maintenance on CNG vehicles. Facility assessment will involve two steps: first, an evaluation of the fleet to be maintained, and second, a thorough inspection of the existing maintenance facility. The initial part of the evaluation will involve assessing the types of vehicles in the fleet (including potential fleet additions) and the anticipated types of maintenance that will be performed on them. The latter part of the evaluation will include a careful inspection of the existing structure, ventilation, lighting, and heating and electrical systems, all of which may require modification or replacement. Major repair garage:
A maintenance facility in which major repairs are performed, such as engine overhauls, vehicle chassis and body repairs, and similar maintenance work that requires emptying the vehicle’s fuel tank. Any work that involves service to a vehicle fuel system may only be performed in a major repair garage. Minor repair garage: A maintenance facility in which minor repairs are performed, such as lubrication, engine tune-ups, replacement of parts and tires, fluid Facility Needs Assessment changes, and similar maintenance work, that does not require emptying the vehicle’s fuel tank.
Any work Essential first steps in evaluating the use of an existing facility include an analysis of the nature of the mainte nance that will be conducted and the types of vehicles that will be maintained. The types of service conducted within the maintenance facility will dictate the nature and extent of modifications required to comply with the codes and ordinances. that involves service to a vehicle’s fuel system is not permitted in a minor repair garage.
A minor repair garage is a maintenance facility in which minor repairs are performed, such as lubrication, engine tune-ups, replacement of parts and tires, fluid changes, and similar maintenance work, that does not require emptying the vehicle’s fuel tank. Any work that involves service to a vehicle’s fuel system is not permitted in a minor repair garage. The types of service conducted within the facility will dictate the nature and extent of modifications required to comply with codes and ordinances. It is important to note that it is the facility that is cat egorized as major or minor, not the vehicles on which maintenance is performed.
It is important to consider not only the present fleet make-up, but also how the fleet may look in years to come. Usually a CNG fleet grows slowly as convention ally fueled vehicles are replaced; full conversion may take several years. Thus, the maintenance requirements of today may be different in the future. The distinctions of a major repair garage versus a minor repair garage are critical because they define the types of protection needed within the facility and the nature of the maintenance work that may be performed within the facility.
The protection needed for a minor repair garage is generally less extensive and less costly than that required for a major repair garage because of the nature of the work being performed. Fleet and facility managers should carefully evaluate the makeup of the fleets and the work they expect to be performed to determine which type of garage classification best suits their operations. If ANY work classified as major is to be performed, the facility MUST be classified as a major repair garage, regardless of how infrequent or how small the activity.
Classification as a Major or Minor Repair Facility NFPA 30A and its counterparts, the IFC and the IMC, are the primary codes that cover vehicle maintenance facilities and the classification of maintenance garages. NFPA 30A provides specific design and operational requirements based on the type of maintenance per formed within the facility. This code separates the type of maintenance and repair activities into two categories: major and minor. Alternative Approaches A major repair garage is a maintenance facility in which major repairs are performed, such as engine overhauls, vehicle chassis and body repairs, and similar maintenance work that requires emptying the vehicle’s fuel tank.
Any work that involves service to a vehicle fuel system may only be performed in a major repair garage. If a fleet is small, consideration could be given to outsourcing vehicle maintenance to a facility suitably authorized for indoor CNG vehicle repair. For a very small fleet, all maintenance could be performed off site, thereby eliminating the need for any maintenance facility modifications. For these scenarios, a cost-benefit analysis SEPTEMBER 2017 7