In the public fleet industry much has been said about Fully Burdened Labor Rates (FBLR). For some, it is the basis by which they measure their cost competitiveness with the private sector. However, during my tenure as a fleet manager one thing is for sure; all FBLRs are not created equal! Contrary to popular belief there are many different methods of computing a FBLR. As public fleet managers we would like to believe that we are standardized with our public sector counterparts, but that is far from reality. Most of us don’t even realize the large amount of variables that are currently being employed throughout the industry. This small survey is designed to help understand and define the variables and methods used. Once compiled, the data will be made available to Government Fleet for all to see.

Please take the time and respond to this posting. Your input will be greatly appreciated and benefit the entire fleet community.

1. Which of your shop personnel do you require to post time to a work order? Example: Technicians, Supervisors, etc.

2. Do you require your supervisory (or other maintenance personnel) to log the same hourly requirements as your regular technicians? If not, do they have a different hourly requirement?

3. What is your required yearly productivity percentage (70%, 80%, etc.?)

4. What is your calculated yearly hourly requirement for each technician (direct labor) to reach your productivity goal?

5. Do you have variable labor rates that are dependent on the type of work performed?

6. Do you have variable labor rates that are dependent on the classification of the person conducting the work (example: laborer vs. technician vs. supervisor)? If so, please specify?

7. Do your night shift (pay differential) technicians have a higher labor rate?

8. Do any of your non-maintenance (indirect labor) employees apply labor time to a work order? Example: parts employee adds time for the procurement of parts, or administrative staff adds time for the processing of sublet repair work.

9. Do you apply Activity Based Costing in your FBLR? If so, please explain your labor distribution method.

10. Do you charge any administrative fees (per piece of equipment or vehicle) to cover or reduce the impact of your overhead costs on your FBLR? If so, please explain the various charges.

11. Do you charge any service fees? For example: up-fitting, sublet repair coordination, specification writing, disposal fee, etc.

12. Do you segregate the overhead expenses for your parts and fuel operations into a separate markup rate?

13. Do you employ a flat-rate program?

14. What overhead expenses are not computed into your FBLR?

15. Please include any other variables that are not listed above.

Thanks in advance!