Whether in business or in the public sector, vehicles seem to end up on the expense side of the ledger. Of course they belong there, because you have to spend money to fuel, maintain, repair and replace them.
At the same time, vehicles are assets — especially if chosen and designed with care and maintained religiously. In business, the right vehicles can separate excellent companies from average ones. In municipal and utility maintenance, vehicles affect the quality, speed and cost of your service, and the image you convey to the public.
Investing wisely
This issue of Municipal Sewer & Water spotlights service vehicles, especially TV inspection vans. You’ll find a roundup of manufacturers’ inspection vehicle offerings, plus a professional’s advice on how to design and purchase a camera truck.
In the latter article, author Jim Aanderud observes, “The purchase of an inspection vehicle must be justified through a critical analysis of the agency’s needs and an objective view of the inspection program and its long-term cost and effectiveness. Unfortunately, many agencies minimize this critical analysis, and the inspection van never achieves its intended purpose.”
Inspection vehicles of course are among the most sophisticated items in a municipal fleet. Still, similar concerns apply to picking vehicles for any purpose — be it line cleaning and maintenance, grouting, hydroexcavation or valve exercising. It is always essential to invest with care. And taking care does not mean simply getting the lowest price. It means choosing the vehicle that best fits your needs and program.
To understand the importance of an efficient fleet, it helps to think in terms of what your real job is. Your aims are to deliver system reliability, solutions to taxpayer problems, and peace of mind, at affordable cost. The best vehicles to enable all that are probably not the cheapest ones you can buy.
Platform for efficiency
First, your vehicles have to get your people to jobsites quickly and reliably. Once there, the onboard equipment and systems must help them attack and resolve the issue as smoothly and efficiently as possible. The better the vehicles support your field teams, the more productive hours you have each day. That translates to major benefits, such as:
• More feet of sewer main inspected per year; shorter cycle times for complete system inspections, and more effective pipe repair and maintenance planning.
• Faster resolution of sewer blockages that inconvenience customers and cause overflows.
• Shorter service interruptions for pipe lining, grouting and other repairs.
Second, your vehicles need the right equipment — enough to handle the issues your people most often see. Yes, it’s expensive to load each truck with high-tech options and fill it wall to wall with machines and replacement parts.
But skimping can be worse — that can mean your crews spend unproductive time traveling back and forth to the shop. Think it through. What are the items your people most often need while on calls? What vehicle options can help them save labor and reduce manual stress and strain?
Third, maintain your vehicles as if their lives depended on it — because they do. When budgets get tight, it can be tempting to scrimp on maintenance. But if you do, you run risks — of facing big repair bills, yes, but also of having a vehicle go down at just the time when you desperately need it. Set a maintenance schedule for each unit, and stick to it.
Professional look
There’s another important thing you can do to turn your vehicles into assets: Keep them looking sharp. Brightly painted, frequently cleaned vehicles bearing your community colors and logo help convey the pride your department has in its work and the professionalism your residents can expect.
How does your service fleet measure up? A better fleet can give you more productive time in the field and a more positive image among the people you serve. Wise investments in your vehicles pay dividends in long-term cost savings, satisfied customers, and better-performing water and sewer systems.
