Maiden Voyage

My most recent fleet gig was managing the rolling stock of a regional natural gas utility. It had a history of being spun off, sold and absorbed by several owners in rapid succession before I showed up with my notepad and camera. Field management was gun-shy, and justifiably so. Fleet, when it existed at all, had been only a disembodied voice on the end of the phone. No face-time, no visits, no return calls and apparently no responsiveness. So when I first came onboard I was viewed with suspicion.

Many I met with were not only surprised I was out and about and meeting with them, but to a man they told how they had tried to get things done through prior management, but broken trucks stayed broken and mismatched equipment was never changed-out. Most of them had given up and took on the responsibility themselves. As a result, every supervisor had developed the habit of pigeon-holing trucks and equipment “just in case” a breakage occurred. Only half of the spares ran.

Change occurred as an evolution, not revolution. I developed programs to cull out the bad, update the old, maintain the existing, and eliminate the surplus equipment. When the inventory stabilized cash flow was significantly down and a 685 unit fleet was over 100 units lighter. But probably the biggest change the company folks noted was that when they spoke, someone listened. It was only after I’d heard “Thanks for listening” several times that I had an epiphany about the flaws of traditional/established fleet departments. They assume and presume. They rely only on known patterns, history and spreadsheets; they choose to not be proactive and they cause themselves a lot of harm though this choice.

Don’t misunderstand. When it comes to specific equipment lifecycle costing, past performance is still the best predictor of future success. Maintenance records, capital history and category spend all have their place as part of the fleet operations equation. But they are only part. Fleet management should be staying in front of evolving work and operational need, not simply reacting to it with tab-A-into-slot-A responses.  

I was lucky to a great degree. What I inherited was only fairly vague financials and a bad taste left in the collective workforce mouth.  I didn’t assume the baggage of systems already in place or prejudice against new processes.  I wasn’t battling “we’ve always done it that way”, so I had every opportunity and no choice other than to jump in with both feet and get something built.

And so to the point of this ramble. If you operate a fleet I would encourage you to keep historical information historical. It is information, not dogma. Your operators have needs and concerns that are constantly changing, so unless you can change with them, you become the quagmire they get stuck in. Fleet management offers enough challenge without making more along the way.

© 2014 D.W. Williams