CORONA, CA – The City of Corona selected a new fleet management software application to improve the reports it uses, track technician productivity, schedule preventive maintenance, and control costs. Government Fleet spoke with Vince Denman, fleet administrator for the City, about the new system and how it can improve fleet operations.

Denman said Corona’s fleet consists of 453 on-road vehicles, of which 108 are police vehicles, 77 are passenger cars, and 268 are light- and heavy-trucks and trailers. The City also has 16 pieces of off-road equipment and 92 pieces of miscellaneous equipment.

According to Denman, the City selected FleetFocus from AssetWorks for its fleet management software. “The implementation of this system promises to greatly enhance the capability, accuracy, and cost effectiveness of our Fleet Services, Warehouse, and Fire Apparatus sections thus, enabling them to work smarter and function with greater efficiency,” he said.

AssetWorks explained its system tracks data and tasks associated with equipment maintenance, including processing repair and preventive maintenance work orders; tracking operating expenses; and tracking and billing for equipment usage. Its “enterprise purchasing” feature also helps track workflow and data related to buying inventory and capital assets.

“The new software will aid Fleet in the areas of asset control, workload scheduling, productivity tracking, and inventory control,” Denman said. “It will also allow us to develop and track fully burdened costs and improve our reporting abilities. Fleet is looking forward to using these features to reduce maintenance expenditures, and inventory expenses, and increase customer satisfaction. The new software includes customer dashboards that allow employees to track the status of their vehicles while in for maintenance and repair. Downtime will also be minimized due to the improved preventive maintenance scheduling.”

Fleet staff will require training on the new system, and Denman said multiple training on-site sessions are part of the City’s contract with AssetWorks. “Fleet staff will need to be completely retrained on the new software, in the areas of work order flow, PM scheduling, inventory control, report creation, etc., and adjust our operation accordingly,” he said.

Denman said the City expects it to pay for itself within just a few years but to see initial positive results this year. “The expected ROI is three to four years; although we expect to start experiencing savings from the software’s expanded capabilities within six months.”

By Greg Basich