OMNIplus BusTech Challenge 2023/24

• The tension is palpable: At the sixth BusTech Challenge, Daimler Buses gave awards to the best of the best among bus mechanics and technicians
• More than 500 participants from OMNIplus service outlets in 19 European countries
• Gold medal: Thomas Schlatter from Switzerland is Europe’s best bus mechanic
• Top service from top bus mechanics: OMNIplus guarantees premium service of Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses

On 25 April 2024, the OMNIplus service brand from Daimler Buses once again highlighted the high standard of its service quality and its service personnel. At the award ceremony in Munich, Thomas Schlatter from Switzerland was awarded the gold medal and the title "BusTech Master Europe" as the winner of the BusTech Challenge 2023/24. The silver medal for 2nd place was awarded to Lukas Schindler from Germany. Jan van Steeg from the Netherlands won the bronze medal.

An internal competition with the motto "Compete with friends", the BusTech Challenge was held for the sixth time this year. Over 500 bus mechanics and technicians from authorised OMNIplus service centres in 19 European countries took part. To get exceptional placings in the BusTech Challenge, participants must deliver top performance in both theory and practice.

"We are thrilled by the tremendous response to the BusTech Challenge 2023/24 in the OMNIplus service centres and the extensive expertise of the employees working in the after-sales department at Daimler Buses. This demanding competition not only serves to strengthen our employee network but also underscores the importance of motivation and appreciation of those taking part," emphasises Mirko Sgodda, Head of Marketing, Sales and Customer Service at Daimler Buses.

“BusTech Master”: Top-level performance in theory and practice
For many years, OMNIplus has been selecting the best bus and coach mechanics and technicians in Europe, usually every two years, and honouring the respective national winners with the title of "BusTech Master". In the grand finals, the national champions must demonstrate their practical skills in maintaining and repairing city, intercity, and coach buses from the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brands. The overall winner will be honoured with the title "BusTech Master Europe". Employees from all OMNIplus service centers and authorised partners in Europe are eligible to participate in the BusTech Challenge.

The competition process is straightforward and transparent. The challenge consists of three digital qualifying rounds to determine the individual national champions and the final round. This two-day finals competition brings together national champions from across Europe. It traditionally takes place in Neu-Ulm. To ensure fairness across all service centres, specific questions and tasks involving high-voltage technology, hydrogen, and fuel cell technology are excluded.

Information on the format of BusTech Challenge 2023/24
Beginning in Autumn 2023, more than 500 registered participants were tested on their theoretical knowledge of bus and coach technology - maintenance and repair, in a challenging 24-question online questionnaire test. This was followed by a second online test with a further 24 questions for the 200 employees who had successfully passed Qualifying 1. In the third online test - a live online session - the "BusTech Masters" from each country were determined.

After their success in the online question rounds, the 18 national champions among the OMNIplus bus mechanics and technicians competed against each other in the final round in Neu-Ulm on 23rd and 24th April 2024. In this final round, they demonstrated their extensive practical expertise and tackled the tricky tasks across various technical areas with skill and aplomb. At eleven stations, the mechanics faced a variety of challenges, such as solving problems with a bus's air-conditioning system, diagnosing and fixing the cause of electrical faults, and repairing doors on city buses. The first to third-place winners of the BusTech Challenge 2023/24 were able to win attractive prizes such as workshop trolleys or workshop cases.