Fleet Management Information for Sweeping Professionals

Employing Technology and Oversight to Maximize Fleet Operations in LA County, California

Pamela Manning oversees one of the largest public fleets in America, the approximately 2,000 vehicles in the Los Angeles County, California, municipal fleet. This interview is a synopsis of the presentation Manning gave at American Public Works Congress and Exposition in the fall of 2009.

by Ranger Kidwell-Ross,

With the onset of the fiscal crisis in California in 2009, LA County Fleet Manager, Pamela Manning, was presented with what many would see as an impossible task: reducing overall costs by 7% with no redution in service. Instead of simply deciding where cuts would create the least havoc, she took a much more creative route.

Rather than simply seeing where she can cut costs, this savvy manager of one of America's largest public fleets has employed a variety of expense reduction activities and technologies. These are designed to put tracking of her fleet and operators at the forefront of what's possible to attain. Find out how they've implemented a new software system that "speaks" to the financial system and how they capitalize on grants to cover the costs of retrofitting and re-powering their equipment.

This includes the use of sophisticated GPS software to track items like the composition of vehicle exhaust, in order to identify deteriorating vehicle engine conditions earlier, so as to reduce costs of repair and maintenance. Their GPS software also offers a variety of driver-initiated 'markers' to be entered into the system in order to pinpoint places where, for example, road signs are obstructed, pavement is failing, dead animals are on the roadway and more.

In the following audio interview of about 20 minutes, Manning offers a number of insights about cost minimization, tracking, employee management and more as she steers LA County's effort to maintain the service level of its fleet in a time of shrinking budgets. What she discovered are a number of ways to become more productive in operating the fleet vehicles.

To listen to the 20-minute audio interview with Pamela Manning, click here. Note: The audio will open into a new window and play without downloading any files onto your computer.

Pamela Manning is Fleet Manager for Los Angeles County. She may be reached via calling 626.458.7315, or via email sent to pmanning@dpw.lacounty.gov.

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