Government Fleet, July/August 2020

he also holds them accountable to playing their own role in running a high performing fleet He often asks this question and acts on it Is there something the customer can be doing differently that would help operations and minimize the cost and downtime of vehicles and equipment For instance when the fleet operation was having a problem with vehicles being turned in for services Stevens decided to use the citys fuel management system to notify users that their vehicle services were due within the next 30 days a notice drivers see at fuel dispensers each time they fuel up After 30 days fuel was cut off until the vehicle was brought in for service although in an emergency the shop supervisor could override the system to dispense fuel After a brief period of understanding the new procedure we have had great success in scheduling vehicles for service Stevens said While customer accountability is important Stevens said serving the customer is central to any fleet operations success The number one point is to include your customer in your processes and your decisions and recognize you are there to meet their needs not the other way around he said With that principal thought in mind you will be successful in making changes and improving your operations Employing Employee Scorecards Accountability isnt reserved for customers it applies to fleet employees too While many fleets may employ driver scorecards the fleet instituted an employee scorecard before Stevens took over that tracks direct labor hours as well as indirect hours The scorecard also includes the actual shop average of billable hours for all technicians at each location In the end an employee has a percentage of direct billable hours we utilize for budgetary applications Stevens said This benefits our fleet as we are able to know and project our direct labor hours to anticipate on a quarterly basis if we are meeting our projected budget or falling short By knowing exactly what our billable hours are we are better able to forecast future trends and historical trends in the budget process The scorecard also allows the fleet to evaluate employee performance and maintain a high level of productivity The employee productivity expectations are on record and I believe most employees want to know how they are performing This tool affords us the opportunity to do just that Stevens said As a top tier fleet you have to know your numbers and it starts with the productivity and efficiency of your shop operations PHOTOS CITY OF SACRAMENTO Mark Stevens second from left is pictured here with some of the Sacramento fleet administrative staff l r Kin Morales program specialist Ron Kammerer operations general supervisor and Alison Kerstetter program specialist SPONSORED BY JULY AUGUST 2020 GOVERNMENT FLEET COM 11