Schools across the U.S. are ending sessions before summer vacation. As kids enjoy the break from school, fleet operations can take advantage of the summer months to perform maintenance on school buses.
While some of a fleet’s school buses might still be used for summer-school sessions, the routes are fewer, allowing more downtime for repairs and inspections.
Get tips on how to ensure your fleet’s school buses are ready for the new school year by undergoing summer maintenance.
Inspect all Buses
Each school bus should be fully inspected to identify repairs and safety issues that need to be fixed. During these inspections, technicians should look for any minor problems that could become a larger issue during the school year. To prevent downtime during the year, any small issue or sign of wear and tear should be repaired during the summer months.
Fleet operations can consider creating a checklist for technicians to complete on each vehicle to ensure all safety issues have been properly inspected, and all components have been looked at and evaluated for repairs.
Perform Heavy Maintenance
Summer is the time to perform heavy maintenance on school buses. While keeping a bus off the road for a lengthy and non-urgent repair during the school year isn’t practical, summer offers the needed time to complete the work. This can include large fixes on components, and even repairs on the body of the buses.
Putting in the time to perform heavy maintenance in the summer months will ideally leave the fleet operation with only minor repairs during the school year.
Keep Summer School Buses on PM Schedules
While summer can be focused on making larger repairs, regular preventative maintenance shouldn’t be overlooked for buses that are still in-service for summer school. Those school buses should undergo regular PM services to ensure they are staying up-to-date and are in good working condition. In the summer months, it’s especially important to check the coolant levels and condition of each bus’s battery.
Technician and Driver Training
Summer also provides time for fleet maintenance staffs to undergo training. Operations can take advantage of the time to have technicians take classes and train on new techniques, equipment and best practices. Drivers can also spend the summer months undergoing driver training on safety and driving skills.