A State-of-the-Art Shop Poised for the Future

Did you know the maintenance shop at our Merrill Creek Operations Base services a fleet of 200 buses? This bustling hub of activity is definitely where the action can be found. On average, the shop creates approximately 850 preventative maintenance and repair work orders a month. We also do our own component rebuild in-house, for both engines and transmissions. It takes exceptional equipment, tools, and training to create a state-of-the-art shop like ours, and a dynamic team of mechanics to bring it all to life.

Our larger maintenance shop at Merrill Creek (we have a smaller shop at Kasch Park where our Double Talls and Vanpool vehicles are serviced) has two large working areas. The main area has a total of 14 working bays. Four bays have 2-post lifts designed for coaches up to 40 feet, four have 3-post lifts designed for coaches up to 60 feet, and two are flat (non-lift equipped) bays. These are getting new lifts added to increase our lift capacity. Also included in the main area are four pit bays primarily designed for preventative maintenance work. The secondary area (our body shop) has three flat bays and one spray booth. The shop is bright, well-ventilated, and so clean that the agency actually hosts its annual Thanksgiving lunch on the premises each year!
 

Our main shop also has a dedicated component rebuild area. When our engines and transmissions are at the end of their life span, we tear them down and completely overhaul them with new and reconditioned parts. They are tested on dynamometers that allow them to run outside of the vehicle, ensuring that if there are any problems, they are caught before they ever even get in the bus. For example, a rebuilt engine is hooked up to water, fuel, electronics, and transmission, etc., to simulate being in a bus. This engine dynamometer makes sure there are no leaks, fault codes, loss of horsepower or torque. This not only allows us to control the quality of the finished product, it is also cost effective. Community Transit is unique because most shops (and even dealers) outsource this technology.

In March of this year, Community Transit updated its maintenance software system, providing our technicians with a single, easy-to-use portal to manage assigned work, making our maintenance recording system virtually paperless. This system also provides access to the company intranet, email, and web services. Additional computer terminals were added throughout the shop to meet the needs of our growing fleet of vehicles and our maintenance team.

Community Transit prides itself on being an industry leader. Our state-of-the-art shop is uniquely designed to meet the challenges of today, while being poised for the huge growth demands projected for the future.

Want to work here? We want to hear from you! "Don't let the size of our shop and equipment intimidate you! All prospective employees are given a shop tour during the interview process, and all new employees get the training, tooling and assistance they need to be successful," assures Ken W., Assistant Maintenance Manager. Apply today to be part of the team.

Did you enjoy this Talking Shop story? What other shop topics would you like to see featured? Let us know in the comments!

Talking Shop: Community Transit's Mechanic Apprentice Program

Community Transit prides itself on investing in our exceptional Mechanics. We place a high value on education, both on-the-job continuing education and company-funded formal education. It's how we ensure we not only have an incredibly talented team to maintain our ever-growing fleet of vehicles, but we have a team that feels valued, confident, inspired. One way we grow these relationships with our employees is through our Apprentice Program.

Our Apprentice Program began as a way for our Vehicle Service Attendants and Vehicle Service Workers to gain the experience necessary to become a skilled journey-level mechanic. By growing our own mechanics through years of extensive training, we are privileged to have a team that is truly the best of the best. Most of our graduates from the program are still part of our maintenance family. We are proud to note there is an exceptional commitment to our agency that comes from growing up here. We all take care of each other.

Not all of our apprentices, though, come from in-house. We also partner with several technical colleges in the area to source dynamic candidates who are eager to learn. Our four-year Apprentice Program takes place over four years/8,000 hours. Students receive paid on-the-job learning at 60% of our regular mechanic salary, increasing every six months during the four-year program to receive 100% of salary at graduation. During this program, Community Transit pays for six hours in the shop and two hours at school for each weekday as they work towards their Diesel Technology Certificate. Our two-year Apprentice Program is offered when a student comes to us after receiving the certificate and works full-time in our shop for two more years.

Program participants spend each day partnered with a qualified Journey Mechanic to learn the ins and outs of all of our systems, including engines, transmissions, and brakes. This on-the-job learning not only ensures our apprentices learn everything their job will require of them, they also feel part of a family who believes in making a difference. Our Mechanics learn the importance of trusting the team that precedes them and trust for those who follow. This helps our new hires feel confident, no small task when working with complicated vehicles like ours. The programs also provide additional classroom learning for safety aspects and for detailed instruction on our specific equipment. Our apprentices are evaluated every quarter on their attentiveness, preparedness, safety, and quality of work.

While we require our apprentices to get a Diesel Technology Certificate, Community Transit recognizes the value in investing in additional education. We pay for additional coursework so they can get an associates degree. A well-rounded education provides our Mechanics with the potential to move up to leadership positions should they desire. Leadership positions include supervisory roles where individuals organize and set priorities for the teams: Shop Lead, Journey Mechanic Lead, Body Shop Lead, and Component Rebuild Lead.

Want to be part of a team that values it's employees? We're hiring! www.communitytransit.org/mechanics

"I'm Tony. And I Maintain It."

Did you know our buses drive approximately 1,000 miles per week? That's like driving from Seattle to Los Angeles! To keep our buses in tip-top shape, we utilize a team of service workers to thoroughly inspect each bus. One of our rock star employees that helps "Maintain It"? Veteran Community Transit employee, Tony S.

Tony has been with Community Transit since the early years, when our first maintenance shop was just a small space at Kasch Park. Back then our fleet consisted of antique and refurbished buses. Buses have certainly changed in the 25 years since then. Now our fleet includes a wide range of cutting-edge technologies, such as CAD/AVL technology (computer aided dispatch and automatic vehicle location), safety technology (such as collision avoidance), and maintenance technology (including vehicle diagnostics). "It's been exciting to grow with the company," says Tony.

Our bus maintenance program ensures each bus is inspected every six weeks. A mile indicator notifies us when a bus hits 6,000 miles so that it can rotate through the shop. A team of seven service workers make sure that anything that can easily down a coach, such as brakes and power steering, are meticulously inspected. The maintenance team always has one goal in mind: making sure our coaches are safe. Tony says, "Everyone wants to do their job well. It's an expectation we put on ourselves, not that the company puts on us. Every day is better than the last. You are better because each day is a different challenge. It makes coming to work so easy."

A personal commitment to excellence, combined with a collaborative spirit, lets our service workers "Maintain It" with a smile. "This shop is like a Mecca. We all do different things to reach a common goal. These guys work well together which you don't often see in bigger shops. If anyone has a question, we all communicate to come up with the answer. It's a good group of people which makes working here a piece of cake."

Without the talent and dedication of our maintenance team, we wouldn't be able to provide the excellent service that our customers have come to expect of us. After 25 years, Tony has helped our buses drive millions of miles. Next time you ride a Community Transit bus, you can be sure that at some point Tony has maintained it. "It's hard to believe it's been 25 years. It's been a really good ride."

Meet Phil Halverson: Community Transit Mechanic

When you have a family to take care of, job satisfaction often becomes less about what makes you happy and more about what pays the bills. But what if you could find a job that gives you both? It's possible, here at Community Transit!

Phil Halverson is relatively new to our Maintenance team, recently celebrating his first anniversary with us. Feeling uninspired and undervalued in his early roles maintaining boats and medium duty vehicles, Phil says that working here is about so much more than providing for his family. "The benefits are such a blessing. Plus, they pay you what you're worth." With a starting salary of $30.88 per hour, Mechanics can expect to earn up to $34.41 after 12 months. Community Transit also offers exceptional benefits for the whole family, giving great peace of mind to employees with small children, like Phil.

Feeling valued also goes beyond being compensated fairly, too. Our Mechanics are trained on advanced systems, including APTS (Advanced Public Transportation System) and Hybrid technology. This investment in training adds confidence not only in skills, but in knowing the company you work for believes in you. "We get the support and time we need to do the job the right way. This takes away a lot of pressure. We know we will get the tooling and tech resources we need."

This commitment to the employee does a lot for a positive work environment, too. "Everyone is genuinely happy to be working here. I could see it right away. It was just oozing from everyone I met."

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Phil. We are so happy that you are part of the Community Transit family!

What does feeling valued by your employer mean to you? Is it more than just the salary and benefits?

Meet Ken Bailey, Community Transit's Maintenance Manager

It's easy to be passionate about your job when you work with a team that controls its own destiny.

Did you know Community Transit has a fleet of approximately 240 active coaches? These are in a constant state of flux with heavy duty transit coaches retiring after 15-16 years, new coaches joining the fleet, and mid-life rebuilds of engines and transmissions. A strict maintenance program ensures our vehicles are always at their very best. This means there are a lot of moving parts, and not just those that are automotive.

It takes a team of over 40 Mechanics and 7 Service Workers to make those parts come to life. Community Transit believes in keeping almost all of its maintenance in house, where we can ensure work is done to our exacting standards. This means we aren't dependent on anyone else to get things done right.

By investing in the very best training for our Mechanics, we rarely have to outsource. All of our technicians receive three weeks of intensive training on our vehicles, followed by six months on the shop floor to gain hands on experience on every one of our critical systems. This commitment to training empowers our maintenance team to be the best of the best. "Our Mechanics feel pride of ownership," says Ken.

It's not only the training that is meaningful to our Mechanics. There's a real sense of camaraderie as well. "There is a unique internal community here. Most of these people live around here, have worked here a long time. They understand each others' jobs and appreciate and value each other."

Thanks for helping put the 'Community' in Community Transit, Ken!