Horry County Preventive Maintenance Costs

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2 City of San Antonio, TX Performance Indicator Expenditures per Light Vehicle In FY 1999, the city of San Antonio spent an average of $480 per light vehicle for maintenance ($330 for general maintenance and $150 for preventive maintenance). For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median expenditures per light vehicle (for general and preventive maintenance) were $1,096 and $1,095, respectively. Tiered Maintenance Schedules San Antonio operates a three-tiered preventive maintenance system that is designed to maximize convenience for the employees who drive the vehicles. The city s preventive maintenance schedule includes: Preventive Maintenance A (PMA) Includes checking filters, brakes, batteries, etc. (performed every 6 months or 7,000 miles) Preventive Maintenance B (PMB) Includes changing fluids, rotating tires, inspecting belts and coolant (performed every 12 months or 14,000 miles) Preventive Maintenance C (PMC) Includes A and B, visually inspecting brake system, replacing antifreeze (performed every 24 months or 28,000 miles). In addition to scheduled preventive maintenance activities, major maintenance is also performed as needed. While all preventive maintenance activities are designed to maximize convenience for the vehicle operators, PMA activities are designed to be especially quick. They require just 10 to15 minutes and can generally be performed while the vehicle operator waits. This allows mechanics to perform basic maintenance activities that help ensure the safe and effective operation of the vehicles without taking them out of service for a long period. By contrast, PMB activities usually take from two to two and a half hours, and PMC activities usually take from four to four and a half hours. Service Agents Another measure in place to maximize the convenience of preventive maintenance activities is the use of service agents. In certain cases, service agents will pick up a vehicle from the user, deliver it to the garage for maintenance, and return it to the user when the maintenance work is completed. The police and public works departments make good use of these service agent positions. Other tasks performed by service agents include washing and fueling vehicles. Some of the positions are paid; others are filled by retired police officers who want to stay involved with the department. Neither the departments direct service agent costs nor their savings in police and public works staff time are reflected in the vehicle maintenance costs. San Antonio, TX Population: 1,171,700 Square miles: 417 please contact James D. Goode, fleet operations manager, at 210/ ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.1

3 Community Service Assistance In addition to the service agents, the fleet maintenance operation also receives garage cleanup assistance from individuals sentenced to perform community service for minor convictions. When all community service hours are tallied, this temporary assistance amounts to one full-time equivalent position a significant savings especially when combined with the paid staff time freed to perform more skilled maintenance activities. Extended Warranties With some classes of vehicles, the fleet maintenance staff also maintains a comprehensive manufacturer s warranty, which helps to reduce maintenance costs. For police patrol cars, this extends for three years or 36,000 miles, which is longer than the two years that most patrol cars are typically retained by the city. 6.2 I CMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

4 City of Tucson, AZ Performance Indicators Expenditures per Police Vehicle Expenditures per Light Vehicle For FY 1999, the city of Tucson reported spending an average of $1,232 to maintain each police vehicle and $508 to maintain each light vehicle. For all jurisdictions reporting that year, the median fleet maintenance expenditures were as follows: $2,977 per police vehicle and $1,095 per light vehicle. Communication, Experience, and Training Keep Costs Low To keep maintenance costs low, Tucson s fleet manager employs several tools: Department vehicle coordinators Each city department appoints a vehicle coordinator who serves as liaison to the fleet maintenance division. The coordinator meets in-person with division representatives to discuss the department s vehicle needs. Ensuring that needs are well understood before work begins helps save time and money. Seasoned mechanics The city hires only mechanics who are well versed in industry standards for fleet maintenance. Ongoing training In addition to the knowledge that the mechanics bring with them, the city also provides frequent training on emerging issues. Tucson, AZ Population: 475,450 Square miles: 195 Private Sector Partnerships Reduce Training Costs To provide some of its training, the city partners with private entities like the National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA) and CarQuest. The city provides the teaching space, and the private companies provide the instructors and materials. The private companies benefit from free use of the teaching space, and the city benefits from free instruction for its staff. (The city is able to send a small number of staff members to each private training session.) For additional information regarding the practices described in this case study, please contact Dave Burns at dburns1@ci.tucson.az.us. ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.3

5 Horry County, SC Performance Indicators Maintenance Expenditures per Police Vehicle Maintenance Expenditures per Light Vehicle In FY 2000, Horry County spent $1,425 per police vehicle and $751 per light vehicle for preventive and regular maintenance activities. For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median expenditures per police vehicle were $2,974 and $3,044, respectively, and the mean and median expenditures per light vehicle were $1,193 and $1,177, respectively. Horry County s fleet maintenance department performs both major and minor maintenance and repair work on all county vehicles and heavy equipment. Police vehicles are the only exception, and the county s fleet maintenance department performs all work except body repair and radio and light-bar installation on them. New-Vehicle Maintenance Programs Horry County cites two recently established programs as major factors in keeping its vehicle maintenance costs low: a comprehensive preventive maintenance program and a strategic vehicle replacement program, both of which cover all vehicles and equipment owned by the county. The county reports that its preventive maintenance program has helped to reduce vehicle downtime by ensuring that most vehicle problems are detected before a vehicle completely breaks down. Staff report that the program has also helped to extend the usable life of many vehicles. Since implementing the program, the county has been able to keep some vehicles in service for as long as 12 years and is able to operate some police vehicles for as many as 150,000 miles. Preventive Maintenance Schedules Like most jurisdictions, Horry County schedules preventive maintenance on the basis of vehicle mileage. The county s schedule for police vehicles is as follows: A services Performed every 3,000 miles; includes oil and filter change and fluid-level and light checks C services Performed every 21,000 miles or 365 days; includes brake service, fuel filter replacement, transmission service, and more. The schedule for light vehicles differs only in frequency. Category A services are performed every 5,000 miles, and category C services are completed every 30,000 miles or 365 days. Horry County, SC Population: 144,053 Square miles: 1,134 Council-administrator/ manager please contact Don Foote, fleet maintenance director, at footed@horrycounty.org CASE STUDIES ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.5

6 Vehicle Replacement Program Horry County s vehicle replacement program the other factor in the county s success was created as an objective tool to determine the appropriate time for replacing the county s vehicles. The program uses a point system to assess the safety and drivability of each vehicle in the fleet. Points are assigned for each of the following criteria: Age Mileage Type of service for which the vehicle is used Overall condition Repairs per month Lifetime repair costs. Upon reaching a certain point threshold, vehicles are tagged for replacement. Other Factors Contributing to Low Costs In addition to its preventive maintenance and vehicle replacement programs, Horry County notes the following items as factors in keeping maintenance costs low: Responsible bidding Fleet maintenance staff are heavily involved in the bidding for new vehicles. They closely examine the bid specifications and look at specific failure-rate items. This practice, which was started five years ago, has saved the county from potential problems (e.g., brake repairs) by identifying problem items and ensuring the bid properly includes equipment that has a long life span and proven reliability. Parts management The county s full-time parts manager and a parts clerk continuously search for the best prices on replacement parts. According to the county, this practice of shopping around can save as much as 25 percent on the prices of certain parts. Other cost saving measures employed by the county include purchasing from statewide contracts and reusing parts from disabled vehicles. 6.6 ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 2002 CASE STUDIES

7 City of Irving, TX Performance Indicator Light-Vehicle Maintenance Expenditures per Mile Driven In FY 2000, the city of Irving reported light-vehicle maintenance expenditures of $0.10 per mile. For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median values were $0.18 and $0.17, respectively. Innovative Vehicle Rotation Schedule To help keep maintenance expenditures low, the city of Irving uses an innovative vehicle rotation schedule, which enables to city to take full advantage of warranty-covered services. When the city purchases a new police vehicle, the vehicle is typically assigned to a police administrative department first; then, after a couple of years, it is moved to the patrol fleet. The reason for this is that most police vehicles come with a warranty lasting three years or 36,000 miles whichever comes first. In Irving, patrol vehicles tend to be driven an average of 30,000 miles per year meaning that the warranty on a new vehicle used for patrol would be exhausted in just over one year. Nonpatrol light vehicles, on the other hand, tend to be driven just 8,900 miles per year. Thus, by using its police vehicles in an administrative capacity for the first few years, the city is generally able to take advantage of a full three years of warranty service before exceeding the 36,000-mile threshold, which helps save maintenance dollars. Low Accident Rate Irving s low accident rate also helps minimize maintenance expenditures. In Irving, the rate of accidents for police patrol vehicles and other light vehicles is low just 0.25 accidents per 100,000 miles driven for police vehicles (compared with mean and median figures of 1.04 and 0.86), and 0.21 accidents per 100,000 miles driven for other light vehicles (compared with mean and median figures of 0.87 and 0.44). (See Risk Management section for further discussion of accident rates.) Effective Preventive Maintenance Program As with most other communities, Irving also places a significant emphasis on preventive maintenance. Most vehicles are brought in for routine fluid, brake, and safety checks every two or three weeks, helping maintenance staff to keep the vehicles in good working condition and to detect minor problems before they develop into major problems. Irving, TX Population: 185,200 Square miles: 69 please contact Damon Southard, fleet maintenance manager, at 972/ or dsouthard@ci.irving.tx.us CASE STUDIES ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.7

8 Rockville, MD Population: 48,966 Square miles: 13 City of Rockville, MD Performance Indicator Maintenance Expenditures per Solid Waste Vehicle In FY 2000, the city of Rockville reported spending an average of $4,202 in preventive and regular maintenance expenditures for each solid waste vehicle. The mean and median expenditure figures for all jurisdictions reporting were $14,053 and $13,083, respectively. Preventive Maintenance The city cites its preventive maintenance program as one of the keys to keeping maintenance costs low for its solid waste packers. By checking out its solid waste packers on a regular schedule, the city is able to catch problems before they cause a major breakdown and before repair costs for such problems reach high levels. For its basic preventive maintenance activities, the city provides typical express-lube services based on a vehicle s fuel consumption, mileage, and time in service. Rockville s preventive schedule is governed by regulations set by the state of Maryland, which mandate that all official vehicles must undergo inspection, service, and repair once every 5,000 miles or 4 months, whichever comes first. The state established these regulations in January Short Life Cycle and Low Mileage The city also notes that the relatively short life of its solid waste vehicles may play a part in their low maintenance costs. The city s rear-loading packers serve on full-time routes for only six years. They are then transferred to the reserve fleet or to leaf-collection service for another two to four years. After their time in reserve or leaf-collection service, the vehicles are sold to local body shops to recoup a small part of their original cost. Rockville also notes its solid waste vehicles may accrue relatively low mileage compared with similar vehicles in other jurisdictions because the city itself is relatively small, and the city s transfer station is located within the city limits. (The city does not have its own landfill.) According to the city s fleet manager, the city s solid waste vehicles are rarely driven as many as 100,000 miles in their lifetimes. please contact Pat Stroud, fleet manager, at pstroud@ci.rockville.md.us. 6.8 ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 2002 CASE STUDIES

9 City of San Jose, CA Performance Indicator Light-Vehicle Maintenance Expenditures per Vehicle In FY 2000, the city of San Jose reported light-vehicle maintenance expenditures of just $440 per vehicle. For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median values were $1,196 and $1,207, respectively. Software-Managed Maintenance Schedule Reduces Costs Since 1989, San Jose has scheduled its fleet maintenance activities using two commercial software programs, Peregrine and Prototype. With these two programs, the city uses vehicle mileage data, not the calendar, to schedule maintenance activities at manufacturer-recommended intervals. With the software, the city was able to determine that many of its vehicles were being overmaintained under the old calendar-based maintenance system; with the software-based system, the city was able to reduce preventive maintenance activity by 45 percent per year. This reduction in preventive maintenance activity translates to an annual cost of just $87 per light vehicle for preventive maintenance and a 20,000-gallon savings in annual oil consumption. In terms of staffing, this elimination of unnecessary preventive maintenance activity has also meant that while the city s fleet has grown by approximately 125 vehicles per year, the number of fleet maintenance workers has remained about the same. Software Also Being Used to Schedule Vehicle Replacements San Jose does not view its software as just a scheduling tool, though. The city also uses its fleet management software to find new and better ways to make use of its fleet resources. Recent studies analyzing fleet use found that while some vehicles are driven as many as 7,000 to 10,000 miles per year, others are driven as few as 3,000 miles per year. These figures along with other data are now driving a review of lifecycle costing and replacement criteria. And While Software Is Key, the Personal Touch Is Not Forgotten While taking advantage of the powerful information derived from its software programs, San Jose has not forgotten the value of people power. The city uses designated managers for preventive maintenance administration and warranty administration activities; these managers are responsible for tracking the consistency of related work and evaluating the efficiency of the technicians who perform it. It is understood that while computer-based tools may be perfect for scheduling work, there is no substitute for the human touch is assessing the nuances of how well the work has been done. San Jose, CA Population: 923,000 Square miles: 177 please contact Don Beams, fleet manager, at 408/ or don.beams@ci.sj.ca.us CASE STUDIES ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.9

10 As further proof of its commitment to the personal touch, San Jose also fields a special, mobile team of six fleet technicians who provide vehicle maintenance services to scattered-site workers around the city. The technicians are equipped with specially outfitted trucks that allow them to provide oil changes, waste oil recovery, and minor preventive maintenance services anywhere in the city. And, while garage-based fleet maintenance services are available only during the traditional workday, services from these mobile mechanics are also available afterhours and on weekends. The fleet maintenance branch also tries to keep open the lines of communication with its largest customers, meeting monthly with the city s larger departments to discuss anticipated needs and any concerns ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 2002 CASE STUDIES

11 City of Santa Monica, CA Performance Indicator Percentage of Vehicles Using Alternative Fuel In FY 2000, the city of Santa Monica reported that 21.1 percent of its vehicles used alternative fuel. For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median usage rates were 3.0 percent and 0.0 percent, respectively. Council Requires Alternative Fuel Use To boost the use of alternative fuels, the city implemented a policy in the mid- 1990s requiring that all newly acquired vehicles use alternative fuels. The policy further requires that if a particular type of vehicle needed by the city cannot be procured with alternative-fuel power, special permission for the purchase must be requested from the city council. Santa Monica replaces approximately vehicles per year. With this volume, the city is sometimes is able to leverage its buying power to make bulk purchases that result in lower per-vehicle prices. If just one of a particular vehicle type is needed, the city may either issue a stand-alone purchase order or make use of cooperative statewide buying contracts. Convenient Location of Alternative Fueling Sites Most of the alternative-fuel vehicles owned by the city are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The city has one CNG fueling station located at the city s public works yard. Other alternative-fuel vehicles in the city s fleet use electricity and propane. The propane-powered vehicles, however, are being gradually replaced with CNG-fueled vehicles. The city s fleet of electric-powered vehicles is growing, and evidence of this is apparent at several sites around the city where charging stations have been added to fuel these vehicles. Dealers Perform Alternative Fuel Conversions To minimize risk and cost to the city, the city requires that all alternative fueling conversions needed for new vehicle purchases be made by the dealer prior to purchase. This not only saves the city the physical effort of conversion but also helps ensure that the converted systems do not violate any warranty protections on the vehicles. City Leases Some Vehicles to Save Maintenance Dollars For its electric-powered vehicles, the city minimizes maintenance expenditures by leasing rather than buying the vehicles. Under the terms of the leases, all maintenance is provided by the lessor. Costs Compare Well The up-front cost for many of the alternative fuel vehicles is a bit higher than for an equivalent gas- or diesel-powered vehicle. For a standard half-ton pickup truck, the conversion adds approximately $5,000 to the purchase price. In terms of operations and maintenance, however, there is no significant difference between alternative- and fossil-fuel vehicles. In fact, because CNG is a cleanerburning fuel than gasoline, the maintenance costs for the city s CNG-powered engines is sometimes less than for its gasoline engines. In addition, the cost of CNG is 50 percent less than the cost of unleaded gasoline. Santa Monica benefits both in its own air quality and in its reporting to the regional air quality board. Santa Monica, CA Population: 96,528 Square miles: 8 please contact Kevin Jorgensborg, operations superintendent, at 310/ or kevin-jorgensborg@santa-monica.org CASE STUDIES ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.11

12 Sioux City, IA Population: 82,697* Square miles: 52* *City fleet maintenance also maintains vehicles for county, state, federal, regional transit, technical college, and other government agencies throughout county. The population and square miles served and vehicle data shown are for the city only. City of Sioux City, IA Performance Indicator Light-Vehicle Maintenance Expenditures per Vehicle In FY 2000, Sioux City reported light-vehicle maintenance expenditures of $612 per vehicle. For all jurisdictions reporting, the mean and median expenditures amounts were $1,196 and $1,207, respectively. Sioux City s light vehicles are each driven an average of 5,290 miles per year. Most of the driving takes place within city limits, and employees are not permitted to take vehicles home at the end of the day. While Contracting Out May Be Good, Sioux City Finds Contracting In to Be Better While Sioux City contracts out for many vehicle maintenance services such as body repair, glass repair, and transmission work (all of which are included in the cost per vehicle), the city also contracts in some maintenance services in other words, the city actually provides certain vehicle maintenance services to outside customers like local county, state, and federal agencies as well as the regional transit authority and the local technical college. In total, Sioux City s central garage provides maintenance or fueling services to more than 800 vehicles one-and-one-half times the number of vehicles in the city s overall fleet. This active contracting in program helps in three important ways, all of which help to reduce overall vehicle maintenance costs for the city: It brings in a steady stream of maintenance work for the city s mechanics It helps spread overhead costs across more customers It reduces the per-task cost of some of the most common repairs. How Contracting In Began The city s contracting in efforts began in the mid-1990s when the city s fueldispensing tanks were replaced. The new tanks included a computerized fuel accounting system, which facilitated charge backs to other agencies. Other government agencies looking for a convenient 24-hour fueling location in the city found one at the city garage with fuel resold to them at city cost. With those fuel contracts serving as the foot in the door, other agencies vehicles were coming to Sioux City s garage regularly, and it was a natural second step for the city to start contracting to provide other maintenance services as well. Phase-Out of Reserve Vehicles The city has also been able to minimize vehicle maintenance costs by phasing out the use of reserve vehicles. The average age of light vehicles in Sioux City s fleet is 59 months (5 years), with sedans typically being a little older. In the past, the city tended to maintain a number of extra or reserve vehicles of each type, but as vehicles have been replaced, the extra vehicles have been phased out, the age of the fleet has decreased, and the city has been able to decrease fleet staffing as well. please contact Curt Miller, purchasing/fleet manager, at 712/ or cmiller@sioux-city.org ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 2002 CASE STUDIES

13 In recent years, fleet maintenance staffing has decreased from 30 FTEs to 20.5 FTEs resulting in substantial salary savings. In addition, the younger fleet, which resulted from the phase-out of reserve vehicles, has led to better returns on used vehicles sold by the city. Cooperative Buying to Save Money and Leasing Out to Make Money Sioux City is also able to save money when buying new vehicles because it engages in cooperative bidding with other local agencies and in neighboring areas of Nebraska and South Dakota. Moreover, to make money, the city also buys extra vehicles and leases them to other agencies on 60-month lease/purchase agreements. This results in a savings for the outside agency and income for the city for the lease interest, as well as the maintenance and fuel billed to the agency CASE STUDIES ICMA CENTER FOR PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT 6.13