September 20188 CHALLENGES IN MANAGING AIRCRAFT AND BUS FLEETI have now done a full circle in my career, having started in military aerospace, then to public transport and back to military aerospace. The common question I was asked when I was managing a fleet of over 1200 buses was `how did you end up there, buses are so different to aircraft'. Well `yes' and `no'. Obviously, buses and aircraft are quite different in appearance and application. However, they are both assets that require operations, maintenance and engineering. On that level they are no different. And both require fleet management systems to support these activities. While much can be said on this topic, I will briefly share my experience of the complexities of fleet management.Whether it is an aircraft fleet or bus fleet, each has its own levels of complexity that an IT system must be able to handle. I recall listening through presentations by ERP providers that were contending to provide a solution to an organisation that provides a wide range service offering, including public transport. While they said their products could provide a public transport solution, it was clear that they had never done that before, nor had they adequately researched the industry (hint). While their products could manage the asset in terms of maintenance, cost management and supply chain, managing a large public transport bus fleet is much more than that. Each bus model is different (fuel type, seating capacity, length, licence requirements), each depot is different (fuel type, capacity, location, garage personnel experience and qualifications), each route is different (service frequency, stopping frequency, busway/suburban, flat, hilly) and each driver is different (authorisations, roster type, home depot, medical restrictions, award and EBA conditions). All this interacts and occurs under a number of pieces of legislation, different hourly and daily traffic conditions, and unexpected events (such as accidents and driver illness), over the life of a bus (up to about 20 years), while carrying around 60 passengers per bus, each with certain expectations. An IT system that can manage such complexity, not only for fleet management over the long term, but for BY SCOTT WHITE, MANAGER OF CAPABILITY PORTFOLIO, AIRBUS AUSTRALIA PACIFICIN MY V EWSeptember 20188
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