Page 17 - July- August 2018
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KINGSPORT By Steve Hightower & Greg Willis
Fleet and Service Collaboration
A panel was formed at a recent Branch promotes better equipment care in the long and all issues are resolved within a timely
meeting to answer questions about the term. If a piece of equipment is not “liked,” manner, and the equipment is placed into
importance of collaboration between Fleet it will have a troublesome and expensive service. The last thing is that the vendor
and Service Divisions when making equip- life within the fleet. remains in contact to verify the success-
ment decisions. Panelists Steve Hightower, ful operation of their equipment, and the
Kingsport Fleet Maintenance Manager, and The next step would then be sending the customer is satisfied.
Greg Willis, Kingsport Street Supervisor, completed specification documents to Pur- Can you think of an example where things did
shared answers to the following questions. chasing for the bid process with a complete not go well, and someone ended up dissatis-
Describe your idea of a successful equipment list of vendors that may be able to provide fied? What did you learn from that experience?
ordering process from beginning to end. the needed unit(s).
Hightower: Good specifications are created Hightower: There have been many times
using good teamwork. Never rush the Once bids are received and opened, the when an item may be missed and left out of
process. First and foremost, the depart- evaluation of bid offering begins, which the specifications. Hence the earlier state-
ment has to have a good understanding includes weighing possible “exceptions” ment, “Never rush the process.” An option
of the job that needs to be performed and taken by participating vendors. Compli- or item can easily be overlooked or omitted
what equipment is available on the market ance to specifications should be taken into during the final specification review pro-
that can fulfill that job. Communication consideration first. After all, there was a lot cess. And then, that item may have to be
with good vendors is invaluable during the of work put into developing specifications installed or placed on the unit after the unit
search. Once the initial considerations are to identify the needed equipment. Pric- is received or placed into service. It pays to
completed, the department and/or fleet ing should be the second consideration. try to have a backup plan when oversight
needs to check for the availability of the If needed, exceptions taken by vendors in issues occur. These oversights, or omitted
desired equipment type that may be used the bid offerings may need to have a dollar items, can be costly mistakes. One should
for a demo. Since the vendors that you have value equated to them so proposal com- encourage good specification reviews to be
talked/worked with are aware of the needs parisons can be “apple to apple.” sure everything is completed and included.
and may have a product to sell, they will Willis: A successful ordering process begins Kingsport may have the department, the
often assist with this. The use of a demo with the discussion with crew members to operators and the technicians review bid
is important to confirm that the selected develop a list of what the equipment will specifications before going to Purchasing.
equipment will perform as expected in the be required to do during its life cycle. Once
field and do the job needed. However, there a list is developed, ask as many vendors as Keep in mind that specifications are
may not be a demonstrator unit available, possible for a demo of their product and always evolving, and for many reasons.
and it may be necessary to travel to another evaluate each product by listing the pros Changes in model years, available options,
location to see a working unit. and cons of each piece of equipment. The less-than-honest vendors, repair issues,
next step is to write the specifications with operator issues, etc., can cause or require
After the initial research is completed, the desired abilities of the equipment and changes to the specifications over time.
it is time to start developing and writ- expectations of the performance of the
ing specifications. And in a government equipment. Once the bids are in, list any Even with the most perfect processes
environment, the specifications need to and all exceptions on each piece bid and in place, someone will always be dissatis-
encourage competitive bidding to ensure compare to the needs listed by the depart- fied or unhappy. This dissatisfaction can
good pricing. Specification development ment. Once the bid has been awarded, the include folks inside the organization as
and input should include the department, vendor remains in contact with your group, well as the vendors. Some vendors will
operators, and technicians. This allows keeping them informed of delivery date get really upset if they do a lot of legwork
“buy-in” on the equipment purchases and or any problems that may arise during the and don’t get the “sale.” And some folks
process. Once the equipment arrives, any are brand happy. A backhoe operator may
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