaking hose, they inspect that and comb over the rest of the bus, as well.

"The rig checker will notice, 'Hey there's a puddle of oil," he added. A service technician will then be notified to perform diagnostics and fix the problem.