{"id":3169,"date":"2019-07-24T16:51:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T14:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3169"},"modified":"2019-07-24T16:51:37","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T14:51:37","slug":"3169","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/07\/24\/3169\/","title":{"rendered":"The 50 Leading Fleets Share Their Biggest Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
The 50 Leading Fleets Share Their Biggest Challenges<\/h2>\n
The Leading Fleets program recognizes public sector fleet organizations for their leadership, efficiency, ability to overcome challenges, and vision for the future. Here are the 2019 Leading Fleets and how they overcame their biggest challenges.<\/p>\n
The top 20 fleets are ranked below:<\/p>\n
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Leading Fleets Award Criteria & JudgesCity & County of Denver Fleet\u00a0Management Division<\/strong> \nContact: Brad Salazar \nUnits: 1,574 On-Road; 242 Off-Road \nStaff: 92 \nOvercoming Challenges: Teamed up with HR and others to better recruit and train technicians, developing a test for all candidates, providing a sign-on bonus, and creating a mentorship program.<\/li>\n
City of Dublin, Ohio<\/strong> \nContact: Darryl Syler, CPFP \nUnits: 246 On-Road; 51 Off-Road \nStaff: 9 \nOvercoming Challenges: Rolled out a new motor pool solution to improve utilization, with a goal of increasing motor pool use by 25%.<\/li>\n
City of Fort Wayne, Ind.<\/strong> \nContact: Larry Campbell, CPFP \nUnits: 1,528 On-Road; 932 Off-Road \nStaff: 29 \nOvercoming Challenges: Brought fleet maintenance back in house after 22 years of outsourcing it to improve quality of work; this included writing a business plan, proving staffing level needs, creating a transition plan, and hiring technicians.<\/li>\n
City of Sacramento, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Mark Stevens \nUnits: 2,214 On-Road; 284 Off-Road \nStaff: 75 \nOvercoming Challenges: \u00a0Updated the vehicle replacement model using age, mileage, and maintenance costs, with the result being projected savings of $11 million in the next four years.<\/li>\n
County of San Diego, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: John Manring \nUnits: 3,956 On-Road; 324 Off-Road \nStaff: 65 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked with the Air Resources Board and OEM engineers to reprogram fire trucks and allow a manual regeneration to be done \u2014 allowing fleet staff to put 13 fire apparatus back in service.<\/li>\n
City of Long Beach, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Dan Berlenbach, CPFP \nUnits: 1,515 On-Road; 635 Off-Road \nStaff: 120.5 \nOvercoming Challenges: Converted a 15-year-old fuel management system to a new system with passive telematics, which impacted 1,500+ vehicles and took thousands of hours of planning and installation time.<\/li>\n
Manatee County Fleet Services, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Matthew Case \nUnits: 1,544 On-Road; 1,061 Off-Road \nStaff: 39 \nOvercoming Challenges: Updated policies and procedures, rewrote the replacement policy, and obtained nearly $1 million in capital replacement funding for FY-19.<\/li>\n
County of Sonoma, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: David Worthington \nUnits: 954 On-Road; 123 Off-Road \nStaff: 23 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked to make up a deficit of 2,549 billable hours by the end of the fiscal year after dedicating 4,571 hours to a wildfire. This was done by delaying vacation time off, managing sick leave, and maximizing extra-help billable hours.<\/li>\n
City of Durham, N.C.<\/strong> \nContact: Joseph Clark \nUnits: 1,575 On-Road; 270 Off-Road \nStaff: 47 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked without computers for weeks after the Emotet malware disrupted all fleet management servers and machines, laptops, VoIP phone system, and diagnostic tools.<\/li>\n
County of San Luis Obispo, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Rocky Buoy \nUnits: 784 On-Road; 236 Off-Road \nStaff: 13 \nOvercoming Challenges: Implemented a technician training program to boost recruitment. Combined with the fleet\u2019s in-house mentoring program, the program has allowed the fleet to promote an employee.<\/li>\n
Fairfax County Department of\u00a0Vehicle Services, Va.<\/strong> \nContact: Mark Moffatt \nUnits: 5,433 On-Road; 601 Off-Road \nStaff: 263 \nOvercoming Challenges: Transitioned the culture from passively practicing safety to proactively improving on all aspects of safety to reduce the potential for workplace injuries.<\/li>\n
City of Cape Coral, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Marilyn Rawlings \nUnits: 867 On-Road; 783 Off-Road \nStaff: 20 \nOvercoming Challenges: Tested out and improved the fleet\u2019s natural disaster response plan. Following a recent major tornado and hurricane, staff members successfully tracked time and equipment use during the clean-up.<\/li>\n
Sacramento County, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Keith Leech Sr. \nUnits: 2,675 On-Road; 125 Off-Road \nStaff: 97 \nOvercoming Challenges: Recruited technicians to replace an exodus of retirees by updating job specs, creating a fleet academy for fleet professionals and community college students, and hosting a high school outreach event.<\/li>\n
City of Tempe, Ariz.<\/strong> \nContact: Kevin Devery \nUnits: 849 On-Road; 260 Off-Road \nStaff: 27 \nOvercoming Challenges: Integrated a NAPA Integrated Business Solutions (NAPA IBS) onsite parts management operation to help reduce the fleet\u2019s $1.2-million annual spending for parts.<\/li>\n
New York City Parks<\/strong> \nContact: Brian Aucoin \nUnits: 1,853 On-Road; 1,149 Off-Road \nStaff: 63 \nOvercoming Challenges: Boosted operator training by recruiting supervisors to serve as supplemental trainers and producing best practices videos as part of a new driver training module.<\/li>\n
City of Oceanside Fleet\u00a0Management, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Jeffery Hart \nUnits: 497 On-Road; 47 Off-Road \nStaff: 13 \nOvercoming Challenges: Started a reverse auction for bulk fuel purchases to reduce fuel costs. The program was so successful it yielded annual savings of $165,000.<\/li>\n
City of Boca Raton, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Tony Remige \nUnits: 839 On-Road; 134 Off-Road \nStaff: 16 \nOvercoming Challenges: Installed a 500-gallon diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) storage tank that\u2019s integrated with the online fuel system to improve technician productivity and DEF inventory tracking.<\/li>\n
Indianapolis Fleet Services<\/strong> \nContact: Bill Rogers \nUnits: 3,513 On-Road; 982 Off-Road \nStaff: 110 \nOvercoming Challenges: Transitioned from the city\u2019s contracted electric vehicle lease vendor and purchased new vehicles to comply with city leadership\u2019s goal of reducing dependence on foreign oil.<\/li>\n
City of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada<\/strong> \nContact: Don Miller \nUnits: 499 On-Road; 453 Off-Road \nStaff: 38 \nOvercoming Challenges: Created a psychological safety\/mental health awareness training program as part of a departmental initiative to reduce lost time days.<\/li>\n
City of Raleigh Vehicle Fleet Services, N.C.<\/strong> \nContact: Travis Brown \nUnits: 2,085 On-Road; 441 Off-Road \nStaff: 77 \nOvercoming Challenges: To increase alternative-fuel use, fleet staff formed a fleet executive committee with department representatives, met with the city manager, and educated user departments on alternative fuels. The team exceeded the city\u2019s goal of 36% total fuel used.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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<\/figure>\n
Leading Fleets Award Criteria & Judges<\/h3>\n
The Leading Fleets awards program recognizes high-performing public sector fleet organizations. The award is sponsored by Ford and Geotab.<\/p>\n
Applicants are judged on their organizations\u2019 leadership within their operation, with customers, within the local community, and within the fleet community; how they ensure competitiveness and efficiency; how they address and overcome major challenges; and how they are working toward future goals. Fleets submit online applications between January and March of each year.<\/p>\n
Judges are fleet managers of former No. 1 fleets and other respected industry professionals. We thank this year\u2019s judges for dedicating many hours to review applications and lending their expertise to the industry:<\/p>\n
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Craig Croner \nCPFP<\/strong>, administrative services manager, City of Boise, Idaho<\/td>\n
Brian Franklin \nCPFP<\/strong>, administrative manager, City of Tulsa, Okla.<\/td>\n
Sam Lamerato \nCPFP<\/strong>, Public Fleet Hall of Fame member and Legendary Lifetime Achievement Award recipient<\/td>\n
Kelly Reagan<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>fleet administrator, City of Columbus, Ohio, and Public Fleet Hall of Fame member<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
The remaining leading fleets are listed in alphabetical order:<\/p>\n
City of Chesapeake, Va.<\/strong> \nContact: George Hrichak, CEM, CPFP \nUnits: 1,504 On-Road; 115 Off-Road \nStaff: 41 \nOvercoming Challenges: Partnered with multiple shops, established repair contracts, and outsourced some workload to maintain fleet availability when experiencing a significant shortfall of heavy technicians.<\/p>\n
City of Denton, Texas<\/strong> \nContact: Terry Kader \nUnits: 943 On-Road; 364 Off-Road \nStaff: 21 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked with the Solid Waste team to reduce vehicle downtime from an aged fleet \u2014 solutions included incorporating manufacturer support, truck leasing, assigning dedicated refuse truck technicians, and expediting new truck purchases.<\/p>\n
City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada<\/strong> \nContact: Steve Rapanos \nUnits: 4,527 On-Road; 1,052 Off-Road \nStaff: 700+ \nOvercoming Challenges: Improved data consistency and accuracy by launching a new system to enhance performance measurement capabilities and creating digital dashboards to improve data collection.<\/p>\n
City of Fort Worth, Texas<\/strong> \nContact: Chris Means \nUnits: 2,937 On-Road; 550 Off-Road \nStaff: 120 \nOvercoming Challenges: Improved fire apparatus parts availability from a nearly seven-day wait to two days by creating a group to address the issue, determine the root cause, and come up with solutions.<\/p>\n
City of Greenville, S.C.<\/strong> \nContact: Scott McIver, CPFP \nUnits: 668 On-Road; 53 Off-Road \nStaff: 16 \nOvercoming Challenges: Created a more efficient and cost-effective operation by starting a quick-serve lane for 30-minute repairs, building a parts kit for preventive maintenance, and using an oil sampling program.<\/p>\n
City of Houston Fleet Management<\/strong> \nContact: Victor Ayres \nUnits: 10,274 On-Road; 2,215 Off-Road \nStaff: 348 \nOvercoming Challenges: Beefed up the city\u2019s motor pool program after the city lost 344 vehicles due to Hurricane Harvey. Customers relied on motor pool cars while awaiting FEMA reimbursement for replacement vehicles.<\/p>\n
City of Irving, Texas<\/strong> \nContacts: Debbie Jackson & Larry Spain \nUnits: 803 On-Road; 285 Off-Road \nStaff: 31 \nOvercoming Challenges: Created a pay incentive for technical certification, added more training options, and promoted from within to improve technician retention.<\/p>\n
City of Lakeland Fleet Management, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Gary McLean \nUnits: 1,177 On-Road; 235 Off-Road \nStaff: 27 \nOvercoming Challenges: Transferred fuel operations to the prime fuel vendors and used a fuel tank wagon truck to ensure vehicles are fueled throughout an unscheduled total fuel station shutdown.<\/p>\n
City of Midland, Mich.<\/strong> \nContact: Lance Hopper \nUnits: 213 On-Road; 57 Off-Road \nStaff: 13 \nOvercoming Challenges: Rearranged a large storage area to be converted into two maintenance bays and secured funding for equipment for the workspace to handle a larger afternoon shift.<\/p>\n
City of Milwaukee<\/strong> \nContact: Jeffrey Tews, CPFP \nUnits: 2,525 On-Road; 772 Off-Road \nStaff: 202 \nOvercoming Challenges: Reallocated technicians and overtime hours and created repair teams to work with police management to improve police vehicle availability.<\/p>\n
City of Orange, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Keith Marian \nUnits: 390 On-Road; 32 Off-Road \nStaff: 9 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked on an emergency basis through the night to bring back into service traffic signals that were not operating due to strong winds and a subsequent power outage.<\/p>\n
City of Peoria, Ariz.<\/strong> \nContact: John Freuden, CAFM \nUnits: 761 On-Road; 199 Off-Road \nStaff: 13 \nOvercoming Challenges: Succession planning, promoting from within with qualified staff, and careful hiring practices allowed for a seamless transition after key leadership retirements and staff position reclassifications.<\/p>\n
City of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada<\/strong> \nContact: Suzanne Bycraft \nUnits: 520 On-Road; 8 Off-Road \nStaff: 54 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked with other departments and shared data to meet a mandate to increase electric vehicle charging infrastructure to match the increase in EVs.<\/p>\n
City of Riverside, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Garrett Reynolds \nUnits: 1,205 On-Road; 269 Off-Road \nStaff: 42 \nOvercoming Challenges: Recruited and hired qualified technicians despite competition with private sector salaries by creating a supportive learning environment.<\/p>\n
City of San Antonio Building & Equipment Services<\/strong> \nContact: Jorge Perez \nUnits: 2,731 On-Road; 13 Off-Road \nStaff: 68 \nOvercoming Challenges: Enhanced job structures to include two new position classifications that will offer more upward mobility for staff after several retirements.<\/p>\n
City of San Jose, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: David Mesa \nUnits: 2,000 On-Road; 750 Off-Road \nStaff: 53 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked with Human Resources to reclassify the equipment mechanic position to provide better compensation and promotion opportunities after losing 69% of the employees in this classification.<\/p>\n
City of Tampa Fleet Management Division, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Connie White-Arnold \nUnits: 2,597 On-Road; 795 Off-Road \nStaff: 62 \nOvercoming Challenges: Reconfigured the fire maintenance parts storage\/\u00addistribution floor plan with a centralized location to streamline parts management and increase productivity.<\/p>\n
City of Ventura, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Barbara McCormack \nUnits: 388 On-Road; 23 Off-Road \nStaff: 9 \nOvercoming Challenges: Transitioned to new leadership, rotated technician work throughout a key vacancy taking place during a major fire, and reorganized shop structure while maintaining high equipment availability.<\/p>\n
Denver International Airport (DEN)<\/strong> \nContact: Jeffery Bowman \nUnits: 600 On-Road; 340 Off-Road \nStaff: 68 \nOvercoming Challenges: Reviewed the current workflow for new vehicle in-servicing, working with customers to create new targets and processes.<\/p>\n
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Ill.<\/strong> \nContact: Michael Webster, CAFM \nUnits: 195 On-Road; 420 Off-Road \nStaff: 16 \nOvercoming Challenges: Moved from two aging fleet facilities into a new centralized facility through teamwork, communication, and encouraging staff members to take initiative to get the job done.<\/p>\n
Hillsborough County, Fla., Fleet Management Department<\/strong> \nContact: Robert Stine, CAFM, CPFP \nUnits: 2,200 On-Road; 1,100 Off-Road \nStaff: 60 \nOvercoming Challenges: Worked with key customers to embrace Lean Six Sigma process improvements. This resulted in nearly $3 million in cost avoidance by rightsizing assets.<\/p>\n
King County Fleet Services Division, Wash.<\/strong> \nContact: Jennifer Lindwall \nUnits: 1,893 On-Road; 321 Off-Road \nStaff: 73 \nOvercoming Challenges: Accelerated planned purchases and bought 57 Ford C-Max hybrids to prevent disruption to the fleet business plan and replacement model after Ford announced it would discontinue the model.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County Fleet Management Division, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Alex Alfonso \nUnits: 11,418 On-Road; 738 Off-Road \nStaff: 260 \nOvercoming Challenges: Inspected 277 vehicles, repaired 163, and replaced 140 damaged vehicles (valued at more than $1 million) to address damages created by a fuel contamination incident that affected multiple government fleets.<\/p>\n
New York City Fleet<\/strong> \nContact: Keith Kerman \nUnits: 25,615 On-Road; 5,387 Off-Road \nStaff: 1,816 \nOvercoming Challenges: Purchased electric vehicles for non-emergency sedans, converted vans and pickups to diesel so they can be fueled with biodiesel, and transitioned police vehicles to include hybrid pursuit vehicles to improve fleet sustainability.<\/p>\n
Orange County Fleet Management, Fla.<\/strong> \nContact: Bryan Lucas \nUnits: 1,950 On-Road; 1,803 Off-Road \nStaff: 68 \nOvercoming Challenges: Increased technicians\u2019 pay scale and implemented incentive pay for technical certifications to handle unfilled positions, retirements, and a competitive job market.<\/p>\n
San Antonio Water Systems, Texas<\/strong> \nContact: Christopher Holubec \nUnits: 1,106 On-Road; 216 Off-Road \nStaff: 39 \nOvercoming Challenges: Contracted with NAPA IBS for parts management in order to improve parts order accuracy and inventory control.<\/p>\n
San Joaquin County, Calif.<\/strong> \nContact: Kevin Myose \nUnits: 1,010 On-Road; 90 Off-Road \nStaff: 38 \nOvercoming Challenges: Surveyed employees, studied rate structures, analyzed costs, and obtained grant funding to install an electric vehicle charging network for workplace and public charging.<\/p>\n
University of Texas at Austin,\u00a0University Fleet Operations<\/strong> \nContact: Mark Kaligian, CAFM \nUnits: 562 On-Road; 663 Off-Road \nStaff: 12 \nOvercoming Challenges: Installed telematics to determine more efficient routing and procured 30 street-legal carts after a major section of the university campus was turned into a pedestrian zone.<\/p>\n
Ventura County, Calif., GSA Fleet Services<\/strong> \nContact: Christopher Melton \nUnits: 1,451 On-Road; 246 Off-Road \nStaff: 44 \nOvercoming Challenges: Conducted strategic hiring after the turnover of the entire fleet leadership team, with the new management team providing direction and discipline.<\/p>\n
Washington County, Ore.<\/strong> \nContact: Tom Keyser \nUnits: 585 On-Road; 101 Off-Road \nStaff: 17 \nOvercoming Challenges: Analyzed staffing levels and worked with Human Resources to add four new positions to manage and maintain the growing fleet.<\/p>\n\n<\/figure>\n
No. 1 Small Fleet (499 or Fewer Assets): City of Dublin, Ohio<\/h3>\n
With 297 units, the City of Dublin is the No. 1 Small Fleet.\u00a0The fleet operation is currently working on a vehicle-to-vehicle project that will allow data collection at select \u201csmart\u201d intersections. Several fleet vehicles have been equipped with on-board units and heads-up devices to aid in data collection, said Darryl Syler, CPFP, director of fleet management for the city. City staff members will review the data to help develop smarter roads and intersections in Dublin.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an honor to be considered the No. 1 small fleet by Government Fleet <\/em>and the American Public Works Association and the No. 2 Fleet overall. Our staff work very hard to meet the industry standards and best practices. We are so thankful to have the continued support of our mayor, council, and senior leadership team here in Dublin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
No. 1 Mid-Size Fleet (500-999 Assets): City of Oceanside, Calif.<\/h3>\n
The City of Oceanside, Calif., was named the No. 1 Mid-Size Fleet, with 544 units.\u00a0The team is completing a migration of its fleet management system from a Windows-based system to a web-based system and plans to convert select motor pool vehicles to electric vehicles.<\/p>\n
One of the highlights from its application is using reverse auction for bulk fuel purchases, which Jeffery Hart, fleet manager, describes as a game-changer. \u201cIt afforded us a huge budget savings at no cost and no man-hours invested,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing awarded the No. 1 Mid-Size Fleet in the country is an amazing honor and an incredible motivator for staff. The men and women of our fleet department are dedicated to the community and \nfully understand that excellence can only be achieved by hard work and commitment,\u201d Hart added.<\/p>\n
No. 1 Large Fleet (1,000 or More Assets):\u00a0City & County of Denver<\/h3>\n
With 1,816 units, the City and County of Denver\u2019s Fleet Management Division is the No. 1 Large Fleet \u2014 it\u2019s also the No. 1 overall fleet. For more information about this operation, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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