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How hard should you think about software?

The computer-based Fleet Management Package can take much of the grind out of running large fleets and cut costs into the bargain as Northumberland Council found when it experimented with the scheme

]R has the old addage 3ssity is the mother of ition" had more relevance

today where those who : find ways of cutting costs ;I sink without a trace, th this in mind, some two 's ago Northumberland ity Council experimented a system which shows that nging administrative Iods can not only result in ter efficiency, but produce savings in operating costs, e system is computer-based is produced by the Local ernment Operational Rech Unit of Reading. The folng, based on a report by I. S. hwick of Northumberland )nd D. M. Cooper of LOGRU, s some indication of the cost mplementation and opera le Fleet Management Packmarketed by the LOGRU 'ides up-to-the-minute manment information on the ration and maintenance of ides and plant.

consists of 31 computer grams with documentation, I is organised in separate sec)s covering equipment invent, fuel, repairs, billing and ventive maintenance scheing.

he Department of Environnt supported a dernonstra-1 transfer of the package to rthumberland CC in which the iefits of the package were 3luated by a before and after idy in 1979.

t is a management informa n system for organisations, th more than 100 vehicles erating and from more than e depot.

Beyond a fleet of 100 manual stems of record-keeping are mbersome and it is claimed at Fleet Management Package oyes more efficient. It replaces cisting manual systems of cord keeping, maintains a rth-to-death history report, in_ding mileage, fuel consumpm, repairs and downtime for ;eh vehicle or item of plant; cords and cross-checks all fuel ied; and records and analyses I maintenance and repair work idertaken in the workshops. The FMP also produces onthly bills for inter-depart ment billing; schedules vehicles for preventive maintenance; and prepares monthly summaries of fleet operation including all repair costs, fuel consumption figures, vehicle downtime, and workshop productivity.

LOGRU says there are two broad advantages.

The first stems from the improved information available to management in the form of the monthly system reports.

The second is the disciplined form of administration and record-keeping which the system offers in its clerical functions.

The reports prepared by the package include: • Inventory of all equipment containing details of each item; make, purchase price, departmental user, repair and maintenance costs to date, fuel consumption, mileage to date.

• Information, including the quantity and cost of labour and parts, on repairs on any particular items of equipment during the previous month or for any period in the previous two years. Information on the cost of repairs is available for the whole of the life to date.

• A "cause of repair report", giving comparative and historial information.

• A workshop performance report, giving a summary of the work performed in the current and previous months for each workshop, and a breakdown of the types of repair.

• Fuel reports, in which the fuel dispensed from pumps is checked against the fuel.

• Monthly comparisons of performance by class of equipment and the department to which it is assigned — including average miles or hours of operation per month, average downtime per month, average cost per mile for operation maintenance.

• Detailed information about the performance of each piece of equipment for the previous month, and for the life to date.

• Exceptional condition reports, which identify any equipment that warrants further attention because it has incurred: unusually high (or low) monthly mileage, high maintenance or repair costs, an unusual amount of downtime, or a high number of accidents.

• A one-page management summary of current fleet operations.

The system also handles preventive maintenance scheduling and departmental billing. The preventative maintenance module produces every month, for each workshop, a list of equipment requiring preventive maintenance or inspection.

It also prepares bills for vehicle or plant rented from a central pool, and also for each department's equipment.

The Northumberland demonstration has been completed, and the results have been incorporated into the design of a modified version that is available to local authorities in Britain. The Northumberland report shows how existing procedures were modified to suit the requirements of the system; how the changes were made compatible with current systems; and how the system was adapted to suit local needs.

According to LOGRU and Northumberland CC local authorities in England and Wales are currently spending about £350m a year buying, maintaining and operating their vehicles.

The public sector as a wholE — including water authorities gas and electricity boards, polic( and fire services and the Pos Office — probably spends thre( of four times as much.

In all, public expenditure or vehicles is well over £1 billion ; year, it is claimed.

It is also estimated that in re cent years vehicle costs in locE authorities have risen sharply well above the general increas in prices.

This has been the result of tw main factors: the increasing dE mand for transport by servic departments; and the need t carry out more repair work lof cause insufficient cash has bee provided to replace old vehicle: From outside, the financi; pressures have included: a stee rise in the cost of fuel; heav increases in the price of pan and vehicles; and the need lc better maintenance facilities i order to comply with UK an EEC regulations.

None of these pressures

ikely to lessen and transport -nanagers should be conscious )f the need to make the most ?.fficient use of men, vehicles )nd money.

To do this they need informaion which will alert them to siglificant variations in the cost, )erformance and use of vehicles.

They also need information vhich will reduce risks when naking decisions about the alioation, hiring or replacement of The highways department of Jorthumberland CC agreed to ■ rovide facilities for testing and valuating the system in the first hase of the project. A steering roup of local authority officers presentatives from Depart)ent of the Environment, ICL nd LOGRU was formed.

The members of the steering Dmmittee had a wide range of

During the spring of 1978, DGRU and Northumberland )uncil staff set up a series of eetings. These were designed to provide factual information about the Fleet Management System so that staff involved in implementation, or responsible for procedures affected by it, could assess what it would mean for them.

Transport, data processing, audit and workshop staff were involved in these preliminary discussions. During this period, data processing staff got to know the systems documentation and a simulation of a week's operations for 300 vehicles was carried out.

During the meetings the discussions centred around three broad questions.

• How to adapt the system to suit local needs • How to modify existing procedures to suit the system.

• How to ensure that these changes are compatible with current systems (eg costing or budgetary procedures).

Although there were many uncertainties still to be resolved, in three months there was a strong belief that the system would save the authority both time and money.

A phased implementation pro

gramme, in which the system would be installed initially for use on the highways department's vehicles, was proposed.

This proceeded in stages, taking advantage of the modular nature of the programme, the inventory module would be installed first, then the repair and fuel modules, and then the remainder of the system.

In October 1978, the working group held its first meeting to implement the system and a plan was drawn up which involved: • Reviewing system documentation • Compiling and testing programs • Reviewing vehicle operations • Identifying necessary modifications to either the system or current procedures • Implementing the modified system The group met regularly over the next 12 months and during this time, it built up a detailed picture of all aspects of vehicle operations, and devised a variety of practical means by which the system could be adapted to suit local conditions.

In Northumberland, the main tasks during this period were to review existing record systems, and to identify and agree on changes which would allow the new system to be operated effectively.

The time taken to do this depends on the quality of current record-keeping, the scope of the changes to be made, the availability of staff, and other pressures of work.

Despite considerable demands in all of these areas — together with the extra burden of "anglicising" the system -the implementation period was just over a year. On this evidence, most local authorities in the UK should be able to set up the system in under a year.

Because implementation involved a systematic review of current procedures, the first phase produced a better information system, and a better understanding of where and how improvements could be made.

Northumberland took immediate action to remove outdated stock; sort out a variety of problems arising from inconsistent definitions of work carried out; help the divisional staff to e lish a clearer understandir their responsibilities; rec mend centralised pricin goods; and introduce impr! methods for monitoring the formance of the workshop nus scheme.

In addition, they were ab identify several other velopments where, follov further work, significant ben could be achieved.

These included installin standard computerised si control system; incorpora some of the current ma procedures into the fleet n agement system; and simi ing a number of trial preven maintenance schedules.

In the next stage of velopment transport and c processing staff got to know capabilities of. the system dbveloped a clearer und standing of how to make best use of it.

This "tuning-in" pen typically lasts around a year. the second year of operati managers and users will h. identified what reports tF need, and the data control and data processing staff have developed standard r! tines for dealing with any d ciencies.

During this period the his ways department will be able use the system to monitor c rent policies, and to make a tailed analysis of the prior areas for action identified.

Summarising the experier to date, the introduction of t Fleet Management System h enabled Northumberland Hic ways Department to ma substantial improvements in c ganisation and procedure, set an improved framework f work classification and respon: bilities, and to develop a mo objective view of future prio ties.

The report is careful to poi out the financial benefits an c ganisation will get from usir the system will depend on tf scope for improvement, and di level of commitment.

The system is widely used the USA. The City of Cincinna with an annual operating ar capital budget in 1978 equiv. lent to around £41/4m achieve annual savings equivalent I £300,000 (7.1 per cent) and on off savings of £600,000 (14 pi cent).

About three-quarters of th one-off savings resulted from reduction in the size of the pa senger fleet, a reduction in tF overnight use of vehicles, and the sale of obsolete equipment.

Another 15 per cent carr