By Kevin L. Schlangen, Fleet Manager, Dakota County Fleet Management Rosemount, Minnesota 
Member, APWA Fleet Services Committee

Every public entity has a need for fleet services in their organisation.

The number of units, replacement value and the type of equipment or vehicles will vary from one agency to another. A common factor is that we have a mixed fleet with a large variety of mechanical systems and most of the time people don’t understand what fleet is.

The fleet industry continues to evolve and has seen massive change during the past 10 years, but we continue to work in the background of most organisations. We don’t reach out to the community to promote the value we bring to the taxpayers and user groups.

At Dakota County we are involved in the promotion of fleet management and other Dakota County programs in our community. The three main programs we have implemented are Library Big Truck Day, the Dakota County Fair and Community Corrections work programs.

The Library Big Truck Day events were developed from a request by the County Library managers to help promote the children reading programs in 2005. Fleet Management developed a program that includes staff from Fleet Management, Transportation Department, Parks Department, Sheriff Office, Library, local city Public Works Department staff and local city Fire Department staff.

These events start at 10am and take place in the parking lots of the Dakota County Libraries. They showcase snowplow trucks, water trucks, street sweepers, fire trucks, front-end loaders, boats and various other municipal units. We put together informational sandwich boards that show photos and details of County equipment and projects. An information table is also set up with three-ring binders that have photos of equipment/vehicles, photos of awards we have won, projects we are working on, and help promote the services the County delivers to the taxpayers.

This gives our staff the opportunity to talk to the parents about the value we bring and how we serve the community. For so many children and adults this is the only opportunity they will have to see this equipment up close.

This leads to questions about how to work on and operate these trucks. Taxpayers find out how much technology is in just one truck, and they learn about the skills needed to operate and repair this equipment. In these two-hour events, the usual attendance is around 350 excited children and inquisitive parents. We have had attendance of over 900 at one event. Whenever we have one of these Library Big Truck events, by the end of the day most of the books that are about equipment, trucks and cars are checked out.

This concept has been so popular that most years the County will set up a display at the Dakota County Fairgrounds in August. We bring a tandem snowplow truck with snow equipment, informational signs about our programs, and a sandbox with toys. This weeklong display will reach more than 3000 people and communicate the value of our programs to the taxpayers. Some of the years we have had staff on hand at this display to talk about our equipment and programs.

A third way to communicate value is though working with other programs in our community like our Community Corrections staff. We partner with their work release programs for juvenile offenders. Through this connection these clients wash and wax fleet vehicles or equipment at our main shop. The crews also clean floors, shelves, garage doors and windows.

There is always a County supervisor keeping watch over the clients to ensure all is going well and that none of the equipment, vehicles or building systems is damaged by these clients. The County benefits from having this work done without having to pay full-time staff wages. The corrections program has a safe work environment that is easy for the staff to supervise.

These are just a few examples of how you can reach out to the taxpayers in your community. These provide an opportunity to explain the value of professional fleet management and the services you provide. By bringing the equipment and staff to these types of events you can interact with the public. You can explain the value your programs provide and talk about a career in the public sector. Through your efforts maybe you will inspire that child to be the next fleet technician or fleet manager to join our ranks.

Always remember to communicate the value of professional fleet management, and demonstrate that your team is an excellent return on investment to your user groups, upper management and elected officials.

Kevin L. Schlangen can be reached at (952) 891-7910 or kevin.schlangen@co.dakota.mn.us.

This article was first published in the September edition of the APWA Reporter magazine.