The transport wing of B.E.S. & T. undertaking operates
buses within the Municipal limits of Greater Bombay and it is presently
extended up to Belapur in Navi Mumbai in northeast direction as well as up to
Bhayander and Teen hath naka at Thane.
In order to keep this bus fleet roadworthy, a Two-Tier System of maintenance is
followed by Transportation Engineering Department. A workshop located centrally
at Tilak road near Khodadad Circle, Dadar acts as one work centre, which
carries out major overhauling of all units, chassis, major body damage repairs
and modification work, replacement of heavy units, reclamation work. This
system facilitates grouping of jobs requiring same process / machines /
equipment's together for better utilization of manpower.
Depot is another work centre, which provides bus services effectively on every
day, carries out preventive maintenance as well as repairs on buses. We have 25
depots located in four zones viz. City, Central, Western, Eastern suburban
zones.
Dadar Workshop
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Dadar workshop has a built up area of 27,170 square meters.
All Unit overhauling, repairing of Body damages, tyre cut repairs, plant &
equipment installation and repairs, reclaimation activities are carried out in
the workshop.
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Following are the important sections of workshop.
Bus body repairs & its ancillary sections
Engine & its ancillary Units
Major Units, Brake, Transmission Units
Electrical Units
Tyre section
Machine Shop & Reclaimation
Chassis overhaul, Repair and Scrapping
Inspection Section & Chemical Lab
Material Control
Work Study section
Photographs of some of the sections:
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Body Shop
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Engine Section
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Major Units Section
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Minor Units Section
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Electrical Section
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Tyre Section
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Machine Shop
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Chassis Repairs
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Material Control
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Considering higher in-house cost i.e. labor cost, many jobs are given to
outside contractors such as Body building, Body repairs, Tyre re-treading, Tyre
cut repairs & reclaimation of spares. This approach is called as Tapered
integration whereby overflows of workload or new activities are carried out
without increasing present manpower.
Operation Wing
Operation wing consists of 25 depots spread over the areas of
greater Mumbai in addition to Bus Control section, Motor vehicle section and
statistical section. For its effective bus operation all the depots carry out
various maintenance practices such as preventive maintenance, unit replacement,
RTO passing, body damage repairs of buses. An imprest stock of various units,
important chassis / bus components is maintained at depot level. Depot replaces
the defective units with the imprest stock units and sends the defective unit
to Material Control section of workshop for repairs.
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Depot Premises
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Transport. Engineering
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Pits for Buses
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In order to curb the menace of air pollution, which is fast deteriorating the
health standards of the citizens of Mumbai, we take special efforts to curb the
amount of smoke emitted by our vehicles. Smoke meters of the latest state of
the art technology are provided in all depots so that the vehicles emitting
excessive smoke are attended immediately at the depot itself.
Bus Control Section
This section in the undertaking primary looks after the
breakdown of the vehicles on the line as well as looks after the repairs of
plant and equipment at the depots. It also acts as coordinator between depots,
central workshop and senior officials of BEST. The smooth functioning &
roadworthiness of the buses on the line is ensured in the minimum amount of
downtime. This section is equipped with wireless sets and the mobile sets are
installed on break down vans located at each depot. This section also deals
with breakdowns of plant, machinery, installed at depots.
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Breakdown Van
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Wrecker
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Wireless Operators
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Project Planning & Development
Technical Training Centre, Wadala
We have our Technical Training Centre situated at Wadala
depot. Training centre is well equipped with models, equipments & latest
training aids. On the job training is imparted to trade apprentices in various
cadres as well as probationary engineers. It also conducts refresher training
programs for supervisory staff / employees. We also have one well-equipped
mobile training van, which goes to the depots and imparts training related to
specific problems of maintenance of different types of bus systems.
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Training Centre
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Model of Engine
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Classroom Training
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Inspection and Chemical-testing Lab:
We have physical and chemical-testing Labs to test the
material as per relevant standard specifications. Physical Testing consists of
Visual inspection, dimensional check, and physical properties like hardness,
tensile strength, breaking strength etc. Chemical testing of materials such as
Lubricants, greases, paints, plastic, rubber seals and hoses, packing material,
etc is carried out by the Chemical Lab. This Lab also monitors field trials on
various grades of lubricants, greases, paints, etc
Research & Development Section:
New Technologies Introduced
Automatic fan belt tensioner & Fan belt alignment gauge.
Hub bearing adjustment tool.
Accelerator cable in place of linkages.
Wheel drag & engine friction measurement for improved KMPL.
Calibrated fuel gauge.
Low sulfur content diesel.
Diesel pre-heater.
Air intake by pass system on CNG buses.
Buses running on Bio Diesel
Bio Diesel trials completed in July 2005. Evalution
report is awaited from Ashok Leyland.
