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SEARCHMENUSEARCHIn the straight laced world of government work it is not very often government fleets are thought of as innovators or trend setters. This lethargic city garage mentality must be broken at the back, its head severed and body burned to ashes and scattered to the four winds so that no trace of complacency remains.
Read More →One of the biggest challenges in a small fleet is credibility. Every one is a mechanic right??? Although it is likely true that most people in your organization have managed a few vehicles or at least some of their own vehicles. The natural trend for the department heads is to treat a piece of equipment like it was their own.
Read More →Public sector fleets want to be environmentally friendly, but are often hamstrung trying to balance contradicting political, environmental, and financial issues when procuring green vehicles. At the upcoming 2011 Green Fleet Conference, we will announce our 40 Sustainability All-Stars, who prove that where there is a will, there is way to green your fleet, despite the obstacles.
Read More →Return On Investment is just another fancy term for Cost Vs. Benefit Analysis. You analyze a proposal which claims if you purchase a specific product or service you would eventually gain savings or revenues that exceeded your initial investment. That’s all well and good, but like I said in my first post, not everything is as it seems and some ROIs are based upon completely fictitious and grandiose assumptions.
Read More →Every function of a fleet operation is centered on money: acquisition of vehicles/equipment, fuel, maintenance, facilities, salaries, parts inventory, shop supplies, tools, etc. As we all know, the No. 1 problem today (and for the foreseeable future) is the lack of money due to depressed sales and property tax revenues. In an era of belt tightening, there are a number of unintended consequences of efforts to stem budgetary shortfalls.
Read More →I have decided to add some additional content to my blog which I call “ROI or BS” (and you know what BS stands for). The blog entries will consist of analyzing Return-On-Investment (ROI) and performance claims from various vendors that I receive from time to time. Some of the claims I analyzed were compiled to out-rightly deceive, while others conjured-up preconceived assumptions of my operational profile and costs. I will not mention the specific names of the companies or products that I evalua
Read More →With todays reduced manpower and funding levels, several fleet managers that I know have extended their PM Service intervals as a means of coping with their new reality. If you have the time, please respond to the brief questions listed below.
Read More →Many fleet managers are under-appreciated by user groups, senior management, and elected officials. Sometimes, the fleet manager is at fault because he or she does a poor job of promoting themselves and their department to management. When money is scarce and budgets are tight or need to be cut, fleet managers quickly find themselves on the radar screen of elected officials, the local news media, and taxpayer watchdog groups. How do you prove you are doing a good job?
Read More →Beyond what we already have to deal with, reduced manpower and shrinking budgets, there is another element that is making our jobs (or at least my job) more difficult…Public Sector Unions.
Read More →We have all heard of the potential negative consequences of extending our equipment lifecycles to accommodate current budget pressures. For the most part, fleet managers tend to express their concerns about an aging fleet in terms of increased workloads, parts costs, and reduction of return on investment. But there is another aspect to maintaining an aging fleet…the need to attract and retain an experienced workforce.
Read More →What do the cities of Santa Rosa, Calif.; Castle Rock, Colo.; and Sacramento, Calif., have in common? All of them successfully employ fleet advisory boards. The key reason fleet advisory boards are successful is because they offer customers/users a say in managing the fleet. In addition, a fleet advisory board, by its very nature, institutionalizes ongoing communication and helps increase customer understanding of the constraints and challenges facing fleet operations.
Read More →In many instances, when you ask someone what their net worth is they will respond in a monetary value. However, your net worth is not only the amount of money you have in the bank, but also the cumulative value of your skills and abilities that benefits an employer.
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