INDIANAPOLIS — Cummins, Safe Fleet, Allison Transmission and Fogmaker provided STN EXPO Indy attendees with first-hand training on products they use on the job and demonstrated new exciting school bus product offerings.
Cummins, Inc. held two four-hour training classes, one on Saturday and one on Sunday, at the JW Marriott. Cummins representatives provided instruction and answered questions on their school bus engine offerings. Hands-on practice, Q & A sessions and live demonstrations of software followed.
“Take the time when young guys come in, and train them right,” advised a Cummins representative.
On Sunday, Safe Fleet bussed attendees to Victory Field Stadium for a demonstration of their two new product offerings: the Predictive Stop Arm and Right Hand Danger Zone Solutions.
The Predictive Stop Arm uses predictive analytics, advanced sensors and radar technology to sense vehicles approaching. If a vehicle approaches to pass the bus illegally while the stop arm is deployed, amber lights blink. If the vehicle continues on, red lights flash and an audible “Stop—Do not cross” alert is given so students are alerted and stay out of the way. It is being piloted by districts and will be available widely this summer.
The Right Hand Danger Zone protection system identifies students in the Danger Zone so they are not hurt by their own buses. It uses deep-learning video analytic algorithms instead of motion-based algorithms which can have trouble distinguishing between inanimate objects and students. If a student is in the Danger Zone, the school bus driver is notified by a red-lit person icon. When the student moves away to safety, the icon turns green. This system is still in development.
On Monday, Allison Transmission bussed a group to its headquarters near the JW Marriott, the STN EXPO Indy’s host hotel. Buses from Blue Bird, IC Bus and Thomas Built Bus were set up for viewing. During the ride and drive time, attendees experienced how the different buses drove or handled on a short track. Groups were then taken through the Allison plant and shown the locations, machinery and processes used to produce transmissions for school buses, as well as for other vehicles that Allison supplies.
Later that same day, Fogmaker followed up the “Reducing School Bus Fires Through Proper Maintenance & Inspections” workshop led by Joe Scesny and Marshall Casey with an explanation and live demonstration of its fire suppression system.
The pressurized water-based system contains fires within seconds, then eliminates them so they cannot reignite. It can bring engine temperatures down 1,300 degrees in 10 seconds, and can be cleaned off the bus with water.
