It’s All About the Details
Where would you go for an objective assessment of your fleet services — apparatus, equipment and procedures? Most fire chiefs would turn to another chief for the name of an independent, experienced individual who could perform such an in-depth evaluation.
At the Fire Department Safety Officers Association’s Apparatus Symposium last week, Paul Lauria, president of Mercury Associates spoke about the role of a fleet services consultant and what to expect from a consultant. Lauria was hired by the city of Boston to evaluate its fleet-services division after the January 2009 crash that killed Lt. Kevin Kelley.
Lauria explained fleet-management consultants are hired for a variety of reasons. “In good economic times, we do a lot of general fleet-management best-practices studies,” Lauria said. “[We also conduct] fleet cost-analysis studies — and it’s no surprise we’re doing a lot of those during a down economy — as well as fleet downsizing studies.”
Lauria said that departments need a better understanding of fleet management goals — quality versus efficiency — and total costs of ownership. He also stressed of the importance of collaborations between fleet managers and fleet users.
“You can’t have an effective fleet-management program without the end users,” Lauria said. “Fleet management is a shared responsibility.”
Too often, those on the financial side of a department don’t understand the complexities of fleet management, frequently comparing preventive maintenance to their personal vehicles. Even changing replacement cycles to reduce the total cost of a fleet can be difficult to understand.
Many fleet managers began as mechanics and moved up the ladder to fleet management, which is frequently not looked on as a profession. Fleet management involves two distinct management activities — asset management and enterprise management. Non-technicians think about things that affect the assets, such as maintenance repair, acquisition and disposal. But there are enterprise activities that involve the care and feeding of the assets — budget, accounting, risk management, asset management, human resources, information technology — and these can have a profound impact on fleet operations.
“One of the underlying causes of the problems in Boston had to do with human-resources management — tension between the union and the mayor’s administration — and nothing to do with the assets themselves,” Lauria said.
Fleet-management professionals who think only about assets and cannot articulate to management why they need funding to replace apparatus will not be successful, Lauria said. Fleet management is about providing tools to organizations that enable them to do their jobs.
When he first meets with the chief of a department, Lauria asks:
- Is there a designated fleet manager? If not, who organizes the fleet?
- Where did they acquire their fleet-management expertise, such as it is? What else do they manage, if anything?
- Do you have a fleet capital operating budget? How much do you spend a year on your fleet?
- Do you have documented fleet policies and procedures?
Lauria said that he also reviews vehicle assignments for the most cost-effective way to meet the needs. Defining the needs of the vehicles are critical before developing vehicle specifications.
Are you ready for a fleet-management consultant to visit your shop?
