Managing a fleet of trucks, heavy equipment, and other vehicles challenges road agencies large and small. While large agencies like MnDOT use software and specialized administrators to manage fleet management systems electronically, city and county agencies often do not. For some small agencies, fleet management may fall to a shop mechanic or two.

In a recent project from the Local Road Research Board’s Research Implementation Committee, researchers identified the fleet management needs of city and county agencies and reviewed various cost-effective tools that could help these agencies make fleet management decisions. They then developed a guidebook for local agencies that addresses the tools and methods needed to manage fleets effectively.

“The guidebook provides the benefits of fleet management, a comparison of various program features and attributes, and a contact for more information about each program,” says Guy Kohlnhofer, county engineer, Dodge County, and the project’s technical liaison.

The guidebook—Fleet Management Tools for Local Agencies (2017RIC01)—includes a matrix comparing the eight most widely used fleet management software tools among Minnesota agencies. Costs, equipment needs, tracking features, financial analysis applications, and other attributes are reviewed. Case studies of agencies that use spreadsheets, software, and specific fleet replacement strategies are also included.

Three approaches to fleet replacement planning are presented in the guide. “You may have a vehicle that has been driven 300,000 miles and needed little maintenance, while another vehicle has been driven 100,000 miles and has needed a lot of maintenance,” says Renae Kuehl, senior associate, SRF Consulting Group, Inc., one of the co-authors. “We provide three models to determine when you should replace each.”

One of the findings of the project is that spreadsheets are effective and widely available tools for managing fleets. They are easy to tailor to local needs and fleets, are well understood by most computer users, are part of most office software suites, and work well for small data sets. Disadvantages, however, include limitations in reporting features, easy corruptibility of data, and inconsistent data entry among users.

In contrast, fleet management software offers easy report generation; software linkage to fuel, financial, and other software systems or modules; secure and consistent data; and interagency shareability. However, these tools can be expensive. Software costs for managing fleets average almost $36 per vehicle, and annual support costs average about $18 per vehicle. Other disadvantages include the need for training and internet accessibility.

This article originally appeared in the September issue of the LTAP Technology Exchange.