Maintenance warning
Page 12
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• Maintenance problems have forced North Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Kenneth Birchall to renew the 17vehicle licence held by longestablished coach operator Tom Jackson (Chorley) for two years only.
Vehicle examiner Alan Singleton told the hearing that he had carried out a maintenance investigation after one of the company's vehicles had been involved in a fatal accident in July. He had examined 13 vehicles, issuing nine prohibitions, six of which had been of immediate effect, for a total of 122 defects. There had been gaps in the inspection records and in the period between March and June a number of vehicles had failed to appear for test appointments. One vehicle, which had arrived 20 minutes late, appeared to have had a great deal of work carried out on it yet it still failed. There had been a drivers' defect reporting system but it had been allowed to lapse.
Singleton agreed with John Backhouse, for the company, that the inquest had cleared both driver and company of any blame for the accident.
Managing director Thomas Jackson said that after the director who had been in charge of maintenance had left the company in January 1987, it had employed a commercial garage to assist its remaining mechanic, and the garage had been responsble for the preparation of vehicles for test. It had become apparent that the arrangement had not been working properly. Another mechanic had been engaged, who had proved unsatisfacto: The company now had the s vice of a freelance mechanic, however, whose task was to inspect the vehicles, maintai and present them for annual test, assisted by the original mechanic.
Robert Widgery, a partnei consultant engineer Transpo: Technical Services, said his firm had been carrying out monthly inspections of the vehicles since 1976, and he 1 pointed out to Jackson earlie in the year that the number • defects found had been risinj He did not feel that the situa tion was as bad as it appearc at first sight. Some of the ga in the inspection records had been explained by vehicles being off the road for major pairs, and he had now asked for that to be recorded so th could account for any gap thi had occurred.
Renewing the licence for o short period only, Birchall sa there had been a complete lapse in management control one of the most important aspects of vehicle operation. Without the assurances givet to him by Jackson and Widgery, the licence would have been in serious jeopard Both had now taken steps to ensure the vehicles were rej ularly examined and monitor( and the keeping of separate: cords should ensure that veh cies did not slip through the net in future.