Kickoff Meeting
F C P S B U S FAC I L I T Y P RO J E C T T E A M
APRIL 14, 2016
AGENDA • Recap of vehicle facility tours • Summary of information gathered from FCPS bus garage staff • Plan for bus driver outreach • Updates from steering committee meeting • Discuss data collected • Initial discussion on facility specifications • Next steps
FIELD TRIP RECAP
FIELD TRIPS • March 31
• April 7
– Baltimore County Public Schools bus facility in Cockeysville
– Washington County Public Schools bus facility in Hagerstown
– Baltimore Municipal Garage
– Mack Truck garage in Hagerstown
BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS • Decentralized operational structure – main facility in Cockeysville and 11 satellite locations (5 with buildings) with mechanics that are assigned to each location • Fleet size: 899 buses, 230 white fleet • Number of bays: 12 at Cockeysville facility, 20 elsewhere • Number of mechanics: 67 total at all sites • Work shifts: nearly all mechanics work 6:30-3 • Building constructed in 1973
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 10.5 acre site
EXTERIOR
S PA C I O U S INTERIOR
LIFT AND HOSE DROPS
BUS ON A LIFT
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S ROOM
VENDING M AC H I N E S FOR COMMON PA R T S A N D S P E C I A LT Y TO O L S
S E AT C OV E R ROOM
CONFERENCE ROOM
TIRE S TO R A G E
B U S WA S H AREA
PA R K I N G
BALTIMORE MUNICIPAL GARAGE • More centralized operational structure – main facility in downtown Baltimore with several smaller satellite facilities, hoping to close smaller facilities and build one more large facility in future • Fleet size: 5600 vehicles including mowers • Number of bays: 70 at main facility • Number of mechanics: 150 at main facility • Work shifts: two shifts • Building constructed in 2008
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 14 acre site
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
T WO KINDS OF LIFTS
EXHAUST HOSES
WIDE CENTER AISLE AND S TA F F LOCKERS
SHOP OFFICES
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S R O O M
OFFICES WITH VIEW O F G A R AG E
LUNCH AND CONFERENCE ROOM
G A R AG E TRAINING ROOM
WA S H B AY S
WA S H B AY
PA R K I N G
WASHINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS • Centralized facility handles all bus and vehicle maintenance • Fleet size: 160 buses, 145 white fleet • Number of bays: 6 + 1 quick service + 1 wash bay • Number of mechanics: 11 • Work shifts: staggered 6 AM – 5 PM • Building constructed in 1990
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 11.5 acre site (includes other school district functions – bus buildings circled)
EXTERIOR
SHOP INTERIOR
S PA C I O U S SHOP
TO O L S TO R A G E
DESK AREA
B O DY S H O P
MEZZANINE S TO R A G E AREA
PA R T S S TO R A G E
BREAK ROOM
WA S H B AY
REFUELING AND PA R K I N G
BALTIMORE MACK TRUCK DEALERSHIP (HAGERSTOWN) • Facility handles primarily warranty service for Mack Trucks • Fleet size: n/a • Number of bays: 8 + 1 CNG bay + 1 wash bay • Number of mechanics: 8 • Work shifts: staggered 7 AM – 7 PM • Building constructed in 2015
EXTERIOR
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
CENTRAL AISLE WITH E X H A U S T, COMPRESSED AIR, ELECTRICITY DROPS
MEZZANINE
M AC H I N E SHOP
M AC H I N E SHOP
PA R T S R O O M AND LOCKER ROOM
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S R O O M
WA S H B AY AND CNG B AY
CONCRETE PA D A N D GREASE PIT
CONFERENCE ROOM
BREAK ROOM
WHAT WE LIKED • Offices with a view of the shop
• Break rooms close to shop
• Pull down electric, hoses, ventilation, etc
• Forklifts and other safety equipment
• Lifts • Wash bay
• T or L shape for the building seems to work well
• Centralized parts room
• Doors on both sides of the garage
• Large tire storage space
• Design more space than we need to allow for expansion
• “Customer service” area • Space for tool storage between bays • Mezzanine storage
• Winch • Computer or tablet for each bay • Sloped floors
BUS GARAGE EMPLOYEE INTERVIEWS
QUESTIONS • What would you need to do your job more efficiently and effectively? • How well do you feel you are able to perform your job in the current FCPS bus maintenance facility? What aspects of the facility are beneficial? What aspects of the facility are inadequate or need improvement? What kind of challenges or limitations do you face in performing your job? • What would you change about the existing facility to improve your job?
• How could the work environment be changed to improve your physical and mental health? • How is the parts process working? What could be improved? How long does it take to retrieve the tires from the tire storage room? • How many bays do you think we need to maintain the FCPS fleet? • Do you have any other questions or comments that you think would help the committee plan for a better bus maintenance facility in the future? Talking points: work shift, space, access to tools, etc
TOP FACILITY ISSUES FOR BUS GARAGE EMPLOYEES Ventilation Restroom - bigger, more rooms Lifts needed Tire storage closer to shop Wash bay needed More staff - generally, white fleet, parts, radio More space Tools - more, my own, high-tech 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
HOW MANY BAYS ARE NEEDED? 24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
Average 10-13 Bays
BUS DRIVER OUTREACH
QUESTIONS • What would you need from a bus maintenance, parking, refueling facility to do your job more efficiently and effectively? • How well do you feel you are able to perform your job given the current bus facilities? What aspects of the bus facilities are beneficial? What aspects of the bus facilities are inadequate or need improvement? • How long do you typically have to wait to talk on the radio? • Are there any parts of your bus route that have bad radio reception? • Where do you park your car/bus? Are parking accommodations adequate? Do you feel safe parking there?
• What do you do during your breaks? Would you use a centralized break room if it were available? What amenities would you like to have? • Where do you refuel and how often? Do you have to wait in line for the pump? How long? • How often do you wash your bus? Where? Would you utilize wash facilities more often if they were available? • How convenient is the scheduled maintenance? How quickly do you get your bus back? How is the spare process working for you? • How often do you take advantage of quick service? Where?
BUS INSPECTION OUTREACH • Daily from 9:30 to 1:30 from April 19 – May 5 • Bus Driver focus group will assist with handing out the surveys • Online version will also be available via email • Survey will be Google Forms format for easy data aggregation but will also be available on paper
STEERING COMMITTEE UPDATES
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness – Lack of bus maintenance space – not enough space to complete tasks, store tools, or employ necessary personnel – Inventory – not enough space to store needed parts and keep them organized – Outsourcing – work that could be done more cost-effectively at FCPS has to be sent elsewhere due to lack of space – Spare buses – FCPS has to keep a large number of spare buses on hand to make up for the number of buses out of service – Purchasing – parts could be purchased at a lower cost in bulk if there was more storage space – Geographic center of population – inefficient use of work time to reach distant breakdowns, center of bussing population may not match current location – Routing and Dispatch – multiple employees working in close quarters, need for additional radio capacity the two existing radio channels could be geographically separated if service was geographically separated – Traffic – it is difficult to respond to issues in some parts of the county due to traffic congestion
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Stewardship of resources – Rust – FCPS does not have a mechanism for washing buses which leads to rusting parts – Age of buses – the oldest buses may be taking more time and resources for repairs; newer buses are being sent out for warranty which can also be a lengthy process – Age of facility – the facility may have reached the end of its useful life for bus maintenance – Growth of the County – current facility isn’t meeting needs and population is growing
• Security – Parts – better access management is needed – Vandalism – buses stored in remote locations experience vandalism – Parking – not enough space to park all buses on FCPS property
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Health and safety – Equipment – current facility does not have space to use or store large equipment that would help mechanics do their jobs more effectively – Restroom – only one unisex restroom shared by 15 garage employees plus drivers and vendors stopping in – Ventilation – current system does not work with all of our buses – Tire storage – heavy tires are kept up a hill in another building and have to be rolled to various parts of the Hayward campus for filling and balancing in all weather conditions – Break room – only space available for mechanics is in another building and is too small for the number of employees, kitchen amenities are kept in the shop, space for drivers only accommodates up to 10 people – Environmental compliance – FCPS is unable to comply with current environmental code due to a lack of space
DATA COLLECTED
PERCENT OF FCPS STUDENT POPULATION REQUIRING SPECIALIZED BUS SERVICES 2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
FUEL USAGE BY LOCATION 100%
90%
80%
70% COUNTY UNLEADED 60%
COUNTY DIESEL JAMES RIVER DIESEL WRIGHT EXPRESS UNLEADED
50%
WRIGHT EXPRESS DIESEL LINGANORE DIESEL
40%
HAYWARD RD DIESEL HAYWARD RD UNLEADED
30%
20%
10%
0% 2016
2015
2014
BREAKDOWNS PER MONTH 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
August 2015
September October November December 2015 2015 2015 2015
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April 2016
OTHER DATA – ANALYSIS STILL NEEDED • Bus parking locations and feeder areas served • Bus breakdown locations • Number of bussed students per feeder area
FA C I L IT Y S P E CI F I CATI ON S
WHAT SPACES DO WE NEED? • If we could design a new transportation facility from scratch, what spaces would we include? • How many of each kind of space? • What adjacencies are desirable?
NEXT STEPS
UPCOMING MEETINGS • April 18 – May 5 – Survey of bus drivers during spring bus inspections • April 28 – Regular meeting – discuss space summary, begin report review • May 12 – Regular meeting – continue report review, plan for stakeholder presentation(s) • May 16 – Cabinet meeting presentation • May 16 – 20 – Stakeholder presentations • May 26 – Regular meeting – discuss report revisions and stakeholder feedback • June 6 – Deadline for BOE materials • June 22 – BOE Presentation
APRIL 14, 2016
AGENDA • Recap of vehicle facility tours • Summary of information gathered from FCPS bus garage staff • Plan for bus driver outreach • Updates from steering committee meeting • Discuss data collected • Initial discussion on facility specifications • Next steps
FIELD TRIP RECAP
FIELD TRIPS • March 31
• April 7
– Baltimore County Public Schools bus facility in Cockeysville
– Washington County Public Schools bus facility in Hagerstown
– Baltimore Municipal Garage
– Mack Truck garage in Hagerstown
BALTIMORE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS • Decentralized operational structure – main facility in Cockeysville and 11 satellite locations (5 with buildings) with mechanics that are assigned to each location • Fleet size: 899 buses, 230 white fleet • Number of bays: 12 at Cockeysville facility, 20 elsewhere • Number of mechanics: 67 total at all sites • Work shifts: nearly all mechanics work 6:30-3 • Building constructed in 1973
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 10.5 acre site
EXTERIOR
S PA C I O U S INTERIOR
LIFT AND HOSE DROPS
BUS ON A LIFT
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S ROOM
VENDING M AC H I N E S FOR COMMON PA R T S A N D S P E C I A LT Y TO O L S
S E AT C OV E R ROOM
CONFERENCE ROOM
TIRE S TO R A G E
B U S WA S H AREA
PA R K I N G
BALTIMORE MUNICIPAL GARAGE • More centralized operational structure – main facility in downtown Baltimore with several smaller satellite facilities, hoping to close smaller facilities and build one more large facility in future • Fleet size: 5600 vehicles including mowers • Number of bays: 70 at main facility • Number of mechanics: 150 at main facility • Work shifts: two shifts • Building constructed in 2008
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 14 acre site
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
T WO KINDS OF LIFTS
EXHAUST HOSES
WIDE CENTER AISLE AND S TA F F LOCKERS
SHOP OFFICES
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S R O O M
OFFICES WITH VIEW O F G A R AG E
LUNCH AND CONFERENCE ROOM
G A R AG E TRAINING ROOM
WA S H B AY S
WA S H B AY
PA R K I N G
WASHINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS • Centralized facility handles all bus and vehicle maintenance • Fleet size: 160 buses, 145 white fleet • Number of bays: 6 + 1 quick service + 1 wash bay • Number of mechanics: 11 • Work shifts: staggered 6 AM – 5 PM • Building constructed in 1990
S I T E L AYO U T Approximately 11.5 acre site (includes other school district functions – bus buildings circled)
EXTERIOR
SHOP INTERIOR
S PA C I O U S SHOP
TO O L S TO R A G E
DESK AREA
B O DY S H O P
MEZZANINE S TO R A G E AREA
PA R T S S TO R A G E
BREAK ROOM
WA S H B AY
REFUELING AND PA R K I N G
BALTIMORE MACK TRUCK DEALERSHIP (HAGERSTOWN) • Facility handles primarily warranty service for Mack Trucks • Fleet size: n/a • Number of bays: 8 + 1 CNG bay + 1 wash bay • Number of mechanics: 8 • Work shifts: staggered 7 AM – 7 PM • Building constructed in 2015
EXTERIOR
EXTERIOR
INTERIOR
CENTRAL AISLE WITH E X H A U S T, COMPRESSED AIR, ELECTRICITY DROPS
MEZZANINE
M AC H I N E SHOP
M AC H I N E SHOP
PA R T S R O O M AND LOCKER ROOM
PA R T S R O O M
PA R T S R O O M
WA S H B AY AND CNG B AY
CONCRETE PA D A N D GREASE PIT
CONFERENCE ROOM
BREAK ROOM
WHAT WE LIKED • Offices with a view of the shop
• Break rooms close to shop
• Pull down electric, hoses, ventilation, etc
• Forklifts and other safety equipment
• Lifts • Wash bay
• T or L shape for the building seems to work well
• Centralized parts room
• Doors on both sides of the garage
• Large tire storage space
• Design more space than we need to allow for expansion
• “Customer service” area • Space for tool storage between bays • Mezzanine storage
• Winch • Computer or tablet for each bay • Sloped floors
BUS GARAGE EMPLOYEE INTERVIEWS
QUESTIONS • What would you need to do your job more efficiently and effectively? • How well do you feel you are able to perform your job in the current FCPS bus maintenance facility? What aspects of the facility are beneficial? What aspects of the facility are inadequate or need improvement? What kind of challenges or limitations do you face in performing your job? • What would you change about the existing facility to improve your job?
• How could the work environment be changed to improve your physical and mental health? • How is the parts process working? What could be improved? How long does it take to retrieve the tires from the tire storage room? • How many bays do you think we need to maintain the FCPS fleet? • Do you have any other questions or comments that you think would help the committee plan for a better bus maintenance facility in the future? Talking points: work shift, space, access to tools, etc
TOP FACILITY ISSUES FOR BUS GARAGE EMPLOYEES Ventilation Restroom - bigger, more rooms Lifts needed Tire storage closer to shop Wash bay needed More staff - generally, white fleet, parts, radio More space Tools - more, my own, high-tech 0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
HOW MANY BAYS ARE NEEDED? 24
22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
Average 10-13 Bays
BUS DRIVER OUTREACH
QUESTIONS • What would you need from a bus maintenance, parking, refueling facility to do your job more efficiently and effectively? • How well do you feel you are able to perform your job given the current bus facilities? What aspects of the bus facilities are beneficial? What aspects of the bus facilities are inadequate or need improvement? • How long do you typically have to wait to talk on the radio? • Are there any parts of your bus route that have bad radio reception? • Where do you park your car/bus? Are parking accommodations adequate? Do you feel safe parking there?
• What do you do during your breaks? Would you use a centralized break room if it were available? What amenities would you like to have? • Where do you refuel and how often? Do you have to wait in line for the pump? How long? • How often do you wash your bus? Where? Would you utilize wash facilities more often if they were available? • How convenient is the scheduled maintenance? How quickly do you get your bus back? How is the spare process working for you? • How often do you take advantage of quick service? Where?
BUS INSPECTION OUTREACH • Daily from 9:30 to 1:30 from April 19 – May 5 • Bus Driver focus group will assist with handing out the surveys • Online version will also be available via email • Survey will be Google Forms format for easy data aggregation but will also be available on paper
STEERING COMMITTEE UPDATES
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Efficiency and Cost-effectiveness – Lack of bus maintenance space – not enough space to complete tasks, store tools, or employ necessary personnel – Inventory – not enough space to store needed parts and keep them organized – Outsourcing – work that could be done more cost-effectively at FCPS has to be sent elsewhere due to lack of space – Spare buses – FCPS has to keep a large number of spare buses on hand to make up for the number of buses out of service – Purchasing – parts could be purchased at a lower cost in bulk if there was more storage space – Geographic center of population – inefficient use of work time to reach distant breakdowns, center of bussing population may not match current location – Routing and Dispatch – multiple employees working in close quarters, need for additional radio capacity the two existing radio channels could be geographically separated if service was geographically separated – Traffic – it is difficult to respond to issues in some parts of the county due to traffic congestion
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Stewardship of resources – Rust – FCPS does not have a mechanism for washing buses which leads to rusting parts – Age of buses – the oldest buses may be taking more time and resources for repairs; newer buses are being sent out for warranty which can also be a lengthy process – Age of facility – the facility may have reached the end of its useful life for bus maintenance – Growth of the County – current facility isn’t meeting needs and population is growing
• Security – Parts – better access management is needed – Vandalism – buses stored in remote locations experience vandalism – Parking – not enough space to park all buses on FCPS property
DISCUSSION OF MAJOR BUS FACILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED BY THE TEAM • Health and safety – Equipment – current facility does not have space to use or store large equipment that would help mechanics do their jobs more effectively – Restroom – only one unisex restroom shared by 15 garage employees plus drivers and vendors stopping in – Ventilation – current system does not work with all of our buses – Tire storage – heavy tires are kept up a hill in another building and have to be rolled to various parts of the Hayward campus for filling and balancing in all weather conditions – Break room – only space available for mechanics is in another building and is too small for the number of employees, kitchen amenities are kept in the shop, space for drivers only accommodates up to 10 people – Environmental compliance – FCPS is unable to comply with current environmental code due to a lack of space
DATA COLLECTED
PERCENT OF FCPS STUDENT POPULATION REQUIRING SPECIALIZED BUS SERVICES 2.5%
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
FUEL USAGE BY LOCATION 100%
90%
80%
70% COUNTY UNLEADED 60%
COUNTY DIESEL JAMES RIVER DIESEL WRIGHT EXPRESS UNLEADED
50%
WRIGHT EXPRESS DIESEL LINGANORE DIESEL
40%
HAYWARD RD DIESEL HAYWARD RD UNLEADED
30%
20%
10%
0% 2016
2015
2014
BREAKDOWNS PER MONTH 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
August 2015
September October November December 2015 2015 2015 2015
January 2016
February 2016
March 2016
April 2016
OTHER DATA – ANALYSIS STILL NEEDED • Bus parking locations and feeder areas served • Bus breakdown locations • Number of bussed students per feeder area
FA C I L IT Y S P E CI F I CATI ON S
WHAT SPACES DO WE NEED? • If we could design a new transportation facility from scratch, what spaces would we include? • How many of each kind of space? • What adjacencies are desirable?
NEXT STEPS
UPCOMING MEETINGS • April 18 – May 5 – Survey of bus drivers during spring bus inspections • April 28 – Regular meeting – discuss space summary, begin report review • May 12 – Regular meeting – continue report review, plan for stakeholder presentation(s) • May 16 – Cabinet meeting presentation • May 16 – 20 – Stakeholder presentations • May 26 – Regular meeting – discuss report revisions and stakeholder feedback • June 6 – Deadline for BOE materials • June 22 – BOE Presentation
