September 2004 APTA

Metro Transit mechanics top international competition for second year in a row

Metro mechanics Leonard Emry, Ryan Stringfellow and Larry Fitzpatrick troubleshoot an air brake board during competition at the International Roadeo

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Roadeo was held last weekend in Atlanta. There were 49 teams of mechanics competing in the maintenance team event representing the best of the best from the United States and Canada. Metro's team of Ryan Stringfellow, Leonard Emry, and Larry Fitzpatrick finished first overall with a score of 1,337, and also had the top score in two of six individual events.

"Ryan, Leonard and Larry certainly typify what people can accomplish when they work in a team environment, said Jim Boon, Metros Vehicle Maintenance manager. Winning this award for a second year is a great achievement, which reflects well on all of our outstanding vehicle maintenance employees at Metro."

For the international competition, Metro's team faced five events with two different drivetrain systems, vehicle air brake components, an air conditioning module, and a coach inspection. The team also took a written knowledge test. The combined score of these events determined the winners.

The competition is a timed, troubleshooting event that pits the mechanics against different parts of a bus that have been intentionally "bugged" with the kinds of problems vehicle maintenance workers might encounter on the job. Only for the competition, the problems are designed to be more difficult than normal to detect and fix.

In addition to the mechanics, Metro bus driver Michael Grady finished 47th out of 79 contestants in the driving competition. With the combined operator and maintenance team score of 1,790 points, Metro finished 12th in the overall transit agency competition.