Fleet Profiles – Page 3 – Utility Fleet Professional

Valuable Insight

Written by Seth Skydel on July 25, 2013. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

For the Facilities & Transportation Fleet team at Indianapolis Power & Light Co., the key to productivity and efficiency is not just the programs and technologies that have been put in place. Equally important and absolutely essential, they note, is to ingrain a process of organizational efficiency throughout the culture of the operation.

Keith Dunkel, team leader and fleet manager, Kim Garner, fleet administration, and Les Gose, fleet maintenance at IPL, all point to the successful implementation of the 5S methodology within the fleet maintenance operation. This workplace organization methodology, based on five Japanese words all beginning with the letter “S” when translated into English (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain), has benefited the fleet’s maintenance shops through improved organization of work spaces.

“A primary focus was on the efficient and effective storage of work tools and supplies, maintaining the work area and these items, and sustaining the new order,” Dunkel said. “The decision-making process usually comes from a dialogue about standardization, which builds understanding among employees of how their work should be done.”

At IPL, the 5S methodology has brought a new cultural mindset to shop floor efficiency and safety within the fleet maintenance operation. “It’s a process that builds collaboration among employees and management specific to work design and flow,” Dunkel stated. “In addition to improving shop safety by reducing hazards, it has also provided structure within the shop environment to identify and reduce waste.”

Today, IPL crew leaders, technicians and management personnel use the 5S methodology to effectively run shop operations. A weekly safety walk, for example, is used to identify housekeeping issues, such as defective lighting or other concerns, based on a comprehensive checklist of items specific to the operation and environment.

Organized Approach
An organized approach is also in place in other areas of the IPL fleet and maintenance operation. “Three years ago,” explained Gose, “we brought in NAPA to manage our parts system. NAPA now operates our parts room as a private store, staffed 16 hours per day. The facility exclusively serves the IPL fleet, handles paperwork for our business with a local tire vendor, and as an added convenience, IPL employees can make purchases for personal use.

“With this arrangement,” Gose continued, “we are ensured competitive pricing within a consigned parts format. This has given us access to a substantial inventory without tying up financial resources for owned inventory.”

Gose also explained that IPL and NAPA are working closely together to ensure that the parts supplier is prepared to provide the wide variety of standard and specialized items needed for utility vehicles. “Our initiative is to ensure that NAPA understands our needs,” he said. “We do not want to wait for parts that we should have in stock and we expect NAPA to adjust the consignment inventory as our specs change.

“We have established and track metrics specifically to the NAPA operation,” Gose continued. “Those target wait times, fill rates and inventory location accuracy. We believe these to be core competencies for parts management and are integral to the productivity of our technicians.”

The IPL fleet is serviced in two locations, Dunkel noted. “At our main hub in Indianapolis we house about 80 percent of the fleet of 422 vehicles,” he related. “At a satellite facility we handle the other 20 percent. About 80 percent of the fleet is used in operations across our 528-square-mile service territory and the rest is allocated to our three generating plants.”

Meeting Needs
The composition of IPL’s fleet is designed to meet the needs of field operations that maintain 835 circuit miles of transmission lines and approximately 12,668 circuit miles of distribution lines, as well as 144 substations. A total of 88 heavy-duty units account for 20 percent of the fleet, another 92 are medium-duty models and the balance consists of 242 light-duty vehicles.

Primary makes represented in the IPL fleet include International heavy-duty, Freightliner and Ford medium-duty, and Chevrolet and Ford light-duty models. IPL’s alternative fuel vehicles are primarily within the light-duty segment of the fleet and use E85 from a central fueling station.

Vehicle types at IPL are varied for line, substation maintenance and construction needs, Dunkel pointed out. Aerial units supplied mainly by Altec include 45-foot models for trouble trucks, 55-foot models for line truck material handlers, 85-foot high reach noninsulated and 125-foot insulated units, and there are 42-foot material handlers and articulating squirt booms.

Also in operation at IPL are digger derricks, light-duty cranes, cable pullers and rodders. Truck types include step and hi-cube vans, 3/4-ton vans, and 1/4-, 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-ton pickups. The fleet also has sedans, minivans and SUVs, and the maintenance staff services and repairs support equipment such as easement rigs, backyard buckets, tensioners, wire reel trailers, forklifts, backhoes and small excavators.

“We have established replacement cycles based on vehicle size and use,” Garner said. “Light-duty models are in service for five years or 60,000 miles, trouble trucks are replaced after seven years and line trucks see 10 years of service in our fleet.

“For remarketing our retired heavy-duty trucks, and some nonroad equipment, we have been using the services of J.J. Kane Auctioneers,” Garner related. “We were working with a local auction company, but Altec brought J.J. Kane to our attention because of their specialization in selling construction utility equipment.

“They know the markets where we can get the best resale value for our trucks,” Garner added. “Overall, it’s been a very smooth and effective process. We have maximized our recovery dollars using the J.J. Kane process.”

Software is also in place to help specify and manage the IPL fleet, Gose noted. For example, there’s Diamond Logic Builder at International Trucks’ Body Builder Resource Center, as well as the CFAW fleet maintenance management solution and E.J. Ward automated fuel management software and reporting tools.

In the shop, Gose reported, technicians are trained on a regular basis and have multiple diagnostic tools at their disposal. Included are the Rotunda (IDS) service tool for Ford vehicles, Mentor, Pegasus, INSITE (Cummins) and Tech II diagnostic equipment, and the ServiceMaxx diagnostic and programming tool for Navistar MaxxForce engines.

Accelerated Implementation
“In 2010, we started using the Telogis Fleet management solution for vehicle telematics,” Dunkel said. “Initially, we phased in 50 trucks, but once we experienced the wealth of the data available, we accelerated our implementation plan.

“By the end of the first year we had over 300 vehicles on the system,” Dunkel continued. “The telematics solution reports GPS location data, engine performance, idle, PTO and battery time, and odometer readings, along with hard braking and acceleration information.

“Now that we have over two full years of baseline data from vehicle electronics systems over the Telogis solution, we’re taking it to the next level,” Dunkel added. “We have completed the next step [Enterprise Level] using the system’s InSight Alerts function to develop driver scorecards and a [key performance indicators] Dashboard.

“With these capabilities,” Dunkel stated, “our field operation teams use the system to enhance productivity by determining arrival and departure times at job sites. In the fleet department, we will be able to model scenarios that will show us the impact on costs of reducing idle time and get alerts to mechanical conditions previewing potential costly breakdowns and repairs.”

IPL’s management team, Dunkel added, has given strong support for this investment in vehicle telematics. “This technology has provided new and valuable insights into how our trucks are used,” he said, “giving us opportunities to lower operating costs, improve driving behaviors and better manage our assets.”

About IPL: Indianapolis Power & Light Co. provides retail electric service to more than 470,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Indianapolis, as well as portions of other central Indiana communities surrounding Marion County. During its long history, IPL has supplied its customers with some of the lowest-cost, most reliable power in the country. Its parent company, AES Corp., provides affordable, sustainable energy to 25 countries through a diverse portfolio of distribution and generation businesses.

About the Author: Seth Skydel has more than 27 years of truck- and automotive-related publication experience. In his career, he has held editorial roles at numerous national business-to-business publications focusing on fleet and transportation management, vehicle and information technology, and industry trends and issues.

Making Effective Choices

Written by Seth Skydel on June 5, 2013. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

With about 14,000 units ranging from passenger cars to Class 8 trucks, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. fleet is sizable by any measure. Add to that a fleet maintenance operation that encompasses 63 facilities and 80 mobile service vehicles, and employs about 375 technicians and nearly 60 administrative personnel.

Another challenging aspect of the PG&E fleet is that its equipment covers more than 70,000 square miles of service territory including urban, suburban and rural areas. For Dave Meisel, senior director – transportation and aviation services, it all adds up to the need to make highly effective vehicle choices.

“When we’re looking at replacing vehicles, we have several considerations,” Meisel said. “We operate entirely within the state of California, which has the strictest clean air regulations in the country. That means we need to take into account the number of vehicles we have to replace to meet alternative fuel and regulatory requirements.

“We also need to look at vehicle additions that are needed for our business model,” Meisel added, “along with questioning if owning a unit might be more advantageous than long-term rentals. Simultaneously, we have to consider units that are out of life cycle, or will be in the planning year.

“We determine a vehicle’s life cycle by benchmarking against other operations,” Meisel continued. “Once or twice a year, we exchange visits with other fleets, including utility and nonutility operations, to learn from each other. Every time we make those visits, we learn something that we can do better.”

Exchanging Knowledge
As a utility operating about 14,000 vehicles in a single state, Meisel noted, it’s hard to find other operations that can be compared to PG&E’s fleet. That challenge, he related, is addressed by sharing information with some of the few multistate utilities in the country that operate more than 10,000 units, and with other types of fleets such as package, food and beverage operations that are similar in size.

For an industry perspective, PG&E also turns to Utilimarc, a provider of benchmarking, fleet consulting and business intelligence services, to compare specific fleet metrics within its own organization and against an industry database of as many as 400,000 units.

“Utilimarc forces you to provide data in a consistent structure, which gives us a true comparison of where we stand and how we relate to other fleets,” Meisel said. “Their methodology lets us look at detailed reports on costs by mile, unit, type, region and fleet size. We can also poll individual and groups of fleets on specific issues. For a relatively low cost compared to the quality of information we receive, Utilimarc’s analytical data tells us where there are opportunities to improve.”

The PG&E fleet now includes primarily Ford and GM models through Class 5, and Navistar and Peterbilt Class 6 through 8 trucks. The acquisition decisions that are made about the fleet are also the product of an evaluation of financing alternatives.

“Capital is the desired method of purchasing long-term assets in a regulated and decoupled utility like PG&E,” Meisel said. “We buy our vehicles outright in most cases because there is a return on capital associated with that activity. The practice of decoupling also promotes the conservation of energy.

“When we replace vehicles outside of our normal replacement cycle, it’s most often when major components have failed or there’s a structural integrity issue,” Meisel continued. “All other costs are maintenance related, which we handle primarily in-house. We have an outsourcing strategy and it’s not to outsource – except for items that are hard to cost justify internally, such as glass and body work.”

Lessons Learned
PG&E’s approach to managing its fleet is also based on both Meisel’s experience and the lessons he learns by remaining involved in the industry. His career began in the late 1970s as a mechanic at his family’s tractor and trailer rebuilding facility. From there, Meisel went on to management roles at Roadway Express and the Frito-Lay fleet, and at Consumers Energy in Michigan before joining PG&E more than six years ago.

Meisel currently serves on the Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference board of directors and is a regular attendee at shows like the International Construction & Utility Equipment Exposition. “Many conferences and shows don’t offer a lot of value,” he said, “but these events bring together major players and decision-makers. In a few days at ICUEE we can see a lot of the newest technology that suppliers have to offer. At EUFMC we get very valuable feedback from other fleet managers and get the opportunity to build relationships with some of the most senior players in the supplier world. It doesn’t get any more efficient than that.”

About PG&E: Incorporated in 1905, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is the San Francisco-based subsidiary of PG&E Corp. and one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the U.S. PG&E currently provides natural gas and electricity to approximately 15 million people in northern and central California through 141,215 circuit miles of electric distribution lines and 18,616 circuit miles of interconnected transmission lines as well as 42,141 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines and 6,438 miles of transportation pipelines. That utility operation relies heavily on a fleet of almost 14,000 vehicles and the capabilities of a maintenance team that numbers more than 425. In turn, the decisions made by the fleet management operation at PG&E are driving efficiency in all respects.

Pulling All the Levers

Written by Seth Skydel on February 15, 2013. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

George Survant, senior director, fleet at Time Warner Cable knows exactly the direction he wants to focus on for the future of the telecom provider’s vehicle operation. “We have to manage for the minimum cost per month over the life cycle of the vehicle,” he said. “If we use best practices to drive up reliability, we not only have lower costs, but we’re in a better position to meet customer expectations and improve our customers’ experience.”

Joining Time Warner Cable in mid-2012, Survant brings more than 30 years of utility fleet management expertise to an organization full of highly skilled and experienced fleet operations professionals. “We have an opportunity to make sure that our service fleet and its management programs are as leading edge as the entertainment, communications and information technology that Time Warner Cable provides,” he stated.

Aggressive growth at Time Warner Cable, which now serves more than 15 million residential and business customers in 29 states, has presented the company’s fleet managers with a number of challenges. Its 21,000 vehicles are spread out from coast to coast, and in Hawaii. Large groups of trucks were brought into the operation as a result of acquisitions. More than 70 dealerships were involved in spec’ing equipment and negotiating purchases, and with 95 percent of the fleet’s maintenance outsourced, hundreds of service providers were in the mix.

Significant Muscle
“About three years ago,” Survant related, “the management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture began working with Time Warner Cable to address organizational strategies. The company was understandably decentralized in different areas, including fleet. Operating like many small companies rather than one entity meant lost opportunities to flex the organization’s significant market muscle.”

Applying that lesson to managing its fleet, Time Warner Cable has embarked on a comprehensive set of initiatives to take advantage of economies of scale, to centralize the fleet operation, and to leverage existing and new best practices across the entire equipment and maintenance organization.

“One objective is to drive up reliability,” Survant said. “There is a hidden cost of having many different vehicles sourced in small groups. Also, trucks simply become less reliable with age so we needed a consistent replacement plan that can only come from a national supplier relationship.”

Taking Advantage
In July 2012, Survant noted, the median age of a standard service van or pickup truck in the Time Warner Cable fleet was 6.7 years. “Ideally,” he added, “the median age target for this type of vehicle is 3.75 to 4 years. Moving in that direction, we’ve lowered the median age of our fleet to under 6 years in just six months, and we’ve reduced acquisition costs by working with OEMs directly on a national level, and by taking advantage of utility fleet pricing programs.”

The current Time Warner Cable fleet consists of 11,000 vans, primarily Ford E-150 and E-250 models along with some GM units. Its 4,000 quarter- and half-ton pickup trucks are also mainly Fords and there are 2,600 Class 5 Ford F-350 and F-450 bucket trucks. The balance of the fleet consists of fewer than 100 Class 6-8 trucks and some passenger cars and vans.

To adopt better solutions, remarketing of vehicles being phased out of the Time Warner Cable fleet has also been addressed. Today, when groups of vehicles become available, the company invites auction houses to bid and investigates the resale value it can realize by selling the trucks to dealer auctions or wholesalers, taking into account the cost of prepping vehicles and providing required paperwork. Resale value is going to be a factor in new vehicle purchases going forward, Survant also noted.

Nationwide Program
Turning its attention to maintaining the fleet, Time Warner Cable’s fleet management team focused on creating a single, nationwide program. In the fall of 2012, the company began using the vehicle fleet management services company ARI at all locations, except for the four in-house service facilities with on-site vendors that it operates in the Midwest and in New York City.

“ARI has an advanced maintenance management solution that it uses to leverage maintenance relationships with vendors nationwide on our behalf, and a breakdown call center that makes sense for the size and scope of our fleet operation,” Survant said. “We dictate preventive maintenance practices based on OEM recommendations and our own needs and experience, and ARI’s extensive network of dealers, leasing companies and independent service providers does the work. They also manage our national account program with Goodyear to meet all of our tire needs.”

ARI is also handling equipment upfitting when Time Warner Cable places new vehicles in service. Included is the installation of aerial devices supplied by Altec, ETI and Versalift, and Masterack interior shelving and ladder racks from Leggett & Platt. “A considerable amount of detail goes into the layout and correct upfitting of these items in service vehicles,” Survant stated. “We have a high volume of demand for field service so it’s essential to have the right tools, equipment and inventory on our trucks at all times.”

Customer Expectations
“It is increasingly challenging to meet customer expectations for time and service requirements,” Survant continued. “Along with fielding reliable vehicles, we need to ensure the fleet is in the right place at all times. While Time Warner Cable’s dispatch and operations management and planning practices have been very successful, enhancements to the installed AVL and GPS systems will continue to help them address that need even more effectively.”

For Time Warner Cable, the second largest provider of video, high-speed data and phone services in the U.S., a field service fleet operation that consistently achieves customer satisfaction goals is critical to success.

For the fleet management team at Time Warner Cable, Survant is quick to point out, reliable vehicles are at the top of the list. “It’s common sense,” he said. “A 4 percent failure rate means the same percentage of our service guarantees are at risk. Using best practices to field the right equipment and maintain it correctly eliminates those issues.”

Proven Practices

Written by Seth Skydel on March 13, 2012. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

During the 2011 Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference, fleet managers detailed the successful approaches they’re employing for acquisition, maintenance and parts strategies in their operations.

Baltimore Gas & Electric
An affiliate of Constellation Energy, Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) provides electric and gas service in a territory of about 2,400 square miles surrounding the Baltimore metropolitan area of central Maryland. BGE Fleet Services, with 80 employees, including 46 technicians, manages a fleet of more than 1,500 vehicles and 400 pieces of equipment. The operation has a central shop at its headquarters location where all major repairs, new vehicle preparation and maintenance on local units is performed, as well as seven shops located throughout its service territory.

“Our replacement cycle has been based on economic life, the evaluation of units, user input and a review of maintenance records,” said Gill Nichols, supervisor, fleet engineering. “Budgetary and business cycle constraints can limit replacement activity, but our annual replacement plan is developed within current financial constraints and with the concurrence of users.”

BGE, Nichols reported, recently completed a five-year leasing contract. “A finance evaluation proved that leasing was less expensive than buying for BGE’s cost structure,” he said, “so we established a contract with a funding source and a separate services provider.”

BGE Fleet Services, Nichols explained, develops standardized specifications for each vehicle and equipment type in the utility’s operation. “A user-needs review identifies any necessary departure from standard offerings,” he added, “and modifications are controlled through an engineering review and user management approval of costs.”

Alliance agreements with major component suppliers have been established by BGE Fleet Services to provide for lower parts pricing and on-site training sessions. “The agreements cover most chassis, body and aerial components, and equipment types,” Nichols related. “These partnerships also allow us to collaborate with our suppliers on new product development and to serve as testing ground for new technologies.”

Preventive maintenance (PM) on the BGE fleet is usually based on manufacturers’ schedules, although BGE Fleet Services does modify schedules based on mileage, engine hours or fuel usage if those parameters are observed to be out of range. In addition, the fleet’s managers conduct data analysis of vehicles and equipment showing any higher than scheduled usage. In use is AssetWorks FleetAnywhere software. “We’ve been using this system for over 10 years,” Nichols stated. “It provides data on historic cost of repairs, labor hours, fuel usage, ownership costs and parts expenses, which we also use for setting charge-back rates and for benchmarking our operation.”

Maintaining the BGE fleet is a team of PM trainees, PM technicians, master technicians and senior master technicians. “We established these roles so our technicians can move from job to job based on attaining required certifications, meeting established performance standards and job qualifications, and demonstrating the ability to perform required tasks,” Nichols said.

“Our technicians are provided with information about what is required to advance and are given opportunities to advance at their own pace,” Nichols continued. “Manpower utilization in our shops is planned on a monthly basis using estimated repair activity and PM schedules. Shop-to-shop labor transfers are made to manage spikes in workload, vacations and long-term medical absences.”

BGE Fleet Services makes extensive training opportunities available to its technicians. An established program for new hires encompasses seasoned workers as well as high school graduates. The highly structured program teaches shop functions, computer systems, safe work practices, tool and equipment use, and basic elements of maintenance and repair work. Trainees are instructed daily on how to perform PMs and other repairs by working in the fleet’s central shop with a senior master technician.

Manufacturer training sessions are also provided to trainees and all technicians to familiarize them with new models, systems and functions of vehicles and equipment. Additionally, a contracted training program has been developed to provide basic through advanced training in electronics, braking systems, engines, hydraulic systems and other areas.

BGE Fleet Services has also worked with all of its major suppliers to establish warranty repair agreements, enabling the fleet’s technicians to perform repairs on covered items. “We actively manage the warranty recovery process, set annual recovery goals and include this in our bonus performance award program,” Nichols related.

Parts inventories are managed closely at BGE Fleet Services. Established through competitive bidding, contracts are in place for high volume items using specialty suppliers where applicable and larger suppliers for the majority of stocked parts. The fleet’s Operations & Support Unit monitors and manages inventories, orders stock parts, and collaborates with shop personnel to add or delete parts from stock based on usage patterns. The group also assists in ordering specialty or long-lead items.

Successful acquisition, maintenance and parts programs, Nichols pointed out, are the result of finding effective solutions on a consistent basis. “We address short-term issues through teams composed of members from all areas within the department and customers,” he explained.

“We also hold an annual planning conference to develop short- and long-term goals and initiatives for the department,” Nichols concluded. “Prior to the conference, feedback is solicited from all members of the department about improvement ideas or suggestions, and identification of problems or issues that need to be addressed. Department management and leadership use the responses to formulate strategies to improve performance, address issues and develop goals to pursue.”

Progress Energy
Covering a territory that encompasses 34,000 square miles across North Carolina and South Carolina and 20,000 square miles in Florida, Progress Energy serves more than 3 million customers. Its fleet of nearly 3,900 vehicles and equipment is maintained in 26 regional garages by 124 employees, including 88 technicians, along with supervisors, administrators and other support personnel.

The Progress Energy fleet includes 2,500+ light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles from a variety of manufacturers. Also in the operation are more than 1,300 pieces of equipment including trailers and off-road excavating equipment.

“We have a $50 million annual operational and maintenance budget,” reported Gary Butler, Progress Energy Carolinas manager of fleet assets and maintenance. “About one-third of that covers vehicle ownership, one-third is for maintenance and the balance is for fuel.”

Each of those cost areas is then the focus of efforts by the fleet’s managers. Equipment utilization is reviewed periodically to ensure proper allocation of the fleet, and vehicles can be moved after a review of job duties, equipment sizing and other considerations.

Current replacement cycles for the Progress Energy fleet are five years or 125,000 miles for light-duty vehicles, seven to eight years for medium-duty models and 11 years for heavy-duty units. Service buckets are usually replaced after four to five years and trailers in the operation last 20 years.

The Progress Energy maintenance operation handles 93 to 95 percent of the fleet’s maintenance and repair needs in-house, including using 20 traveling preventive maintenance trucks. Day and night shifts also complete dielectric testing on aerial units.

Shops are manufacturer-approved warranty repair centers for GM, Ford, Dodge, Freightliner, International, Sterling, Western Star, Altec and Terex. Warranty recovery utilizing the services of a third-party warranty administrator totaled $45,000 in 2010 and was projected to rise to $75,000 to $100,000 in 2011, Butler reported.

About 5 to 7 percent of the Progress Energy fleet’s maintenance and repair work is outsourced, including tire work and alignments, windshield and body repairs, automatic transmission work and hydraulic cylinder rebuilding.

“We occasionally outsource maintenance due to workload and logistics considerations, and when we identify savings opportunities,” Butler related. “Current maintenance intervals have been set based on regulatory and manufacturer requirements. Preventive maintenance intervals can also vary depending on make, model and application while costs can be affected by hourly labor rates for technicians, which are dependent on progression in salary and other variables.

“Our preventive maintenance intervals are also based on oil sampling,” Butler added. “The data indicates we could extend the intervals, but we established a conservative approach and set mileage limits to ensure that extremely excessive mileage does not occur.”

Parts supplier agreements in place at Progress Energy are resulting in cost savings. Costs are kept in check using volume pricing and rebates, centralized billing and reporting and tracking capabilities.

Progress Energy’s fleet managers also pay close attention to fuel costs and use the information to bolster fuel consumption awareness, including idling practices, routes, weight and stop/start operations. Fuel hedging serves as insurance against steep price increases.

An all-around approach, Butler noted, is minimizing rising vehicle costs at Progress Energy. “We have vehicles and equipment, and driver teams that address issues like utilization, maintenance and fuel consumption,” he explained. “Management system and benchmarking data supports our cost reduction initiatives. In the last 10 years, we’ve held costs flat and absorbed labor increases.”

Oklahoma Gas & Electric
Serving 765,000 customers in a 30,000-square-mile service territory in central Oklahoma and western Arkansas, Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OGE) fields a fleet of more than 2,400 pieces of equipment, including 1,300 light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The fleet is maintained in 11 garages, including one central facility in each of the utility’s larger districts that supports at least one smaller district and/or power plant.

OGE employs 23 mechanics and three garage supervisors as well as eight support personnel in its maintenance operation. Senior mechanics are assigned to one-person shops, mobile service units or as lead technicians in larger facilities. The staff also includes journey and apprentice mechanics as well as interns.

“Many of our garages are one-person operations,” said Herb Kramer, fleet maintenance supervisor. “We move larger jobs to external sources or to our main shop, or we move resources to accomplish the work. We do not want the one mechanic in a facility to be overwhelmed or to create a backlog with a larger time-consuming job. All but three mechanics work from 3 to 11:30 p.m.,” he added, “which means if there is a problem during the day it is repaired that night and the unit is back in service in the morning.

“We handle 75 to 80 percent of the work our fleet requires internally,” Kramer continued, “and we outsource work that we feel we cannot handle as cost effectively as an outside supplier. That may have to do with our available resources, but in all cases we limit the number of suppliers we use.”

At OGE, Kramer reported, all bodywork, windshield repair and virtually all tire work is outsourced. In addition, the fleet outsources 80 percent of light-duty vehicle warranty work, 10 percent of preventive maintenance on those vehicles, and 70 percent of repairs and larger issues found during PMs on light-duty models. Dealers servicing the fleet are required to provide pickup and delivery services.

“We’re very focused on vehicle inspection,” Kramer stated. “Engine oil is sampled at every drain interval and hydraulic oil is tested once per year unless contamination is found. Every time a vehicle is in a shop we try to correct anything we find. We created a checklist so mechanics know what to focus on and we started requiring shop supervisors to check 10 to 20 percent of all work.”

During and between routine PMs, OGE shops are also focusing closely on vehicles and equipment with higher utilization, and those with harder duty cycles. “When we find high-mileage newer vehicles,” Kramer noted, “we move them to areas with lower utilization. That helps us stay on track for replacement cycles and reduces repair costs.”

For parts, OGE is moving from one to three suppliers. “The theory was that we could do a better job of managing costs with one supplier,” Kramer related, “but that made it hard to compare, and having one pipeline increased downtime. To reduce downtime we allowed mechanics to buy locally if it meant they could get the vehicle back in service, and that drove up costs. With our new arrangement we realized a 20 percent reduction in parts costs.”

OGE’s other practices are paying off as well. A proactive approach to maintenance and repairs has reduced downtime and breakdowns, cutting the number of service calls from more than 100 to fewer than 10 per month. Increased uptime, measured as mean time between repairs, has improved.

“That was partially from upgrading equipment and moving high-use vehicles to lower-use areas,” Kramer said. “It’s also a result of better diagnostics and parts availability, as well as keeping mechanics focused on completing a job by giving them the responsibility to manage their own schedules.

“When we started down this path our costs started to rise,” Kramer continued, “because we were fixing things that were broken but never reported. Over time we started seeing our efforts pay off. Today we’ve realized a $700,000 drop in maintenance costs, and a reduction in annual tire expenses from over $950,000 to $550,000.”

Critical to this success, according to Kramer, is meeting with major vendors three or four times per year, and having information on the fleet’s operation and analyzing that data often. OGE also uses the benchmarking services of Utilimarc.

“We measure everything possible and question it regularly,” Kramer stated, “including mean time to repair data, and repair costs for internal and outsourced work. We also evaluate warranty and utilization. Overall, we’re focusing on reducing our annual budget from a variable $11 to $15 million to a lower and steady $9.5 million per year.”

Editor’s Note: The annual Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference will be held June 3-6, 2012, in Williamsburg, Va. For more information, visit www.eufmc.com.

Benchmarking Success

Written by Seth Skydel on October 24, 2011. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

“The challenge of operating on a flat budget requires us to look for cost-saving measures on an annual basis,” says Richard Dwornik, business manager for transportation and equipment services at We Energies. “That and other management challenges lead to the need for a comprehensive process of benchmarking our fleet. Equipment utilization and staffing issues, for example, are among the things that drive us to see what other utilities are doing and to identify best practices that we can incorporate into our fleet management processes.

“We’re evaluating data on our operation and comparing it to the industry average as well as to historical and current internal benchmarks,” Dwornik continues. “We look at measurements of vehicle utilization, cost per unit, work order touches per unit, fuel usage, operating costs and staffing levels.”

The We Energies fleet of 2,239 units includes automobiles, pickup trucks, vans, bucket trucks, heavy-duty trucks, trenchers, backhoes, skid loaders, forklifts and trailers. The fleet is maintained in 18 shops by a staff of 45 technicians.

Comparing Metrics
For the past eight years, We Energies has been using the benchmarking services provided by Utilimarc. The fleet benchmarking, reporting and analysis firm supplies utility, municipal, federal and private fleets with a methodology for comparing vehicle class-specific metrics internally and externally.

Utilimarc clients routinely report process improvements in lease-versus-buy analysis, specification and standards development, replacement cycle development, vehicle utilization and fleet right-sizing, staffing, cost per maintenance and repair hour, outsourcing assessments, equipment disposal and fuel management.

Best in Class
“A focused benchmarking effort lets us develop best-in-class strategies,” Dwornik states. “Benchmarking is a tool that allows us to accurately compare ownership and operating costs and identify trends in our fleet’s performance. Sharing this information with our employees so everyone knows the challenges helps us make more effective equipment and staffing decisions. We also share the data with user groups to get their involvement.

“An outside benchmarking services supplier has been more beneficial to us than comparing data internally,” Dwornik concludes. “Utilimarc’s data is very extensive and comprehensive, and highly reliable. We’ve come to rely on it to help lower costs and improve efficiency and productivity.”

About We Energies
We Energies serves more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and more than 1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. We Energies is the trade name of Wisconsin Electric Power Company and Wisconsin Gas LLC, the principal utility subsidiaries of Wisconsin Energy Corporation (NYSE: WEC). Visit the We Energies website at www.we-energies.com.

For more information about Utilimarc, visit www.utilimarc.com.

Doing It Right

Written by Seth Skydel on June 6, 2011. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS), headquartered in Rutland, is one of the largest businesses in Vermont and the state’s largest electric company. The utility, which was organized in 1929 with the consolidation of eight electric companies, traces its roots to more than 100 companies, including one dating back to 1858.

A shareholder-owned electric utility, CVPS serves one of the most rural territories in the country, with just 18 customers per mile of line. Its customer base, however, numbers more than 159,000 in 163 communities. Due to the size of its operating territory, CVPS utilizes 617 miles of transmission line and 8,806 miles of distribution line to meet customer power needs.

In place at CVPS is a fleet of 117 vehicles under 8,600 pounds GVWR and 97 vehicles rated more than 8,600 pounds, including 68 aerial bucket- and digger derrick-equipped trucks. In addition, the company fields 75 trailers; 16 pieces of off-road equipment such as four-wheel-drive ATVs, UTVs and snowmobiles; nine materials-handling units including forklifts and cranes; nine stationary generators; seven portable air compressors; five portable substations and related equipment; and six tracked off-road pieces of equipment.

The transportation team at CVPS provides a wide range of services. Included are vehicle specification, procurement and resale, maintenance, repair and rebuilding, purchasing and parts inventory management, track vehicle operations, vehicle registration, highway permits and DOT compliance coordination, training of vehicle operators and demonstration of new vehicles, and materials, supplies and equipment delivery. Transportation also fulfills a role as front-line support for operations during storms.

Overseeing the transportation team that supports CVPS and its customers is Daniel J. Mackey, who assumed the role of fleet manager in January 2006. A 21-year CVPS employee, his experience includes six years as transportation stockkeeper and 10 years as procurement agent. Recently, Mackey discussed the CVPS operation with Utility Fleet Professional.

What factors impact vehicle purchasing, specification and replacement decisions at CVPS?

We have a vehicle specification committee that includes operators. We value their input in the purchasing and specification process for vehicles because they know what works best and what is needed to accomplish their jobs. This allows CVPS to obtain vehicles and equipment that will be accepted by everyone.

The criteria we use to identify which vehicles need to be replaced include a combination of age and mileage. For example, vehicles under 10,000 pounds GVWR are generally replaced after five to seven years and 100,000 to 120,000 miles of service. Vehicles more than 10,001 pounds GVWR are replaced after seven to 10 years and 120,000 to 150,000 miles of service. Other factors that we take into account include maintenance costs, downtime, physical condition, user comfort and functionality, along with performing a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.

Is standardization a factor in your decisions?

All of our medium-duty trucks are International models and our lighter vehicles are Fords, although we do have a few other makes that are needed because of the function they fulfill.
Standardization of the fleet as much as possible allows us to reduce the number of suppliers we do business with, provide specific training for our mechanics, keep our parts inventory to a minimum and only purchase diagnostic equipment specific to the vehicles we operate.

Are alternative fuel-powered vehicles a part of the CVPS fleet?

We have two Toyota Prius hybrids that were converted by A123 Systems to plug-in hybrids and have been working with Green Mountain College, The University of Vermont and Idaho National Laboratory to collect mileage and cost data and evaluate the benefits of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Those vehicles averaged 76 miles per gallon during the winter months and exceeded 100 mpg in warmer months. Recently, the transportation department converted a Ford Escape Hybrid to a plug-in hybrid for use by our mailroom for local deliveries. This is the ideal work situation for a plug-in hybrid.

In 2006, we put in service 15 Ford Escape hybrids for use as meter reading and general operations vehicles, and we have realized a benefit in reduced maintenance costs and lower fuel consumption. Also, in mid-2008 we purchased the first hybrid bucket truck in New England. Compared to our standard bucket truck, the International 4300 with the Eaton hybrid drive system has exhibited a 53 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

Currently we are looking at the potential of introducing to our fleet a plug-in system that allows the aerial device when in power takeoff mode to operate from an electric motor/pump combination powered by a dedicated bank of batteries (hybrid package). This system will not impact the drivability of the chassis. When the batteries are depleted in the field, the truck will automatically be returned to the traditional power takeoff operation of the aerial unit.

What programs are in place for maintenance management, tires, parts and fuel for the CVPS fleet?

We use FleetFocus from AssetWorks to manage the fleet. The software captures all costs and handles maintenance schedules, parts inventory, fuel, labor and lease expenses. We have local and national accounts for parts and tires and use Wright Express to capture fuel use and cost data.

Please describe the CVPS fleet maintenance operation.

The CVPS maintenance team is completely self-sufficient and has the ability to perform warranty work on all vehicles and equipment in our fleet. We outsource very few services. We operate two locations for servicing vehicles, on both sides of the state. Most of the preventive maintenance (PM) is performed at night so it is transparent to our internal customers. We also have two service trailers that we use for nighttime work in the field, and during service restoration operations we use the trailers at the hardest-hit locations so we can provide immediate support.

Ed Baker, shop foreman, oversees the daily operation of the vehicle PM and repair schedule. Karly Carrara, fleet administrator, handles paperwork and the data that includes all of the costs related to the vehicles and equipment operated by CVPS. We also have a stockkeeper who obtains parts and materials needed by mechanics and our internal customers. Overall, the transportation team consists of 12 dedicated, highly skilled employees. Included are 10 mechanics, all of whom hold commercial driver’s licenses, and welding and hydraulic certifications.

How would you sum up the goal and mission of the CVPS transportation team?

Our vision is to cost-effectively provide our customers with efficient, reliable vehicles and equipment. All of our services are driven by the desire to provide dependable, reliable vehicles and equipment at the most economical cost.

Central Vermont Public Service Truck Specifications

Model: International 7400 SBA 6×4
Wheelbase: 193 inches
Engine: International MaxxForce 9; 310 HP/950 lb/ft @ 1200 RPM; Diamond Logic exhaust brake
Transmission: Allison 3000_RDS_P automatic, five-speed overdrive
Transmission Oil Cooler: Modine
Front Axle: Dana Spicer, 14,000 lbs.
Front Suspension: Parabolic taper leaf springs
Power Steering: Sheppard M-100
Rear Axle: Dana Spicer, 40,000 lbs., 4.88 ratio
Rear Suspension: Hendrickson HAS-402-55, air ride
ABS: Bendix
Parking Brakes: MGM Long Stroke
Wheels: 22.5-inch steel disc, 10-hole hub piloted
Tires: 11R22.5 Michelin; XZY-3 steer, XDE M/S drive
Air Compressor: Bendix Tu-Flo 550, 13.2 CFM
Air Dryer: Meritor WABCO System Saver 1200
Fan Clutch: Horton Drivemaster; two-speed direct drive
Batteries: (2) International; 1850 CCA
Starter: Leece-Neville M130D
Alternator: Leece-Neville, 160 amp
Block Heater: Phillips, 1,250 watt
Mirrors: Lang Mekra, heated
Seats: National 2000, air suspension, high back
Fuel Tank: 70 gallon

Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Written by UFP Staff on June 6, 2011. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

When you have upward of 200,000 members to make happy, there’s more than a little pressure on any fleet manager to make smart and effective decisions. For Jim Petty, fleet supervisor for Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) – the country’s largest – the recent purchase of a Kenworth T370 hybrid truck is turning out to be the right choice.

“Not only will we be saving up to 50 percent in our fuel bills, but we’re doing something positive for our workers and the environment when it comes to emissions,” said Petty. “We expect the Kenworth hybrid to pay for the cost difference against a standard T370 in a short period. After that, we’ll save substantial money during our eight- to 10-year trade cycle. And we’ll be doing our part to be green.”

Headquartered in Johnson City, Texas, 50 miles west of Austin, PEC fields a fleet that is used to repair and maintain power lines in an 8,100-square-mile service territory. The new Kenworth T370 hybrid purchased through Kenworth of South Texas joins 75 other Class 6 to 8 trucks with aerial devices in the utility’s fleet. Those other trucks, which include Kenworth T800s, are equipped with PTO-driven 45- to 95-foot extendable buckets.

With the Kenworth hybrid, the bucket arm is extended and manipulated with a PTO powered by the hybrid’s battery pack. “In our other trucks, the engine always idles to run the PTO,” Petty noted. “We average between 3,000 to 5,000 hours of idling just to operate the PTO during the life cycle of the aerial device.

“Since the T370’s engine will only come on periodically to charge the batteries, we’ll save thousands of dollars in idling costs alone when we’re working on lines,” Petty continued. “We’ll also get upward of 25 to 30 percent better fuel economy since we drive in many urban areas, especially around Austin. What’s more, our crew on the ground won’t be exposed to diesel exhaust and we’ll have a quieter operation.”

The Kenworth T370 hybrid is powered by a 300-HP PACCAR PX-6 engine, and features an integral transmission-mounted motor/generator, a frame-mounted 340-volt battery pack and a dedicated power management system. Electricity that is generated through regenerative braking is stored and used for acceleration, assisting the diesel engine.

Kenworth offers a high-resolution, full-color in-dash display to monitor the hybrid system. As the power requirements for different driving conditions change, the screen constantly updates the system status, allowing the driver to optimize the performance of the hybrid system.

According to Petty, the electric co-op has been running hybrid cars for years with good success. “It’s a natural extension for us to move to bigger vehicles and all of us were excited to put the Kenworth into operation,” he said. “We placed the truck into service at our Austin service location and our drivers can’t wait to start driving it. During test drives, they commented about the smooth and fast initial acceleration, thanks to using battery power.”

Petty said there was no trepidation in putting the new hybrid technology to work. “Kenworth of South Texas and Eaton, the manufacturer of the hybrid system, did a great job during a training session to show our drivers and technicians exactly how the hybrid worked, and how it was different from conventional trucks. It gave us confidence going forward that we definitely made the right choice.”

About Pedernales Electric Cooperative
With a long history of serving its customers – called members because they are also owners – Pedernales Electric Cooperative was started in 1938 with the help of then-Congressman Lyndon Johnson. “He helped lobby the Roosevelt administration to secure a loan to build nearly 1,800 miles of electric lines through the Texas Hill Country,” explained Jim Petty, fleet supervisor. “It was the first power to be brought to the area for residents, who, until that time, relied on kerosene lamps for illumination.”

City of Sacramento

Written by UFP Staff on June 6, 2011. Posted in Fleet Profiles.

For the City of Sacramento, Calif., the recent implementation of vehicle telematics has led to significant reductions in fleet fuel consumption and operating costs. Recently, the municipal fleet equipped more than 400 of its vehicles with electronic fleet management products from Zonar Systems.

“Utilizing trip-level metrics on operator behavior and vehicle performance directly impacts behavior and leads to improved fuel efficiency,” said Keith Leech, City of Sacramento’s fleet manager. “Visibility into fleet operations brings automatic accountability that impacts workforce productivity.

“Performance and cost data prior to and post-Zonar installation, for a sampling of 184 of the city’s fleet vehicles representing 14 different vehicle types, was analyzed to conduct an ROI analysis,” Leech continued. “The analysis identified savings in excess of $60,000 a month in fuel costs alone, quite an impressive figure considering the cost to equip those 184 vehicles was just over $110,000. Simply stated, the Zonar system paid for itself in just two short months, making it an excellent investment for the city and a real money-saver for the taxpayers.”

The Zonar solution optimizes vehicle routes, monitors vehicle performance, identifies opportunities for improvements in driver behavior and streamlines the pre- and post-trip inspection process. Products include an Electronic Vehicle Inspection Report (EVIR) that ensures pre- and post-trip inspection compliance while eliminating paperwork and speeding vehicle repair; V2J with HD-GPS capabilities that combine real-time delivery of vehicle location, operation, fuel consumption and performance data in one device; and Ground Traffic Control, a Web-based fleet management portal that provides managers with visibility into fleet performance information.

Tag: Fleet Profiles