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Motor Coach Industries (MCI), a U.S. subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), one of the world’s largest independent global bus manufacturers, has launched several tools to help operators clean and disinfect their buses for a successful restart.
Over the past several weeks, MCI’s engineering and field support teams and colleagues from sister company NFI Parts have been meeting with suppliers, talking with customers, and serving on industry task force committees. As a result, these efforts have allowed MCI to establish best practices in cleaning, disinfecting, distancing, and other protection protocols to share with its customers.
Resources available on MCI’s website include:
NFI Parts Clean & Protect Product Guide
NFI Parts’ Clean and Protect Product Guide offers the most requested product for most MCI models with focus on next-level cleanliness and virus-transmission mitigation solutions. The guide (found online here) consolidates current MCI and NFI Parts options for safe and successful operations organizing them under these four pillars:
- Distancing: Products that enable the driver to isolate from passengers and passengers to isolate from one another, including high driver shields as well as partitions to protect drivers.
- Disinfecting: Products that kill viruses, bacteria, etc. on hard surfaces and in the air such as hard-to-find fogging systems for maximum disinfecting effectiveness.
- Air Quality: Products that reduce unwanted airborne particulates, viruses, and bacteria.
- On MCI coach models, the HVAC system circulates in fresh, outside air every 10 minutes.
- Air recirculated through an anti-microbial MERV 8 rated filter media removes respiratory droplets and kills pathogens.
- PPE: Products that are considered personal protective equipment such as face masks and hand sanitizer, along with dispensers are also available from NFI Parts.
“One of the things MCI has been doing in collaboration with NFI Parts is to help evaluate what is effective against COVID-19, what helps meet CDC guidance, what is available, is it financially and operationally viable, and will it inspire passengers to ride,” said MCI Vice President of Pre-Owned Coach, Product Planning and Marketing Brent Maitland. “The NFI Parts team has been working diligently to develop these solutions, advising operators, and quickly meeting their demands.”
Maitland points to the increased use of UV-C lights mounted in the HVAC compartment to help kill pathogens and driver barriers available through NFI Parts. “These can either be installed by the owner, at MCI Service Center locations, or on models as they come through the MCI production line,” he said. “Still, the most effective measures are found in CDC’s guidance. Handwashing, distancing, wearing a mask, and cleaning common touch barriers remain part of the guidance. Our goal is to have products and tools that support operators’ efforts.”
MCI’s Coach Disinfecting Protocol Checklist
Following coach-cleaning and maintenance procedures practiced at MCI Service Centers as well as guidelines from the CDC and Health Canada, MCI has created a comprehensive checklist (found here) for keeping motorcoaches clean and sanitized in most operating situations including short movements on lots, pre-trip preparations, and end-of-day maintenance.
“We’ve created this list in a template format so operators can edit it for their own use with specific practices required by their own maintenance and driving teams and as a training tool,” said MCI Director of Product Planning and Sales Engineering Brent Danielson. “The checklist also provides Clean-In/Clean-Out touchpoints that are now necessary as COVID-19 precautions continue.”
MCI’s Extreme Clean Commitment Toolkit
To help operators share their enhanced cleaning practices with customers, MCI has created the Extreme Clean Commitment Toolkit (found here) encompassing enhanced cleaning procedures, products, and equipment that will optimize passenger and driver protection. The toolkit is ready to use or can be customized.
MCI Webinar: Clean, Disinfect, Protect
For operators wanting additional guidance, MCI Academy—the company’s training division—has a video replay of its Clean, Disinfect, and Protect June 2 webinar, which reviews optimal cleaning practices and the latest advice for customers restarting their fleets. The video replay is now archived online via the MCI Academy’s Learn Management System (LMS) course code 19.111. If you don’t have an LMS account, email scott.crawford@mcicoach.com to register.
For more information about MCI, visit mcicoach.com.
[06.11.20]
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UrbanBCN Worldwide CEO David Uziel brings his company into the transcontinental air space with the introduction of his newly announced private aviation network, UrbanAir.
UrbanBCN CEO Dave Uziel
Uziel’s initial jet acquisition, a 12-seat Bombardier Challenger 604, reflects his commitment to meeting the growing demand for private travel in the wake of the global pandemic. In tandem with the company’s launch of rigorous COVID-19-related health and safety protocols, UrbanAir intends to provide a proactive and competitive option for those seeking enhanced flexibility and care within the luxury charter arena.
The fortuitous idea was brewing for about a year as a way to diversify his San Francisco-based business, but interest heightened after Uziel’s corporate clients expressed a reticence to travel on commercial airlines now and in the foreseeable future due to concerns about the virus.
“Time-saving access to smaller airports, adaptable flight schedules, and the ability to remain socially distanced will be vital considerations in the coming months,” says Uziel. “And these are things major airlines just can’t provide. Our goal is to make air travel more streamlined, and our clients more confident, as we collectively move forward.”
UrbanAir’s access to more than 25 small, medium, and heavy jets creates a range of accommodation options for passengers. All private charters are equipped with a multimedia entertainment system, forward galley with refreshment center, and in-flight WiFi.
Although business has been tough across the board for practically every transportation company worldwide as travel has been restricted, Uziel is hopeful for the future. He says that he received more than two dozen requests less than 24 hours after announcing the new service to his clients in early June—a sign that people want to travel but are willing to do so with trusted partners.
“This is bigger than me; this is my dad’s legacy. I can’t give up,” says Uziel, who took over the family business in 2009 upon his father’s retirement.
Visit urbanbcn.com or send an email to air@urbanbcn.com for more information.
[06.09.20]
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- Category: Industry News
Passenger safety has been a longtime tenet in the chauffeured transportation industry, but the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged business owners to take safety to a new level. As the world moves forward and adapts, operators in our industry are rushing to find solutions that can reassure nervous passengers while simultaneously keeping their teams and families safe without exposing them to dangerous chemicals.
PuraArmor—a company founded by industry veterans Shawn Glasgow of Peak Limousine, Eric Devlin of Premier Transportation, and Brian O’Neill, who has more than a decade of experience in bus sales and other industry products—seeks to solve that problem. After painstakingly researching and testing the various products available, the PuraArmor founders put together an all-in-one package that not only meets their own needs, but can streamline the process for fellow business owners in any industry.
Shawn Glasgow
“I, like every operator, was concerned about COVID. I was deep into my search for the right equipment to sanitize my vehicles for the long-term—it’s something I’ll implement forever to protect against the common cold, the flu, and COVID—when I found EMist and HydroLyte,” says Glasgow. “I know this is a system that can accommodate the cleaning needs of every black car or motorcoach service quickly, efficiently, and effectively.”
The package includes the EMist EPIX360 handheld electrostatic sprayer, which is cordless; requires only one person for application; can cover any size vehicle in just minutes; and is made in the U.S. PuraArmor pairs the sprayer with HydroLyte disinfectant, a non-toxic salt solution called hypochlorous acid that has been used safely in high-trafficked areas such as hospitals, firehouses, schools, and transit hubs for decades. The electrostatic process releases tiny droplets (75 microns) that bind to each other and coat surfaces like an armor to kill germs, fungi, and viruses in minutes. The unit is about the size of a cordless drill and weighs four pounds when the eight-ounce tank is full.
Brian O'Neill
“Six months ago, no one was worrying about disinfecting vehicles. Today, nobody wants to get into one,” says O’Neill. “It’s about giving customers peace of mind that the vehicle was germ-free prior to them getting in. This is a product that applies to the masses, including residential applications, because it’s safe to use around anyone.”
Additionally, stickers to indicate that the vehicle has been sanitized are available to further reassure clients that their safety is your top priority.
Protecting their metal was also important: O’Neill also says that the hospital-grade HydroLyte solution isn’t corrosive nor will it damage or stain fabrics or sensitive electronics. Also, because the product is non-toxic, it doesn’t require protective gear like UV wands or other sanitization methods.
Eric Devlin
“The key is that the sprayer distributes the solution into all the hard-to-reach and overlooked nooks and crannies,” says Devlin, who is also using the sprayer to disinfect his office and garage. “It kills viruses in a matter of minutes.” He adds that the EMist sprayer uniformly coats the surface and wastes less disinfectant, two problems that have plagued other sprayers.
“One eight-ounce bottle covers about 4,000 square feet, which is 200 percent more than any other product on the market,” says O’Neill. “For comparison, other sprayers have a 32-ounce tank that covers just about half of what EMist can cover, so more efficiency means the savings can be astronomical.”
The partners are currently building their website at puraarmor.com. Until then, visit PuraArmor’s Facebook page, send an email to connect@puraarmor.com, or call 704.893.8100.