Fleet Managementby Tom Borman

• Preventive maintenance program (PM)

• Equipment chargeback rates

• Tracking of equipment operating costs

• Repair and diagnosis of equipment

• Training of technicians

• Measure fleet availability & downtime

• Statutory and regulated inspections

• Utilization tracking

• Technician productivity

• Parts inventory management

Preventive Maintenance Program (PM)

• Mileage or hour limit

• Month limit

• Follow anufacturer’s recommendations

• Technicians trained in detailed procedures

• Quality parts and materials

Equipment Chargeback Rates

• Review annually

• Must recover your actual operating cost fully burdened

• Includes overhead and fuel cost

Tracking of Equipment Operating Costs

• Computer software to keep track of the costs

• Must manage and audit data entry to insure accurate data

• Meter reading most important

Repair and Diagnosis of Equipment

• Qualified technicians

• ASE Certification

• Strong basic training

• Quality diagnostic testing equipment

• Updated versions of cartridges

• Shop manuals/electronic shop manuals

Training of Technicians

• Technology is moving faster every year

• Technicians need to keep up with technology

• Manufacturer’s training limited

• Specialized training companies

Measure Fleet Availability & Downtime

• How long does it take you to get a vehicle in the shop?

• How long are you waiting for parts?

• Do you need more technicians?

• Do you need a bigger shop?

• Do you need special equipment?

Statutory and Regulated Inspections

• Smog Inspections (annually)

• BIT Inspections (every 90 days)

• Diesel Opacity Testing (annually)

• Diesel Particulate Filter Maintenance (annually)

• Compressed Natural Gas Tank Inspections (45 day and 3 Years)

Utilization Tracking

• How many of your vehicles are used on a regular basis?

• Do you have a policy for usage limits?

• How do you track usage?

Technician Productivity

• Are you scheduling correctly?

• Needed to evaluate training needs of your staff.

• Do you need new testing equipment?

Parts Inventory Management

• Know the value of your inventory

• How fast is it turning over?

• How much do you need on the shelves

• Is there excessive downtime due to parts not stocked?

• Are they being posted to the work orders?

Business Plan

• A resume for your operation• Helps market your operation to the decision

makers. • Helps you evaluate how your operation is

working. • Facilitates strategic thinking and goal setting• Provides an unbiased perspective on how well

your operation is meeting its goals.

Business Plan (cont)

• Vision and mission statement• What services fleet provides• Summarize how you do business• Key performance measures and trends toward

meeting targets• Provide a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats (SWOT) analysis to assess where fleet is and where it’s headed. (www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot)

Service Level Agreements

• Identifies parties involved• Set forth the purpose of a service agreement• State the agreement between parties• Identify administrator and program

activators• Term of the agreement and how to renew

Service Level Agreements

• Failure to perform conditions

• Termination clause

• Hours of service

• Define fees

• List locations of shops

• Outline areas of responsibility for provider, customer and safety.

Replacement, Specifications and Procurement

• Determine what units need replacement

• Consult with the customer about the use of the vehicle to establish accurate specifications

• Develop bid specifications

• Work with purchasing to award bid

Replacement, Specifications and Procurement

This is to establish a standard by which qualifying vehicles are given a numbered count total to assist in prioritizing replacement.This is based on the APWA Vehicle Replacement Guide August 2001.Section 5 Process of selecting units to be replaced. This system uses a weighted points system based on age, usage, type of service, reliability, maintenance and repair costs and overall condition of the vehicle.

Many fleet organizations have developed a weighted point system that mixes factors cited above into a formal review process. This has the advantage of taking most of the politics out of the replacement process because all the stakeholders understand the factors being considered.

The following is the point system I propose to evaluate replacement needs.

Age One point is given for each year of age, based on inservice date Under 18 points Keep unitUsage One point is given for each 10,000 miles or 2000 reported PWACAS hours 18 to 23 points Keep unitType of Service One point for Sedans A and Trucks A ( Admin or Inspection Services) 24 to 28 Points Qualifies for replacement

Two points for Trucks B & C ( M&O Services) Above 28 Needs immediate considerationThree points for Trucks D and greater.Four points for Heavy Off Road Equipment

Maint and Repair One Point for repair cost under the Class avgThree points for repair cost above Class Avg.Five Points for total life cost greater then actual purchase price.

Condition One to Five points based on the overall condition of the unit with 5 being poor condition.

The above points system is used to determine the vehicles which should be replaced that year. There needs to be a replacement program setup to define the age and meterrequirements for replacement considerations. This replacement program would set up a depreciation schedule based on the years the vehicle is estimated to be in-serviceto allow for the collection of funds to cover replacement cost when the age of the equipment reaches the age established by a replacement program. Based on a Survey by the APWA, on life cycles for replacement programs, here are samples of how Alameda County Public works compares. Based on the suggested replacement list.

Class of vehicles APWA ACPWA APWA ACPWA Class of vehicles APWA ACPWA APWA Avg. ACPWA AvgReplacement List only Age Age Miles/Hours Miles Hours Total Fleet Age Age Annual Meter Miles Hours

Sedans 8 14 91,229.0 57,558.0 Sedans 8 6.5 11,403.6 6227.4Light Trucks 9 13 93,546.0 88,469.5 Light Trucks 9 7.8 10,394.0 7713.8Medium Duty Truck 10 12 104,000.0 82,480.0 Medium Duty Truck 10 10.4 10,400.0 7279.2Heavy Trucks 11 15 118,497.0 115,370.0 Heavy Trucks 11 11.7 10,772.5 9689.7Heavy Equipment 12 22 8,553.0 5,592.0 Heavy Equipment 12 14 712.8 560.0Trailers 15 25 N/A N/A Trailers` 10 9.2 N/A N/AAvg Age on Replacement list 16.8

Based on the survey results Alameda County Public Works keeps vehicles longer and the avg annual miles driven is less then other publicagencies. This could be explained by the relative size of the County to other Counties with Alameda County being a smaller County in land size.