Training Day - Westport Dallas

As part of the recently-announced new Type A compressed natural gas (CNG) Collins Bus, with the Westport WiNG™ Power System, Westport Dallas staff organized a three-day training session with our partner installers from Olathe Ford during the last week of October. Olathe’s Jeff Johnson, Service Foreman, and Kevin Davis, Installer Technician, joined Westport’s Service Training Manager James Trott along with the Westport installation team on the factory floor to review several essential topics, skills and procedures.

James says the purpose of the training was twofold: an instructional course on how to build the bus and an update in service training on any new programs and diagnostic methods.

“We have a really strict protocol for quality control,” James says. “When they finish building the unit and drive it, they have to monitor the data, capture it, and send it back to us so we can verify it’s within specifications before they ship it.”

Westport's Stefan Yarbrough show's Olathe's Jeff Johnson and Kevin Davis installation and servicing procedures in the
Type A CNG Bus from Collins: here they learn how to remove hardware and start preparing to install the tank saddles.

Led by Westport’s Service Training Manager James Trott, Westport staff reviewed the following essential training topics: 

• Drivability diagnostics
• Understanding of calibrations and how to identify issues
• Complete install etiquette
• Dos and don’ts of manufacturing as a Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM) 
• Part functions 
• Sales and warranty contacts

“Olathe Ford has had a long term relationship with us for years, they are the second largest dealership in the U.S. selling medium duty applications,” James says. “They are the right [installation] partner for us.”

Olathe will be covering warranty service at their facility in Olathe, Kansas. As QVMs, both Westport and Olathe rigorously follow Ford’s specific QVM program requirements for installing the Westport system on Ford vehicles. James notes that the QVM agreement includes training on the product, being able to train other installers and being able to technically and mechanically support the product.

Olathe’s Jeff Johnson moves the jack and rear tank package into position, 

getting ready for the install at the Westport Dallas facility.