Market Trends Blog

June 29, 2009

The past few months have given me the opportunity to talk "fleet" with a large number of public sector fleet managers at the GFX and NAFA conferences. These conversations have allowed me to take the pulse of public sector fleet management. Based on my conversations, here what's on the minds of government fleet managers.

Tags: budgetary constraints, economy, fleet forecast, GFX, NAFA I&E, public sector fleets

June 15, 2009

Poor spec'ing decisions can result in expensive workers' compensation litigation. The average workers' comp cost for a pushing/pulling injury is $10,175, while the average cost for a lifting/bending incident is $8,989. Under OSHA regs, an employer must provide a workplace (which includes work vehicles and equipment) free from recognized hazards.

Tags: OSHA, safety requirements, spec'ing, workers' compensation, workplace injuries

June 1, 2009

All indications are that new-vehicle orders from government fleets will be down or flat for the 2010 model-year. Many fleet budgets have been decimated by dramatic decreases in tax revenues. The downturn in the economy has caused many user departments to scale back new-vehicle and equipment orders. Also, widespread government layoffs have created a surplus of vehicles available for reassignment, deferring the need to acquire new vehicles.

Tags: 2010 vehicle purchases, city fleets, county fleets, fleet buying inclinations, new-vehicle orders, university fleets

May 18, 2009

Do you service customers or users? If you think this is semantics, then you have the wrong mindset. Promising good customer service is not the same as delivering it. To be successful in today's environment, it is critical to create a shop culture of providing high-quality service that provides an unwavering focus on the internal customer. Raising the bar for customer service starts not with the technicians, but with the fleet manager.

Tags: customer service, fleet operations , service technicians

May 4, 2009

Exemplary fleet managers rise above the level of simply managing day-to-day work and are goal-oriented in all aspects of fleet management. They practice strategic fleet management, which stresses the importance of achieving objectives and the use of metrics to benchmark progress. Metrics analyses will identify inefficiencies and allow you to focus on these specific areas. Whether or not your initiatives are successful in rectifying these inefficiencies will be borne out in subsequent metrics.

Tags: benchmarking, fleet management, fleet managers, fleet operations , fleet strategies, management by objective, metrics

April 13, 2009

When people think of fleet management, they typically associate it with asset management. The reality is the majority of a fleet manager's time is often spent dealing with personnel and interdepartmental issues. How you deal with these issues influences shop morale, user department relationships, and management's opinion of your effectiveness as fleet manager. In the final analysis, successful people management equates to successful fleet management.

Tags: asset management, business relationships, communication, constructive criticism, fleet management, people management, successful fleet managers, workplace communication

March 30, 2009

As a public sector fleet manager, your primary job is managing assets and services provided to user departments. However, as some fleet managers can attest, as much as 60 percent of their time is consumed by personnel issues. In many respects, this is the hardest part of being a fleet manager. Here are real-world suggestions on how to deal with these personnel issues.

Tags: effective management, employee interaction, employee morale, execution, fleet manager , operating strategies, proactive

March 16, 2009

The current economic situation is forcing public sector fleet managers to take a hard look at how they operate their fleets and make adjustments to cope with budgetary shortfalls. Savvy fleet managers know their local and state tax revenue forecasts for the immediate and long-term future. These fleet managers have contingency budget strategies planned before upper management directs them to cut costs or reduce capital purchases.

Tags: budgets, challenges, economy, fuel costs, strategies

February 23, 2009

On Feb. 17, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $789 billion economic stimulus legislation is comprised of $507 billion in spending programs and $282 billion in tax relief. The legislation includes significant new funding for fleets, such as $300 million for diesel emission retrofit grants; $300 million to establish a grant program through the DOE's Clean Cities Program; and $300 million for acquisition of energy-efficient vehicles by the federal fleet

Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Economic Stimulus, fleets

February 16, 2009

How do you prove you are doing a good job? You may think you manage a well-run fleet, but do you have the metrics to substantiate this assertion? If your fleet organization can’t quantify its performance to management and politicians, they, most likely, will not appreciate the value of the services provided. Fleet managers must hold themselves accountable. In fact, fleet managers should embrace increased accountability because it will make you a better fleet manager.

Tags: accountability, metrics, service level agreement

February 2, 2009

Complacency. It is defined as self-satisfaction, especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies. Is this you? Complacency is a real danger to fleet operations, especially well-run fleets.

January 26, 2009

The best managed fleets are those that adhere to a written fleet policy. A common problem is that the fleet manager communicates policy to the users’ managers, but the word doesn’t gets down to the individual drivers and operators. When dealing with driver-related problems, the last thing you want to do is create a new problem in the course of resolving one. The surest way to do so is to make an exception to your fleet’s vehicle and equipment usage policy.

Tags: Fleet Policy, Policy Exceptions

December 23, 2008

Steep declines in tax revenues are resulting in budget cuts at all levels of government, which most likely will persist for the next 12 to 24 months. These budget shortfalls are particularly acute at general fund departments. Adjusting fleet budgets to cope with revenue shortfalls gives fleet managers an opportunity to demonstrate their leadership abilities.

Tags: budget, budget constraints, tax revenue

August 27, 2008

When the price of fuel is low and budgets are flush, the issue of take-home vehicles slips under the public radar. However, today’s elevated fuel prices and stretched budgets are prompting the local media and elected officials to question unnecessary use of government vehicles. As a result, there have been a number of backlashes against take-home vehicles around the country.

Tags: personal-use, take-home vehicles

April 28, 2008

During the past 20 years, I have had the privilege of knowing many great fleet managers. Over the years, I’ve noticed common traits characteristics among these public sector fleet managers. Based on my experience, here are the 14 common traits.

Tags: Fleet Manager Traits, public sector

March 24, 2008

Last November, more than 700 mayors signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in Seattle, committing to reduce carbon emissions in their localities to 7-percent below 1990 levels by 2012. This goal is in line with the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty that seeks to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Fleet operations around the U.S. have stepped up to the plate to help accomplish this goal.

Tags: carbon footprint

March 4, 2008

Is it just me or are demographics of public sector fleet managers turning older? Not only are fleet managers older, so too, are most members of their staff. I visit many fleet operations and this observation is reinforced when I walk the floor of a maintenance facility or the corridors of the main fleet office.

Tags: Age, fleet management, Retirement

December 17, 2007

The City of Coppell, Texas, gets the big picture about fleet safety. It’s not only a dollars-and-cents issue, but also a moral issue of keeping drivers – and the citizens with whom they interact – safe.

Tags: driver's license, MVR

September 11, 2007

Summer and fall are busy times in the fleet industry. There are many fleet meetings and new-model introductions, which provides me with an opportunity to talk “fleet” with a wide variety of fleet managers. At these meetings, I am always impressed by the caliber of public sector fleet managers and the challenges they face.

July 3, 2007

A significant category of unnecessary fleet cost is equipment damage caused by user abuse or neglect. Abuse is by far the most expensive form of equipment failure. Fleet managers tell me there is no limit to the ways equipment can be abused.

April 10, 2007

Reducing the number of preventable accidents presents a huge opportunity to reduce fleet costs. The industry average cost to repair a fleet vehicle involved in an accident is $1,848. Nowadays, even the simplest fender bender costs $500 or more. When other accident costs are included, such as loss of use, liability, workers’ comp, and other indirect expenses, the total cost exceeds $10,000 per incident.

February 5, 2007

Whether technicians should be allowed to work on their personal vehicles after-hours is a controversial issue among public sector fleet managers. Some fleet operations allow it, while others are adamantly opposed. Here are the pro and con arguments.

December 19, 2006

To whom should fleet report? This question elicits spirited and opposing recommendations. One reason is that Fleet Operations is crucial to fulfilling the mission of many users. Fleet Operations services all facets of government ranging from separate taxing agencies such as Fire and Police, to enterprise funds such as utilities and solid waste. One of the largest customers is Public Works, a key reason why many fleet managers report to its director.

October 24, 2006

The majority of public sector fleets do not employ service level agreements between the fleet department and internal customer departments. Although these types of agreements are relatively commonplace between commercial fleets and fleet service providers, only in the past 10 years have they begun to emerge in the public sector.

April 4, 2006

The acute shortage of skilled technicians promises to become more severe in the coming years as vehicles and equipment become more complex. With the increasing integration of computers into automotive design, the skill set required by technicians is ratcheting upward.