FEB 2013
The Exclusive Maintenance Resource for the Transit and Motorcoach Indust r y !
Midwest Bus refurbishes Genesee County fleet Page 4
Maintenance Letter
Note to Maintenance: Make it their shop, not yours
Ron Anderson Director of Maintenance, Fort Worth Transit Authority, “The T” Fort Worth, TX
The most productive management philosophy is the one that allows capable employees to do their work and accomplish their goals. The best managers know how to stay out of their way. Easier said than done, but it bodes well for the maintenance team at the Ft. Worth Transit Authority, The T. Most of our technicians began at the lowest rung and worked up to their present positions. This has allowed me time to get to know each of my employees and to observe and learn how they work. With this better understanding of my team, I have been able to put these four practices into place to ensure each employee works to his strengths and functions as a team member. I continually see positive results from these four simple steps.
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Establish and reinforce the overall safety and maintenance philosophy.
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Provide best practices training and guidance for each maintenance procedure. This helps keep each member of the maintenance team engaged and involved.
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Evaluate each problem as it occurs, from preventive measures to breakdowns. Engage the technicians in discussing what they found and how they diagnosed the problem.
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Invite each team member to become involved in everything going on in the shop. This instills their sense of ownership in our maintenance philosophy and processes in what will essentially become their shop and their system.
C O N TE N TS
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Long live the fleet
Genesee County MTA signs on for refurbishing By Carrie Rathbun Hawks
We hear it all, and we can help
Sound advice from MCI Emergency Roadside Assistance By Richard Cunningham
Products and Services
Bosch, ASA Electronics, CGI Protects and CES Wireless
BUSRide Maintenance
February 2013 3
Vehicles in this condition arrive at Midwest Bus in dire need of refurbishing with paint and decals chipping and peeling away, and parts in need of a thorough cleaning.
Long live the fleet
Genesee County MTA signs on for refurbishing By Carrie Rathbun Hawks
Midwest mechanics have removed the engine panel in preparation for inspection of the structural steel.
A new mechanical lift has been placed on one of the MTA buses. Replacing the lifts was part of the project Midwest Bus was tasked with when it began to remove and replace structural components of MTA’s vehicles.
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February 2013
The Mass Transportation Authority (MTA), Flint, MI, gets a workout serving roughly seven million people in the more than 50 communities in and around Genesee County. Going to work, getting to a doctor’s appointment or visiting the local attractions, they expect their bus to always be safe and reliable. With many of the buses in the 325 vehicle fleet at or past the standard 12-year life expectancy, MTA took an extra step to extend the life of its fleet through a partnership with Midwest Bus Corporation, Owosso, MI in a long-term refurbishment contract. Midwest most recently refurbished 36 of the 1996 New Flyer LF 40-foot buses. With the buses generating an estimated $320 million in gross revenues, MTA says this initiative is part of an ongoing effort to reduce costs and address aging issues that might otherwise result in purchasing new vehicles. “It is a growing trend in local government to turn to refurbishment options because of limited resources and the opportunity to maintain a more environmentally friendly fleet as it ages,” says Dan Morrill, Midwest Bus founder and president. “Updating the structures and technology is a proactive way to improve a fleet.” He says midlife overhauls and remanufacturing bring buses back to a state of good repair and offer an opportunity to extend their useful life. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) mandates that federally funded transit vehicles remain in service for a minimum of 12
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Above, center: Doors and the mechanical workings are dismantled, cleaned, repaired or replaced. Right: Flint MTA buses receive new steel skins and internal components like seats and windows. This photo show the bus frames during and after reconstruction.
years. FTA will help finance remanufacturing or midlife-overhaul projects that help buses meet or exceed their minimum useful life. Believing the MTA buses still have a few years of life left, MTA General Manager Ed Benning says the average $55,000-per-bus refurbishing cost is a welcome alternative to a potentially $500,000 to $650,000 price tag on a new bus. “We can put the money we save with this process into expanding infrastructure for future operations,” Benning says. “We are still in a position to ensure our riders have the best experience in terms of safety, affordability and comfort.” The plan is to extend the life of a vehicle beyond 20 years through mid-life refurbishing. Midwest says its process extends the life of the MTA buses by six to eight years. The Midwest program addresses electrical systems and motor, transmission, structural, frames, flooring and safety issues. Morrill says the scope of work that this particular set of MTA buses specified pulling all of the interior windows, seats and exterior body panels to evaluate what steel parts needed replacing. It also meant installing, priming and painting new body panels. To expedite the process, Midwest created a special adjustable model to consistently repeat each process on each bus. The model duplicated the piece of the bus that was removed and allowed the new steel to be set and welded into place. The entire process took almost six weeks. Midwest Bus has been in the business of remanufacturing buses since 1980, repairing, replacing and modifying all components of a bus. Operating in more than 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space with a 24-coach production capability and modern engineering technology, the company has completed well over 100 such projects to date.
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This includes the underbody, structural, front and rear axles, flooring, engine, transmission, air conditioning, wheelchair restraints and lift systems, passenger seats, windows, exterior body and paint. Most recently, Midwest has expanded beyond the standard rebuilding and remanufacturing processes to include specialty work activities for transit authorities campaigning for improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions. This work covers HVAC, structural repairs and repowering. “We’ve built a reputation among our customers and suppliers who have allowed us to serve the transit industry for more than 30 years,” says Morrill. “Our goal to provide high quality products and services and give the customers what they need is the only way to do business.” When the older buses arrive in the shop, Midwest Bus begins the process with a complete vehicle inspection to identify necessary repairs beyond the contracted work, which requires a thorough function test as well as extensive underbody cleaning and evaluation. Technicians remove all the components — brakes, steering, suspension, propulsion, HVAC and electrical for inspection and cleaning. They install new components to the original and make the requested improvements to the original bus design. Once the remanufacturing is complete, the bus receives a new exterior coating in one of two of Midwest’s fully equipped paint booths then water tested in a simulated rain booth. “Our transit clients rely on their buses to move hundreds of thousands of people every day,” says Morrill. “We can’t afford to crimp when it comes to safe, efficient, technologically relevant vehicles.” BRM Carrie Rathbun Hawks, Laingsburg, MI, serves as spokesperson for Midwest Bus.
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We hear it all, and we can help Sound advice from MCI Emergency Roadside Assistance Judging from the calls that come into the MCI Emergency Roadside Assistance and Technical Support Call Center, we cannot say enough about reliability and systematic preventative maintenance. The tendency to ignore potential problems is clearly the greatest threat. Equipment that goes neBy Richard Cunningham glected can very well mean the end of Supervisor, MCI Technical Call a company. Though newer is usually Center, Louisville, KY better, the reward of routine maintenance lies in high resale values and greater equity in the equipment. As we all too often see parts going ignored until they fail, we offer these steps to ensure a more reliable and longer life for older components and equipment. Frayed or cracked belts Carry a full set of belts on each bus. It is unlikely the right belt will be available in Cut Bank, Montana, at 11:00 p.m. on a Saturday night. We get calls from operators stuck for a day or more waiting for a simple belt to be air freighted. To be safe, don’t let the belts get bad enough to fail. Noisy idler pulleys and bearings Listen closely to idler pulleys and other belt-driven accessories such as alternators and fan clutches. Understand the noise while the engine is running as part of the post- or pretrip inspection.
Darrin Thorpe, MCI Parts Solutions Manager, sits ready to assist from his desk at the MCI Emergency Roadside Assistance and Technical Support Call Center in Louisville, KY.
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February 2013
Leaking wheel seals Do not ignore your wheel ends. The loss or lack of wheel lubricant is outright dangerous. Even the rookie vehicle inspector understands this can cause wheel bearings to seize or spin and damage a spindle or axle tube. This type of failure is extremely expensive and puts a vehicle out of service for days. Damaged or loose battery cables and terminals Every operator has seen new batteries ruined with the posts burned off. Replace terminals and bolts that will not tighten properly ASAP before the worst happens. This is a good summer chore; a lousy one in the winter — especially if it has to be done in an emergency in the middle of a cold, desolate parking lot. Unfamiliarity with DPF engines Drivers, particularly part-time drivers, must receive training on the care of EPA-mandated engines before getting behind the wheel. Every driver must be capable of performing a manual regeneration when the situation arises. Drivers as well as dispatchers need to know that any yellow “check engine” lamp that stays on can interfere with the automatic or manual regeneration process, even at highway speeds. In many cases it will cause the DPF lamp to eventually light up and shut down the engine. Never dispatch a bus with the “check engine” lamp lit. If the light comes on during a long trip, the driver may have to take pre-emptive action and have the engine checked out in the closest service center as soon as possible. Don’t send out a broken bus on the weekend It is expensive enough to fix equipment at home, but facing weekend rates out on the road is even worse from mechanics only trying to help, but with no experience with motorcoaches. Then add in the cost of replacement buses and wrecker services. It is surprising how many times we hear the driver was having the same trouble the week before the weekend breakdown occurred. More steps to take Employ many sets of trained eyes to be on the lookout. Everyone on the front lines — drivers, mechanics, dispatchers and wash crews alike — should always be watching for problems and situations and reporting them promptly. This alone will reduce the number of breakdowns. Operators can always call MCI’s Emergency Roadside Assistance program (ERSA) 800-241-2947 for 24/7 assistance anywhere in the U.S. and Canada.bership or has a clear-cut code of ethics about business operations. BRM
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products & services
Bosch Long Life Oil Filter good for 10,000 miles Bosch says its Long Life Oil Filter will last for 10,000 miles on vehicles that use synthetic and semi-synthetic motor oils, and is 99.5 percent efficient in capturing microscopic pollutants 40 microns or larger, based on ISO 454812. The company says the new filter features specially-engineered fully synthetic filtration media with the capacity to trap 22 grams of dirt — the equivalent of about 52 standard-
size paper clips. Efficiency and capacity are the two criteria for assessing the quality of oil filters. Bosch LLC Farmington Hills, MI
ASA DVR2 offers dual camera recording ASA Electronics introduces DVR2 to the bus and motorcoach industry. The Voyager® digital video recorder features dual camera recording capability and streamlined user-friendly playback software. The company says the DVR2 system does not burden users with expensive features that often go unused and are complicated to understand. Instead, this system offers commonly requested options such as impact and alarm recording, single channel alarm input and a USB-type 3G or Wi-Fi modem connector. Users have state-of-the-art content designed specifically for the mobile environment. The DVR2 also provides GPS information including GPS coordinates synced with Google Maps. ASA Electronics Elkhart, IN
CES FA-888 GPS requires no monthly fee Wireless access-monitoring system can multitask The 601 Keytroller LCD is a color wireless access-monitoring system with multiple functions. CGI Protects says the device provides a totally customizable check list by day, week or month; by driver or by shift. The Keytroller’s features include keyless keypad ignition; automated or daily checklist, critical item shut down, operator accountability, wireless Wi-Fi, speedometer, seatbelt usage, external alarm and warning codes, as well as email and text messaging capabilities. It can schedule training and maintenance by date, and export all logged data to a spreadsheet for record keeping. CGI Protects says the Keytroller installs on any make and model of gasoline, LPG, diesel or electric-powered vehicle. CGI Protects Crescent Guardian, NO
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CES Wireless recently released its FA-888, a GPS tracking device that operates over a Wi-Fi network. The company says historically GPS tracking devices operate over a cellular network and come with a hefty monthly fee. CES points out that many fleet owners do not need real-time tracking. The FA-888 logs the data in memory and, when it enters its home Wi-Fi zone, downloads the data automatically to the user’s own server. CES says the FA-888 is compatible with many third party tracking software systems. The software provides sufficient functionality for 80 percent of the market. CES Wireless Orlando, FL
February 2013
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