Summary

Working as a subcontractor to a consulting engineer, TCIE completed an assessment of inventory management activities for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority bus maintenance garage. To study operations, team members observed bus repair and rebuild operations and interviewed shop personnel and managers. The analysis looked at material flow, storage needs, material handling requirements, physical distance between processing steps and equipment and storage layouts. An existing, computer maintenance management information system was also evaluated to evaluate its inventory tracking ability and optimize its effectiveness. The project also included an ergonomic assessment of the work environment, especially in respect to lifting tasks.