TULSA, OK – To gear up for school start-up, National Express School (NEXS) maintenance team members recently participated in IC Bus University’s three-day Level One (Basic) and Level Two (Advanced) training sessions for school buses. Several sessions for each training level were offered throughout the summer. Three groups of NEXS’s team members attended the Level One training sessions, and one group participated in the Level Two training sessions. Hands-on training sessions were led by representatives from various vendors that covered a wide range of topics. Summertime is the perfect opportunity for our team members to go “back to school” and attend training sessions such as IC Bus’ to enhance their skills to provide safe, dependable service for the upcoming school year.
Level One Training topics included:
- IC Bus Tulsa Plant Tour
- International® Gasoline Engine
- International® Diesel Engine
- Cummins® Diesel Engine
- Allison® Transmission
- Electrical 101
- IC Bus Service Portal and Parts Online
- Mitsubishi Starter and Alternator Systems
- Bendix® Electronic Stability Control and Collision Mitigation
- BraunAbility® Lift
- IC Bus® Electric Bus Overview
Level Two Training topics included:
- International® Gasoline Engine Diagnostics
- International® Diesel Engine Training and Diagnostics
- Cummins® Diesel Engine and Diagnostics
- Advanced Electrical and Diagnostics
- Trans/Air® HVAC System Diagnostics
- Mitsubishi Starter and Alternator Systems and Diagnostics
- BraunAbility® Wheelchair Lift Diagnostics
- IC Bus® Electric Vehicle Overview
In addition to the training sessions, attendees had the opportunity to tour IC Bus’ standard school bus and electric vehicle assembly plant, where they learned about the overall assembly process of both types of vehicles.
A Skills Competition was held to complete the Level Two training session, and we are proud to share that our team members were part of the winning team. Attendees were broken into four groups of ten and tasked with finding diagnostic faults on five buses that were set up by instructors. These faults included Cummins, PSI Propane, Air Conditioning, Advanced Electrical, and Braun lift, and of the five tests, two were timed.
“These training sessions are always an invaluable experience for our team members and having them just prior to school start-up allows our team to further develop and brush up on their skills. They truly appreciated the training sessions because it allowed them to elevate their expertise to an even higher level,” said Regis Rock, Manager of Technician Development at National Express. “Our team members are the best of the best. In addition to many years of experience, most that attended are ASE certified, including multiple ASE Masters. We are very fortunate to work with such talented individuals who continuously transcend and cultivate industry standards while always keeping safety top of mind.”