They’re the unsung heroes of the coach and bus industry. They’re the engineers and fitters who work tirelessly and in often poor conditions to keep your fleet on the road, and you out of the Public Inquiry room.
They’ve had a lot to deal with in recent years. Ever-increasing complexity of vehicles is coupled to the operator’s desire to see costs kept in check while maintaining uptime, and that goes with the time-honoured engineering tradition of attending breakdowns in the rain and in the middle of the night.
People like that aren’t easy to find, but as routeone sees regularly, not only are they out there, but they do the job with a smile.
So for a second at least, forget the driver shortage; forget the LEZ, forget Euro 6 and forget your finance payments. Instead, have a think about who will look after your fleet in the future when your current engineers have retired or have moved on.
Bringing engineering apprentices through is key to a succession plan, and doing so is not just for large operators.
It’s there for smaller business too, and there is every indication that, as similar technology to that already seen in operations makes its overdue arrival in engineering departments, the younger generation will thrive in that environment.
Don’t underestimate the importance of your engineering team. Unless you subcontract your maintenance out, you don’t have a business without them.
