MANAGEMENT'S ROLE IN MAINTENANCE: WORKSHOP REPORT

Conditions identified by the management study group as having negative effects on maintenance included: Operations and maintenance managers tend to involve transit boards in day-to-day operations; lack of current and reliable information needed to permit all managers to function effectively; inability of maintenance managers to present meaningful budgets, the result of a lack of skills in this area; absence of appropriate organizational approaches to purchasing; lack of property-level maintenance policies or standards, resulting in failure-based maintenance. The following strategies were recommended to improve management effectiveness: Establish effective RD development of a relatively uniform maintenance and management reporting system that would be flexible enough to permit property-level adaptations, but should include inventory leveling and performance measurement; need for bus maintenance management courses; preparation of a handbook on maintenance planning and budgeting.