School Bus Fleet, October 2017

ASK the EXPERT surveillance fleet management Q Whats the difference between camera lens size and field of view A They are two different concepts yet equally important Determining the lens size and field of view depends on the interior and exterior views required For closer views such as the driver and stairwell REI recommends a small lens size and wide field of view If you need depth within the interior of the bus youll need a large lens size with a narrow field of view To capture the entire interior of the bus we recommend camera placement on the front bulkhead and a crisscross pattern to capture views between all rows We dont expect you to be the camera expert REI will make a recommendation for you depending on your needs Choosing a customized surveillance option and having a trusted partner is vital Were the experts with engineered customizable all in one solutions including safety and fleet management Submit your questions to schoolbusfleet com AskREI 8002289275 sented its third annual Ambassador of the Year award to Ling during its Annual Client Summit in May However Transfinder did much of the routing work which allowed the district to downsize from 376 routes to 336 routes according to Ling All of the departments in the district played a role in the transition with specific roles responsibilities and deadlines 21 OCTOBER 2017 SCHOOL BUS FLEET FLEET FACTS In house start Spring 2016 Headquarters Savannah Georgia Total buses 451 Bus types Blue Bird IC Bus Thomas Built Service area 426 square miles Routes serviced daily 336 Drivers 334 Other staff 100 Students transported daily 26858 Miller Kaigler says She advises other school districts who may be transitioning from contracted to in house transportation to develop a comprehensive management action plan to streamline the process Buy in and ownership from the top down is critical to the success of the transition Miller Kaigler says including among board members and all applicable district departments finance human resources public safety and facilities Hurdles Even with everyone doing their part Ling pointed out when accepting the award from Transfinder that her team still worked 13 hour days for two months to be ready for summer school and the start of school in the fall The first year of the new program also presented significant staffing challenges The stafing process included making sure all background checks and physicals were completed that the department had the number of drivers and monitors to accommodate the number of routes needed and that enough uniforms were purchased The department also needed to focus on completing department of transportation inspections Miller Kaigler says Meanwhile a new interim transportation director Rosalind Nathaniel was hired in April 2017 For her the biggest challenge as she stepped into the new program was gaining acceptance from the team and buy in to the purpose of getting children to school and home safely As long as we keep our purpose in front of us and I keep reminding staff members of it we will meet each challenge as an opportunity to continue to improve and succeed Nathaniel says The transportation department is still working to fully staf its ranks with meteamed up on the transition including operations academic affairs human resources technology and the public safety department Additionally the board allocated the necessary resources both human and capital to make the move successful We all worked together as a team Miller Kaigler says As the superintendent said we all work for transportation as part of the transition To help streamline the process team members from multiple district departments developed what they called a management action plan that listed every task to be completed by each department involved in categories ranging from technology to human resources to academics Another team player of sorts was software solutions supplier Transfinder which was instrumental in helping the district develop its routes Staf members trained extensively with a representative from the supplier We worked very closely with them that very first year Miller Kaigler says Meanwhile the technology department integrated software systems for the district and the new transportation department The transportation department wanted to use Zonar not just for bus pre trips and post trips but as its timekeeping system and to interface with Kronos the districts timekeeping system The technology department also worked with the management team and with Transfinder to ensure that student data could transfer from PowerSchool the districts student record keeping system into Transfinder Then once bus routes were developed the public safety department made sure they were all safe In another collaborative efort The district used Transfinder software to adjust bell schedules start times for students on Tybee Island during Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 The Transfinder system was diferent from what the school bus contractor had used for routing for many years so getting the bus routers accustomed to new software also presented a challenge according to Annette Kecia Ling director of operations for Savannah Chatham County Public Schools Transfinder pre