Unmanned aircraft can perform a variety of critical law enforcement missions; just make sure you have community support and federal permission.
With fewer in-house resources available to fleet managers than ever, a key remedy is to outsource what can't be done internally. However, once the contract is signed, performance must be measured, and vendors held accountable.
While CNG can be a cost-efficient alternative fuel, it's also an expensive investment that needs to be implemented correctly. Here, a fleet manager discusses lessons learned from mistakes made with a real CNG fleet implementation and the expensive results of the these mistakes.
The open-end, TRAC lease allows fleet managers a great deal of flexibility in managing depreciation. One manifestation of that flexibility is allowing fleet managers to amortize vehicles based on vehicle class and usage.
In the past few weeks, several veteran fleet managers have vented to me, voicing frustration with their directors’ micromanaging fleet operations. Some of these requests and orders run contrary to best fleet practices and may even be politically motivated.
I would venture to say that all fleets experience some level of rework. While we all strive to obtain zero percent rework, the reality is that we will encounter it from time to time.
Recently, my staff and I concluded a meeting that I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to. Our meeting concerned our utter frustration with having to maintain a constantly aging fleet with limited labor resources. We found ourselves meeting to discuss extending the PM intervals not because it’s optimal for the equipment, but to cope with an increasing labor requirement and a reduced labor force.
I few weeks ago I received an email from a fellow fleet manager who was inquiring about vehicle take home policies from other agencies because he lacked his own policy. Knowing this, I decided to give him a call and provide him with some of my own insight into this topic.
As I was eating Thanksgiving dinner with my family I began to take note of what is really important in my life. Even in these difficult times there are still many things to be thankful for.
Let’s face it, in this economy everyone is losing money and the public sector employee isn’t fairing that well either. Recently, our city employees were forced to endure yet another significant reduction in pay, and with that, their morale has went down the toilet. Now call it coincidental or not, but since then I have noted a marked increase in what appears to be operator abuse.
I think for the most of us, we have left our scheduled and forecasted equipment replacement criteria in the dust years ago. With the exception of a possible few government agencies, nearly everyone I have talked to are replacing equipment on a worst-case basis. While this seems to be the standard way of doing things during these hard economic times, the process of determining which equipment should be replaced is anything but standardized.
Are we rewarding mediocrity? Are we paying for something that should be inspired from personal drive and motivation to be the best in your field? My city, like many others, offers an incentive for technicians to acquire and retain ASE certifications. Under our program, a technician with a total of five ASE certifications is entitled to $75.00 per pay period, as long as their certifications remain current.
I case you haven’t heard yet, the EPA Chief recently signed the “EPA Relief for Fire Trucks and Ambulance Emission Control Systems” document.
There are laws designed to protect employees from employer abuse, but when the employees abuse those laws, it is the employer that is the one left out to dry. Most of you know what I’m talking about… workers compensation and the family medical leave act. I cannot fully express my frustration with employees who milk the system to their advantage, and there is nothing I can do about it.
Have you begun to notice that your employees are becoming more tense and uptight? Do they fly off the handle at even the most insignificant of issues? As I talk to my fleet friends from around the country I am getting a sense of employee frustration at levels I have never seen before in my fleet career.