Overview
The Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority (GATRA) did not ensure that its contracted transit provider delivered battery electric bus (BEB) training to its pertinent maintenance employees as required by GILLIG’s (the BEB manufacturer) training before performing maintenance services on BEBs.
If GATRA does not ensure that maintenance employees complete proper training on BEB maintenance, then there is a higher-than-acceptable risk that they may not detect initial warning signs of electrical and other hazards, leading to vehicle damage and potential injury to employees and riders. Maintenance employees who have not been provided sufficient training may also experience higher risks of injury when they maintain this equipment. Maintenance work could inadvertently damage BEBs if they have not been appropriately trained.
Authoritative Guidance
Section 6 of the “Commonwealth of Massachusetts Agreement between Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Greater Attleboro–Taunton Regional Transit Authority,” signed on December 1, 2020, states,
GATRA agrees to require all pertinent GATRA personnel to attend a training session (conducted by the [BEB manufacturing company]) on the operation and maintenance of the buses and charging infrastructure. GATRA will facilitate these training sessions by providing a mutually convenient time and location for such training.
Reasons for Issue
GATRA management told us that its former administrator and the former maintenance manager declined the formal training for contracted maintenance employees provided by GILLIG that GATRA was entitled to as part of its contract with GILLIG. GATRA also did not have policies and procedures to ensure that its contracted transit provider’s employees completed the required training on BEBs and charging stations.
Recommendations
- GATRA should contact GILLIG to provide training to maintenance employees.
- GATRA should develop policies and procedures to ensure that its contracted transit provider’s employees complete required trainings.
Auditee’s Response
The decision regarding Gillig training for maintenance employees was made by two former GATRA employees, one of whom was the former Administrator, and neither of which are able to comment on why this decision was made. After doing substantial research, we can confirm that GATRA was notified in December 2020, when we put in the Purchase Order (PO) for the buses that maintenance employees would be receiving extensive training when the buses were received. This was GATRA’s first order of Gillig electric buses, there were six of them, and everyone involved understood that training was a critical part of the maintenance of the buses and safety of operators and passengers.
GATRA received six battery electric buses (BEBs) from Gillig Corp in October 2021. All six buses arrived by a land-all trailered heavy duty tow truck within a short time of each other. Gillig technical field representatives arrived at our location to resolve any issues with these buses prior to putting them into service. This is a standard service provided by Gillig after new bus deliveries.
Gillig technical field reps were on site for weeks after the delivery of the electric buses. During the post-delivery inspection process, Gillig field reps had an extensive amount of time to interact with maintenance staff. Cummins field reps were also on hand at the same time. Maintenance staff had the benefit of interacting with not only the bus manufacturer, but also the company that brands the electric motors and batteries in these buses. It is my belief that because this was our initial delivery of electric buses, Gillig and Cummins reps were abundantly helpful and informative. Maintenance staff were taken through component identification and location, and all questions were answered. Gillig has the field notes to back up this onboarding experience.
Systems unique to electric buses were discussed such as charging, energy storage, and regenerative braking. In addition, towing practice, personal protection, reading system fault codes, and the traction motor were addressed. Beyond the normal steps of a preventative maintenance (PM) inspection, the electric buses require more visual inspection than a traditional diesel bus. We were advised how to include these changes in our PM process.
GATRA maintenance staff had a positive experience integrating electric buses into our fleet because of the time spent and information exchanged with Cummins and Gillig technical staff. This was equal to or surpassed formal, but basic, BEB training. We also purchased the extended 12-year warranty at that time to ensure the buses would be well maintained.
The purchased training is roughly 20 hours of classroom and hands on training, whereas we had dedicated technical representatives on site for over a month. The time GATRA maintenance employees spent with technicians over the course of eight hours a day, five days in a week, over four weeks in a month far exceeds what we would have gotten with the purchased package. In addition, these mechanics have now had over two years’ experience working daily with BEBs. In fact, Gillig hired one of our mechanics to go work for them because of his extensive training and experience with their equipment. At this point, purchasing additional training would be a waste of money. I believe it is quite evident based on Gillig‘s information on our buses, as well as the . . . maintenance records on our buses that our mechanics are more than competently trained on the electric buses.
I respectfully disagree that this should have been a finding. The majority of this evidence was presented to the auditors on site via interviews with GATRA staff and documents shared.
Auditor’s Reply
We reviewed the information provided by GATRA, which indicates that technical field representatives from GILLIG were on site and inspected the BEBs before they were put into service. However, evidence was not presented to us that all pertinent maintenance employees attended the training referenced in GATRA’s response, which was a key issue highlighted in our audit. We reiterate our recommendation that GATRA should develop policies and procedures to ensure that the maintenance employees of its contracted transit provider complete the required training, in accordance with Section 6 of the “Commonwealth of Massachusetts Agreement between Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Greater Attleboro–Taunton Regional Transit Authority.”
| Date published: | December 24, 2024 |
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