Vector Comes to the Rescue of Newberry Fire Department
Overview
Located in the northwestern section of South Carolina, Newberry County is the state’s largest county by area, covering 630 square miles. To serve its citizens, the county operates a fleet of police, fire/rescue, EMS and public works vehicles and equipment. More than a decade earlier, Newberry hired a contracted fleet maintenance provider, but achieved mediocre results. Still, the county believed it could benefit from the quality and savings an outsourced service provider might offer.
The Challenge
Like many government entities, Newberry County managers continually faced challenges in quality, productivity and customer service. The county desired improvements in these areas, while maintaining a growing fleet; however, the maintenance budget could not increase. After 12 years of working with the same provider, Newberry County was looking for new ways to revitalize its fleet management and maintenance program.
Delivering the Solution
In 2009, Newberry County contacted Vector Fleet Management, LLC in search of innovative ideas that would have a positive impact on the operations and budget of the Newberry County fleet. After observing the practices of the incumbent provider, Vector identified numerous areas where efficiencies could be realized, starting with how Newberry County Fire & Rescue vehicles were being serviced. As the state’s largest county by area, Newberry is required to maintain several fire stations strategically located throughout the county. This includes 15 fire stations with 82 vehicles domiciled across the county’s network. In addition, these fire stations are supported by a 100% volunteer team of firefighting professionals, whose time and efforts are extremely valuable and should be dedicated to training for and responding to emergency calls.
Under the incumbent contractor’s solution, Newberry County had to deliver each piece of Fire & Rescue equipment to a central garage for required maintenance and repairs. This process was time-consuming and required that volunteer firefighters drive vehicles to the facility, and return them to their respective fire station days later when work was completed. During Vector’s assessment of the current operating conditions, we identified an immediate solution which reduced the number of hours volunteers had to expend on maintenance activities, lowered fleet operation expenses, and dramatically increased the availability of emergency response vehicles.
Delivering the Promise
As an integral component of its contracted maintenance deployment, Vector implemented on-site servicing of Newberry’s Fire & Rescue vehicles at fire stations across the County. Based on each vehicle receiving two Preventive Maintenance Inspections annually, Vector:
• Eliminated 164 unnecessary trips to the County fleet maintenance facility
• Saved 656 man-hours by avoiding vehicle deliveries to the fleet maintenance facility
• Reduced fuel consumption of the department by 200+ gallons
• Increased emergency response vehicle availability by 34 days (or 820 hours) over the first year of the contract
• Improved customer service and data analysis for the Fire & Rescue Department
Communications with the former maintenance provider posed additional problems for the Newberry County management team. Vector addressed these shortcomings through a proactive approach to communication, spearheaded by Larry Hall, Vector’s General Manager at the Newberry location. Now the County management team receives concise and timely communications regarding:
• Performance thresholds including vehicle availability, PMI compliance, warranty recovery, and technician productivity/efficiency
• Non-target maintenance management including budget projections and robust approval protocols
• Customer Service to include frequent and accurate updates related to vehicle maintenance and repair turn-times
Return on Investment
As demonstrated, through dedication to solving problems and challenging the status quo, Vector uncovered proactive solutions that required no additional investment or expense for Newberry County. However, these solutions provide tangible savings to the County and have dramatically increased levels of customer service, benefiting not only Newberry’s Fire & Rescue team, but the people who proudly call the county home.
Overview
Located in the northwestern section of South Carolina, Newberry County is the state’s largest county by area, covering 630 square miles. To serve its citizens, the county operates a fleet of police, fire/rescue, EMS and public works vehicles and equipment. More than a decade earlier, Newberry hired a contracted fleet maintenance provider, but achieved mediocre results. Still, the county believed it could benefit from the quality and savings an outsourced service provider might offer.
The Challenge
Like many government entities, Newberry County managers continually faced challenges in quality, productivity and customer service. The county desired improvements in these areas, while maintaining a growing fleet; however, the maintenance budget could not increase. After 12 years of working with the same provider, Newberry County was looking for new ways to revitalize its fleet management and maintenance program.
Delivering the Solution
In 2009, Newberry County contacted Vector Fleet Management, LLC in search of innovative ideas that would have a positive impact on the operations and budget of the Newberry County fleet. After observing the practices of the incumbent provider, Vector identified numerous areas where efficiencies could be realized, starting with how Newberry County Fire & Rescue vehicles were being serviced. As the state’s largest county by area, Newberry is required to maintain several fire stations strategically located throughout the county. This includes 15 fire stations with 82 vehicles domiciled across the county’s network. In addition, these fire stations are supported by a 100% volunteer team of firefighting professionals, whose time and efforts are extremely valuable and should be dedicated to training for and responding to emergency calls.
Under the incumbent contractor’s solution, Newberry County had to deliver each piece of Fire & Rescue equipment to a central garage for required maintenance and repairs. This process was time-consuming and required that volunteer firefighters drive vehicles to the facility, and return them to their respective fire station days later when work was completed. During Vector’s assessment of the current operating conditions, we identified an immediate solution which reduced the number of hours volunteers had to expend on maintenance activities, lowered fleet operation expenses, and dramatically increased the availability of emergency response vehicles.
Delivering the Promise
As an integral component of its contracted maintenance deployment, Vector implemented on-site servicing of Newberry’s Fire & Rescue vehicles at fire stations across the County. Based on each vehicle receiving two Preventive Maintenance Inspections annually, Vector:
• Eliminated 164 unnecessary trips to the County fleet maintenance facility
• Saved 656 man-hours by avoiding vehicle deliveries to the fleet maintenance facility
• Reduced fuel consumption of the department by 200+ gallons
• Increased emergency response vehicle availability by 34 days (or 820 hours) over the first year of the contract
• Improved customer service and data analysis for the Fire & Rescue Department
Communications with the former maintenance provider posed additional problems for the Newberry County management team. Vector addressed these shortcomings through a proactive approach to communication, spearheaded by Larry Hall, Vector’s General Manager at the Newberry location. Now the County management team receives concise and timely communications regarding:
• Performance thresholds including vehicle availability, PMI compliance, warranty recovery, and technician productivity/efficiency
• Non-target maintenance management including budget projections and robust approval protocols
• Customer Service to include frequent and accurate updates related to vehicle maintenance and repair turn-times
Return on Investment
As demonstrated, through dedication to solving problems and challenging the status quo, Vector uncovered proactive solutions that required no additional investment or expense for Newberry County. However, these solutions provide tangible savings to the County and have dramatically increased levels of customer service, benefiting not only Newberry’s Fire & Rescue team, but the people who proudly call the county home.