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 Certification of Bus Techs and Others in Dept.
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bwest
Administrator

United States
3820 Posts

Posted - 08/28/2017 :  05:44:33 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm wondering if any of your states require certification of bus techs or other personnel in your transportation department. Just thinking about safety of buses and the knowledge of those working on them.

Donotpass
Active Member

14 Posts

Posted - 08/28/2017 :  07:57:10 AM  Show Profile  Visit Donotpass's Homepage  Reply with Quote
WA State does not require certifications. our district offers monetary incentives that encourage us to get ASE's
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aaronwilmoth80911
Top Member

538 Posts

Posted - 08/28/2017 :  09:56:43 AM  Show Profile  Visit aaronwilmoth80911's Homepage  Reply with Quote
In Colorado, you must be certified by the state. This requires (I think) a minimum of 2 years in a related field, air brake certification, pass a hands on test, and a 100 question written test initially, then 50 question recertification test every 3 years after that. I personally think there are changes that should be made to our standards that should be a little more stringent, but that's just my 2 cents.
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Thomasbus24
Administrator

USA
4544 Posts

Posted - 08/29/2017 :  04:28:56 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Ohio says:

"Personnel employed for vehicle maintenance duties shall be qualified to
perform quality preventive and regular maintenance programs and shall
understand the relationship of vehicle maintenance to a safe pupil
transportation program"

Then goes on to list a few ideas like work history, training and so on.

Always struck me as oddly lax, given how demanding they are about driver qualifications.
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td083
Senior Member

195 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  04:43:09 AM  Show Profile  Visit td083's Homepage  Reply with Quote
My thinking on this is the more certs required by agencies will weed out some making it harder for counties to find mechanics and at that would likely require higher pay. Not saying there a bad idea just would make it more difficult for hiring .I work for a large county we have around 150 mechanics that work on everything from fire truck to school buses very rarely do we get mechanics experience in airbrakes or heavy equipment.Though new hires train for a while just to do services and we also have a QC dept to check buses . That being said our dept gives a pretty decent ase bonus every Christmas so now 70% or so of our 150 mechanics is certified in some sort and it also helps out with promotions .
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RonF
Top Member

867 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  05:00:46 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Georgia is in the process of training inspectors, but as far as certified being required, no. So counties prefer it when hiring.

I have been ASE certified in one field or another since 1977. It helped with pay when I started back in '77 at a Chrysler dealership. It helped in the Army with promotions and with credit hours for my degree. It got me hired in the county I am currently in.

US Army retired CMBT
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BigPapa
Advanced Member

215 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  06:02:55 AM  Show Profile  Visit BigPapa's Homepage  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by td083

so now 70% or so of our 150 mechanics is certified in some sort.



Wow, 150 techs. That's a lot of techs for a school system. Does that maybe include some other agencies? Our Metro system is broken down into School Transportation, Office of Fleet Management (Public Works, Parks, DOT, etc), and MTA (Metro Transit Authority). All together we have at least that many in all three agencies.

Edited by - BigPapa on 08/30/2017 06:05:35 AM
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Donotpass
Active Member

14 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  07:08:00 AM  Show Profile  Visit Donotpass's Homepage  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by td083

My thinking on this is the more certs required by agencies will weed out some making it harder for counties to find mechanics and at that would likely require higher pay. Not saying there a bad idea just would make it more difficult for hiring .I work for a large county we have around 150 mechanics that work on everything from fire truck to school buses very rarely do we get mechanics experience in airbrakes or heavy equipment.Though new hires train for a while just to do services and we also have a QC dept to check buses . That being said our dept gives a pretty decent ase bonus every Christmas so now 70% or so of our 150 mechanics is certified in some sort and it also helps out with promotions .



New hires here are on the lube rack until they demonstrate understanding of the basic principles and service procedures, once they do this they then get eased into minor repairs.

This applies to pretty much all techs coming in, regardless of prior experience. I had several years of school bus experience before coming into the district i am at currently and i was placed on the lube rack for a time... Every district has slightly different operations when it comes to day to day services, paperwork and procedures. it makes a difference to ease into it and see how things work in a new environment.

As far as the certifications required, i agree with you about weeding out a lot of mechanics if they were required. We are one of the top paying districts in our area, if not the state. even with our high rate of pay we still have a hard time finding mechanics.we are a self policing force when it comes to the quality and safety of our work, therefore our manager has high standards for potential applicants.

Edited by - Donotpass on 08/30/2017 07:10:08 AM
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td083
Senior Member

195 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  09:29:49 AM  Show Profile  Visit td083's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Bigpapa yea we are one agency , dept of vehicle services but we work on numerous agencies equipment , buses , police cars , trash, and fire and are a large county near Washington Dc .
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bfaulkner
Senior Member

168 Posts

Posted - 08/30/2017 :  12:43:44 PM  Show Profile  Visit bfaulkner's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Michigan, When working on your own fleet no certs are required. The moment you bring in any outside work you need to be master cert or an apprentice. The state certification is 7 category that each have a test at the secretary of state. not that hard to pass but an old co worker couldn't
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bwest
Administrator

United States
3820 Posts

Posted - 08/31/2017 :  05:12:11 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I'm more concerned with a one man show. If you hire someone to work on your buses right out of school, what kind of person will you be getting? There is a possibility that you can get good help but it's more likely that you won't. Pay will have a lot to do with it too. And small district don't normally have the funds to pay what is needed.

Bryan
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