Reorganization Merits Efficiencies & Savings

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

After 25 years of separate vehicle maintenance and repair operations, County Fire Vehicle Services (25 employees) combined with Fleet Management (85 employees). Fleet’s facility was remodeled, rearranged and significantly upgraded to optimize space and facilitate the reorganization. Bringing the two operations together increased labor and equipment efficiency and produced a reduction in parts inventories by avoiding duplication – overall, we have better asset management and use of taxpayer’s money. Standardization of part’s inventory functions will enable purchase orders for larger volumes which in turn, will make parts less expensive; the inventory will also be smaller since less will be required as a reserve; and minimal space will be used for nonproductive storage. The efficiency gains of integrating the two work groups will also extend to our outlying service centers and fire stations throughout the county’s more than 20,000 square miles. The elimination of Fire’s lease, other duplicated overheads and the anticipated synergy of the combined operation will easily exceed $350,000 per year. The Parts Room (alone) has already returned/surplused more than $60,000 of slow moving and unneeded parts identified during the merging of the inventories.