{"id":4873,"date":"2020-03-31T16:53:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=4873"},"modified":"2020-03-31T16:53:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:53:21","slug":"covid-19-fleet-response-shop-safety-driver-guidance-prioritizing-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/03\/31\/covid-19-fleet-response-shop-safety-driver-guidance-prioritizing-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Fleet Response: Shop Safety, Driver Guidance, Prioritizing Vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The COVID-19 virus has continued to spread, and fleet organizations nationwide are reacting. Here\u2019s how a few public fleet organizations are handling the crisis.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Business as Usual\u2019 Takes a Backseat at Ore. Utility<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Oregon does not have many cases of coronavirus.\u00a0Lane County, where the\u00a0Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) is located, has had two positive test results and one death from the infection as of March 18. Still, the City of Eugene has suspended public meeting and declared a state of emergency on March 17 to enhance response to the coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n

EWEB\u00a0limited non-essential business travel and worked to reduce the number of face-to-face meetings and minimize employee interactions, said Gary Lentsch, CAFM, fleet manager. For the past week, the fleet operation has been working to ensure technicians stay safe in the shop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe COVID-19 virus is a wakeup call to address hygiene practices on the shop floor,\u201d he wrote on FleetShare in a discussion about the virus<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

EWEB fleet management is encouraging\u00a0technicians to use latex gloves while moving vehicles,\u00a0installing hand santinizer dispensers on the shop floor, keeping a can of spray disinfectant at technician workstations, and making sure they don\u2019t wear work clothing home.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past week, as the situation has gotten worse, the organization\u2019s priorities have changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Business as usual\u2019 took a backseat to efforts to minimize the potential spread of the virus to our workforce,\u201d Lentsch reported on March 17. \u201cMany service requests, such as new vehicles and vehicle modifications, are now in a holding pattern. With all of this going on, our vehicle use has gone down significantly. So has our repair request, fuel usage, and parts availability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the fleet operation hasn\u2019t experienced significant changes, it has created a staffing plan in case things get worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis included our work to being reduced to only critical work to maintain fleet availability and outsource if availably allows for timely turnaround. [Also] the work is to be reduced to only…work for vehicles and equipment that are extremely critically needed and outsource the remaining workload if shops have availability,\u201d Lentsch explained. \u201cWe found our shortfall may be in our parts room as we\u2019re a NAPA IBS location.\u00a0If our contracted IBS staff is unable to come to work, our staff will have to take over parts room and parts procurement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/span>
\n

The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) fleet operation has purchased these sprayers to disinfect vehicles. <\/span>Photo courtesy of Gary Lentsch<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lentsch\u00a0brought up the following questions and issues fleet managers should ask themselves about vehicle contamination:<\/span><\/p>\n