Award-winning Arriva bus apprentice technician rebuilds engine single-handed01 October 2018
Kelsie Dugmore, a fourth-year engineering apprentice at Arriva Cannock, singlehandedly rebuilt a six-cylinder 6.7-l Cummins ISB engine at the bus operator’s Jesmond (Newcastle) engine shop.
Her two-week project was part of an Arriva initiative to send every apprentice technician in the business to the facility. The scheme, which so far has included most North-East apprentices, is now being rolled out nationwide.
The Jesmond engine shop, which employs four technicians, rebuilds 40 engines per year (Cummins, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, DAF and Scania) for the bus operator with routes over many parts of the UK. Supervised by a technician, Dugmore stripped the engine, did an assessment – in this case, correctly diagnosing as a fuel injection issue – then ordered the parts, did some machining and rebuilt the engine to the manufacturer's specification.
Dugmore, who was the top-scoring DVSA Inspection Apprentice in the 2018 IRTE skills challenge, and runner-up mechanical apprentice in 2017, volunteered for the post. Asked for his impressions of her, facility manager David York said: “It's a case of, if someone is interested, they'll learn. She was very keen. She is a valuable part of the team.” Dugmore also took advantage of the traditional privilege of the rebuilder, choosing the colour of paint used in the final engine spray coat.
Author
Will Dalrymple
Related Companies
Arriva Midlands Ltd
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