By Anonymous Fleet Manager

Would you pay four times the going rate to have a service done at the local Toyota or Ford dealer? I think not.

So, why do mechanics think it's okay to spend four hours on a one-hour job? When will they realise that the days of running up hours on jobs are gone?

Our customers, the organisation and the community expect value for money, not a blatant waste of money.

In these challenging times the fleet department must demonstrate that we are competitive and can no long accept loading time on jobs when it's not warranted.

In days gone by, budgets were often considered a bucket of money which staff booked time to; however, times have changed and organisations are now paying attention to the running costs of individual fleet assets.

Workshop foreman must control the workflow and start running council workshop like a dealership – they must plan the day and keep the mechanics informed of timeframes and ensure the business survives.

Time to wake up and smell the roses; if not, they can only blame themselves for their demise.

To stop our Anonymous Fleet Manager (AFM) blowing a gasket, we created Internal Combustion, a monthly column for fleet-related rants that lets him blow off some steam. Got a fleet gripe you'd like to get his opinion on? Email emily.ditchburn@ipwea.org and she'll pass it on to AFM – when he's in a good enough mood, that is.