Productivity is more than ever a top concern for fleet managers. By developing strategies to use technology in innovative ways, fleet managers can save money and boost productivity. At the 1999 Fleet Management Institute, the National Association of Fleet Administrators (NAFA) honored three fleet managers who achieved those goals with the Larry Goill Award for Quality Fleet Management Ideas. Here are the winners and the ideas that brought them recognition.

Michael Bieger
Supervisor, Fleet Services
Hoffmann-La Roche
Nutley, New Jersey
Internet Vehicle Ordering

Idea: Develop a system to order fleet vehicles via the Internet.

Background: Using his standard method of ordering some 800 vehicles per year, Bieger found it unlikely that he could have his old vehicles ready for sale by October, when returns were greatest. With his sales staff soon to be equipped with Internet-capable laptops, Bieger saw an opportunity to streamline administrative time and cost while promoting ordering efficiency and accuracy.

Solution: Bieger created a fleet services Intranet site on which selector lists and forms were posted. At the same time, his fleet management company, Wheels, developed an ordering site. Drivers were then able to place their orders to Wheels directly through the Internet. By removing the Fleet Services department as the ordering middleman, new vehicles could be delivered up to a month earlier and old vehicles could be sold in a shorter timeframe.

Benefits:

• Four weeks of processing time saved.

• Five weeks of administrative time saved.

• 31-day decrease in order turnaround time.

• Increased residual value.

• Increased driver satisfaction.

• Overall cost savings: $275,000.

• Introduces future fleet use possibilities.

Jon Crull
Fleet Manager
City of Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, Florida

"Motor Medic" Motorcycle Fleet

Idea: To combat medical response time lags in the city of Daytona Beach, which hosts more special events per year than any other city in the U.S., Crull and the fire department created a motorcycle-based response team that can navigate through crowded streets to reach emergencies.

Background: Daytona Beach's special events can swell the city's normal population of 65,000 to 500,000 or more. During these events, it could take advance life support units up to 30 minutes to make their way through the crowds to the injured parties.

Solution: Crull took four used Kawasaki police motorcycles slated for auction and equipped them with storage boxes containing emergency gear, including defibrillators. These are manned by emergency medical technicians who passed police motorcycle handling and safety courses. The city now has arranged for the one-year lease of four brand-new Harley Davidsons from a local dealer for $1 per year. The annual turnover reduces the cost of maintenance on both these motorcycles and on the other emergency vehicles which are used less often.

Benefits:

• Emergency response time cut to under five minutes.

• Program's initial cost: $750.

• Program's current cost is $1, plus preventive maintenance.

Jack Harris
Manager, Fleet Services
University of California, Davis
Davis, California
Certification Recognition Program

Idea: Provide employees with a monetary award for each Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification they earn.

Background: The university had never required ASE certification as a condition of employment, so there was no incentive for technicians to stay current with technology. In the meantime, fleet services was spending training dollars without knowing the skill level of its technicians.

Solution: Employees now receive $200 for each ASE certification and $100 for re-certification. Employees arrange for testing conducted by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence on their own, saving the department the time and cost of developing and conducting its own training. Benchmarking of direct labor hours has shown that productivity has increased 30 percent since the program was instituted. As of February 1999, the program has cost $5,600 with a payback of $68,000 in redirected labor costs.

Benefits:

• Increased productivity.

• Increased technical skills.

• Employees can take pride in passing a tough national competency examination, and in the university's recognition of their enhanced skills.

• Reduces maintenance costs.

• Keeps department on top of employees' skills.