1991 AGN JAN 03 I14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Passenger cars. In order to do any good, of course, the programs must be followed. The programs might be modified to make them more appropriate to local equipment and operating conditions, but the major part of the work will have been accomplished by others. Major national freight and passenger carriers have similar preventive maintenance programs for their own vehicles, with the comprehensive record keeping procedures that are a vital part of any maintenance program. They might be a source from which schedules and forms could be obtained and adapted for establishing a well thought-out program at the local level. National carriers are often cooperative in sharing their program with small local business partners, particularly when there is a business relationship with the local carrier. Other, excellent sources of information about appropriate preventive maintenance programs for particular types of vehicles are industry associations such as the American Trucking Associations, Inc., state trucking associations which are usually affiliated with the national organization, bus operator associations (which are often dedicated to a particular type of bus operation, such as tour bus operators, school bus operators, transit bus operators, etc.), and other specialized associations. It is sometimes necessary to be a member of an association to obtain materials on any subject. WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN A PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM? In organizations that operate CHP -regulated vehicles, an effective preventive maintenance program will involve the manager and the supervisors as well as the drivers and mechanics. The manager of an organization which uses CHP -regulated vehicles should set the tone of the company or agency's preventive maintenance program by making it clear that the policies established by the organization are serious and'were developed with the full expectation that they will be carried out. The manager should periodically review the program and actively seek recommendations from his or her employees for improvements in the details of the program. The manager should be looking for ways to improve communication between the drivers and the maintenance personnel. The manager should work to solve small problems in the program so that large problems will be less likely to develop. Supervisors of drivers and mechanics should concentrate on seeing that everyone under their supervision is doing his or her part of the overall job of maintaining the regulated vehicles. The supervisor should see to it that drivers are carefully inspecting"their vehicles at the beginning of each shift and reporting their findings to the mechanics (or to the supervisors, if that is the arrangement). Supervisors should make sure each mechanic takes each defect report seriously, even if the defects listed are not serious. Mechanics should be cautioned against ridiculing drivers' efforts to point out defects, so that drivers will not become discouraged about reporting what they find. Drivers should be made to realize that not every defect is a life-threatening one, and that sometimes a defect is so unusual and difficult to diagnose that extra time is needed by the mechanic to solve the problem. (This does not mean that an unsafe vehicle should be allowed to continue in HPG 84.6 2-6