Fleet managers hold keys to reducing government costs

Selling the value of the fleet to politicians and fellow department heads is getting easier, in part, because of the tough fiscal times. A November Harris Interactive survey of 52 mayors found that 65 percent of municipal chiefs say they continue to seek fee increases while decreasing services to make ends meet. Harris’ survey also determined that 90 percent of mayors are anxiously seeking new revenue sources other than taxes, while 52 percent anticipate that they will be decreasing or cutting services to meet financial targets in their next budgets. The poll also found that municipal services keep taking a beating in the face of the underperforming U.S. economy, with 71 percent of mayors saying they had already cut services in most areas, including reduced maintenance for city parks, reduced hours at libraries and recreational facilities, and cutting staff and other services.

With that type of pressure continuing to build on the fiscal bottom line of many cities and counties, it provides an opportunity for fleet managers to step up and display — in hard dollars and cents — why they can be an extremely valuable resource, Weichman says. “For example, in the past during better economic times, it was common practice to equip a vehicle with items that were seldom used,” he explains. “Part of the value of a professional fleet manager is to be the voice of reason — the expert in the room — and show the cost impact of doing this. These items add cost, weight, a strain on the vehicle, and when not used according to manufacturers’ guidelines, can cause problems.”

Spec’ing vehicles for various municipal tasks, of course, remains at the heart of the fleet manager’s job. Today, however, it’s important to spell out in black and white how vehicle specs benefit the municipality’s bottom line, Weichman says. “Take our medium-duty trucks, with between 10,000 to 19,500 GVWR [gross vehicle weight rating], which we use in our water utilities, engineering, facilities, and parks and recreations departments,” he notes. “In the past we’ve specified these vehicles with diesel engines and dual fuel tanks. In 2011, however, we moved to gasoline [engines] and standardized down to one fuel tank,” he says. “Furthermore, we also procure gasoline engines for trucks that do not need a PTO [power take off] and are not equipped with a crane, hydraulic driven air compressors, and other additional equipment.”

What does that change mean to the bottom line? “We are saving about $8,000 to $9,000 per truck by not buying the diesel [engine] and about $1,000 for not purchasing dual fuel tanks,” Weichman explains. “The customer still is able to complete their mission, but with a substantial savings for their capital budget.”

Take something even simpler, such as the various attachments found on heavy equipment such as front-end loaders, skid steers and backhoes. “We spec this equipment with various attachments such as buckets, grapple bucket, forks, and rakes,” Weichman says. “However, when we go to purchase a new unit to replace an older one, we’ll usually keep the old attachments if they still have useful life left in them.”

Why? “Normally, these attachments are just heavy pieces of metal, so [they] rarely wear out,” he says. “Yet, they are very expensive. For example, a rake for a front end loader can cost as much as $15,000.”

It is also an example of the kinds of information that need to be shared not only within the fleet, but especially with other department heads, and especially with the politicians. “The fleet manager needs to be that ‘go-to’ guy or gal when savings are needed without compromising operational performance,” Weichman says. “You need to bring that knowledge to your ‘customer,’ such as the police chief or head of parks and recreation, as well as the mayor and others. You need to get the word out more and more about the value you bring to the organization.”