Page 42 - National Express_ GMStands

1.0 Defining Vehicle Parts

Any component which forms part of the build of a vehicle or is fixed to a vehicle, will be considered a ‘part’,
for the purposes of this standard. Specifically, there are some parts which, by the nature of their application,
will need to always be maintained to the same specification and performance as that of the part originally
supplied when the vehicle was new. Such parts, supplied by the Original Equipment Manufacturer, will be
defined herein as ‘OEM parts’. These parts will generally be clearly packaged or marked with the name of
the vehicle supplier e.g. Volvo or Mercedes.

Group Companies are urged, wherever possible, to enter into partnership arrangements with manufacturers
when vehicles are purchased, in order to negotiate and agree a long term, cost effective supply of genuine
parts (generally termed to be a Parts Contract). For older vehicles, or where such an agreement cannot be
reached, Group Companies must have robust processes in place to ensure that parts procurement is
effectively managed.

These processes must prevent the purchase, and subsequent fitment, of any part which imports risk
greater than the part fitted by the original manufacturer. However, some resourcing of parts may create
commercial benefits by reducing overall vehicle life costs. The assessment and safety validation required to
undertake a balanced decision on this commercial benefit is the theme of this standard.

This Group Standard identifies the minimum control processes which must be implemented; these
processes must be adhered to along with any existing audit requirements or local legislative requirements
that must be complied with.

2.0 Defining ‘Safety Critical’ Parts

For the purposes of this Group Standard a ‘safety critical part’ is one which, the failure of, or lack of
adherence to original design criteria, could lead to a loss of control of a vehicle or other major incident (e.g.
a thermal event).

Typical parts which are easy to identify with this definition would include steering joints, brake discs, braking
control ECU’s and other like parts that form a key link in the control system chain. However, some
consumable components such as structural adhesives, thread locking compounds and fixings such as nuts
and bolts will fall in to this category if their application is one which forms part of a safety critical, or control,
system.

It is therefore difficult to cite a fully comprehensive list of such components, but some generally applicable
examples are listed in Appendix A. It is important to note that the parts which form safety critical items may
vary between different applications depending on technology (e.g. Hybrid technology).

Note that the introduction of new vehicles, or new vehicle types, import new risks which may not have been
foreseen at the time of drafting.

Group Companies must therefore ensure that they have a policy that clearly defines how they will
determine the criteria for identifying safety critical parts that are specific to the type of vehicles used in their
operation.

Group Companies must ensure that there is a mechanism in place to update any safety critical parts lists,
as defined by their internal criteria for identification of such parts when any new vehicles are introduced into
the fleet or any new risk identified.

Global Maintenance Standard: Parts Management (Including Safety Critical Parts) 5