We’ve just wrapped up the 2018 IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference at Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast – and what an event it was.

Thanks to all our delegates, presenters, exhibitors and sponsors. The quality of all the speakers was great and, based on the level of discussion and engagement in the exhibition area and networking events, there was plenty to talk about!

We set out to build on last year’s conference and we did. Great presentations, more delegates, more exhibitors and more sponsors. The conference themes of innovation, efficiency and solutions reflect the challenges delegates are currently facing and will continue to face into the future.

The opening keynote address by David Brown of Drivenmedia set the scene for the following two days by challenging delegates to think about how technology will be adapted in the future and what the role of government and other stakeholders might be in that change. David was joined by eminent engineer Simon Ginn and policy expert Steve Spalding of RACQ to provide their insight into what these changes might mean.

Day two started with presentations addressing both the purchase and re-marketing of assets. Sue McLean of Summit Fleet provided a great overview of the advantages and disadvantages of various financing options and an explanation of lease accounting standard changes occurring in 2019. This was followed by Brendon Green of Pickles explaining how technology and new re-marketing techniques can maximise residual values and thereby reduce whole of life costs.

One message running through many presentations related to effectively using data. This makes sense – good data means good information which supports good planning and decision making. Good data can drive cost reduction, support sound maintenance and demonstrate effective management. But it’s not about data for data’s sake. We need to define our objectives and opportunities and then collect and use data accordingly.

Ken Goldberg of Modus Management’s presentation on Successful Implementation of Fleet Management Information Systems identified “dirty data” as a significant and common problem. A similar theme carried through when Andrew Railz – Deputy Chair of the IPWEA FLEET Council spoke of the need for discipline in data collection. It must be part of the culture. Data must be captured consistently, with timeliness and accuracy – and that needs to be part of the way people in the organisation work. Grant Cooper of Isuzu provided a great session on advances in telematics and connectivity and the opportunities this provides for fleet operators.

Paul Lauria, President of Mercury Associates in the US also addressed the trend of increasing information and identified it as one of three significant impacts on fleet management over the coming years. We’re moving from an industry where experienced and wise practitioners to some extent make intuitive decisions to an era where qualified, data driven decisions are increasingly made by business management generalists. A panel discussion including Ross Moody of IPWEA and Grant Cooper of Isuzu expanded on these challenges.

There were some great presentations on Chain of Responsibility. Mark Mills of Sutherland Shire Council, and an IPWEA Fleet Council member, provided a case study from a fleet practitioners perspective who is well down the compliance track. Andrew Watt of CoR Australia demonstrated how the whole organisation needs to be involved in COR Compliance – from the CEO to the fleet manager to those involved in Operations, WHS and Corporate Services. An entertaining panel 'hypothetical' including IPWEA CEO Rob Fuller, David Timms of Richmond Valley Council and Mark Mills of Sutherland Shire really drove home the message. Again, good data plays a role in managing your risks and also demonstrating you have actively managed risk.

IPWEA have published a fleet asset classification structure to help you describe your fleet in a consistent manner and is soon to publish a maintenance definition guide so that maintenance activity is recorded accurately and consistently. All this will support better data capture and better information to support robust analysis and benchmarking.

Delegates really appreciated hearing from experienced Fleet Managers and how they are driving improvement in their operations. Steve Colliver of Dubbo Regional Council shared his insights into the benefits of effective preventative maintenance and how to implement a PM program. Michael Borg of Rockhampton Regional Council spoke of his experience and lessons learned in acquiring and implementing a digital radio communication system across the organisation.

Our thanks must also be extended to City of Gold Coast. Manager Fleet Dean Gutteridge, Manager Delivery Commonwealth Games Trish Apps, Manager Traffic and Transport Matt Tilly, Executive Coordinator Disaster Management Peter Rawlings and Inspector David Morganti of QPS all provided a great insight into the planning and activity necessary to host the Commonwealth Games. The tour of the City of Gold Coast Fleet depot, landfill facility and key games facilities provided a great way to wrap up an exciting three days.

IPWEA will be running the Australasian Fleet Conference again in 2019 – we’ll keep you informed as more detail becomes available.

Robert Wilson
Manager, IPWEA FLEET