Paul Britton (second from left) of Merlin Diesel Systems in England conducting a training session with staff of the Transport Board, Ucal and students of SJPP on how to use the Fuel Injection Pump Machine Tester.
SERVICE UPGRADE
Tue, 05/10/2016 - 12:00am
Transport Board solving issues
By Peta Rowe-Forde
The Transport Board has taken steps to reduce and possibly eradicate the problems which have been preventing it from providing an efficient and reliable service to the public. In so doing, a Fuel Injection Pump Machine Tester has been imported and Paul Britton of Merlin Diesel Systems in England was on hand during a recent training session to help staff use the tool.
Chairman of the Transport Board, Anthony Wiltshire expressed his appreciation at having reached such a stage. “The Transport Board has been facing problems with transportation for quite a few years. We thought it prudent to acquire this tester in order to enhance the fleet. We have had problems with pumps and they are very costly to repair. So in buying such a tool we will be able to service our vehicles efficiently and speedily and therefore, it can be done to the benefit of the Transport Board and by extension the economy,” stated Wiltshire. He further commented that the buses are over 16 years old and therefore this would aid in repairing the old machines.
Sylvan Codrington, Quality Assurance Manager, took the time to explain the specifics of the tester. “This is a piece of equipment that comes in to service the fuel injection pump on the buses. The pump has to be serviced over a period of time and we were trying to get this for a number of years and were able to do so a couple months ago. This would enhance the buses as it relates to power. Each bus that has an engine rebuilt, we normally service the fuel pump,” remarked Codrington.
Ten buses are currently in need of the pump to be serviced. Approximately, 25 per cent of the 275 bus fleet is defective and this number usually fluctuates. The pump only addresses one of the challenges being sent out to the Transport Board and other solutions to other challenges are in the pipeline. Lynda Holder, Marketing & Corporate Communications Manager stated, “We are seeking to address them step by step; asystematic approach. As this was one of the main issues, we sought to address this first.”
To ensure some continuity of having such pumps serviced utilising the tool, training was extended to the students and staff of the Samuel Jackman Polytechnic and partners of the Board, UCAL.