By Rob Wilson – Director IPWEA FLEET
What will your fleet look like after COVID-19?
The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. We are currently seeing second waves of infection around the world including Victoria. The impact of a second wave on business and government will be significant and unfortunately, some businesses won’t survive another hit.
It reinforces for us as fleet managers that we can’t afford to reduce our vigilance in regard to combating the virus. While it is important that we continue our risk mitigation, it is useful to think about transitioning back to business as usual – whatever and whenever that is.
COVID-19 has been a roller coaster. Back in March this year fleet managers were working hard to manage risks and address the impacts of the Coronavirus. In April, IPWEA Fleet facilitated a webinar to help share information and strategies on managing fleets through the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations then moved to a business continuity phase, putting in place contingency plans such as working remotely, fortified sanitation practices, social distancing processes and so on. We now see new waves of outbreaks and re-applied controls and lockdowns.
It’s timely to think about the next phase - transitioning back to normal (or the new normal). Let’s fast forward to 2021 and beyond and think about the long-term impacts that may occur. What will your organisation be doing? Will its operation and service delivery be the same as pre-COVID-19? What will your fleet operation look like?
I recently spoke to a number of experienced fleet managers about a post-COVID-19 future and they provided some interesting insights.
COVID-19 is likely to have a significant and on-going impact on many fleet budgets. Reduced budgets may in turn impact matters such as capital replacement plans, own or lease decisions and staff recruitment. Lower than normal utilisation may require vehicle lease re-negotiation.
Pool management may be forced to change. Fleet managers might get long-overdue support through policy and executive management buy-in to compel drivers to return vehicles to the pool in an acceptably clean condition. Consideration will need to be given to hygiene, not just of the vehicle but keys and pick up processes as well.
Similarly, workshop housekeeping will require higher levels of cleaning. Facilities, tools and equipment will require routine and thorough cleaning as standard practice, again impacting budget. Andrew Railz, Branch Manager Fleet and Trade Services at Bundaberg Regional Council says “Improved processes around workshop contact will continue post-COVID-19, for example, staff will be making contact thru a separate office rather than direct contact with workshop staff. In addition, we will continue a shift to paperless transactions such as work requests and daily checks. This will not only improve hygiene but provide real-time information, better visibility and improved compliance”.
What if working remotely (telecommuting) becomes established as the new way of business? According to Fleet News an overwhelming majority of fleet decision makers, close to three-quarters (73.4%) said they were working from home; one in 10 were dividing their working day between the office and home, and just 15.4% were still in the office full-time. Steve Colliver, Manager Fleet and Depot Services at Dubbo Regional Council agrees “Greater familiarity and acceptance of telecommuting may reduce the number of pool vehicles required”.
Under a remote work model, the attraction of private use company vehicles is somewhat reduced. In addition, pool usage could be diminished, not only because people are working away from the office but also many drivers don’t feel comfortable driving a shared vehicle. This potentially changes the fleet mix and structure. Further, it could be that occasionally driving your private vehicle from the (new) normal place of work of home to the organisation’s office becomes “grey fleet” use with associated risks.
Will the approach to spare parts inventory change? It may be that fleet operators will contract for higher levels of stock to be kept locally.
Stephen Haughey, Fleet Consultant IPWEA says “Some organisations have retained end-of-life vehicles to provide additional asset during the pandemic. Vehicle remarketing will have to be managed actively and carefully to avoid a used vehicle glut once the pandemic clears”.
A good way to consider various future situations is through scenario planning. Scenario planning has its roots in military strategy and is a method employed by organisations to make flexible long term plans capable of meeting alternative future conditions.
Alternative scenarios might include for example, that there may or may not be a vaccine available, international supply chains may be operating normally or disrupted, economic conditions may have contracted or returned to pre-COVID-19 conditions.
Through the lens of these alternative scenarios you can think about the effects on your operation. It’s more effective to do this by breaking it into elements such as; staff, resources, assets, procurement, service delivery or whatever works for you.
This process may raise some issues for you to consider and plan around. What will your capital replacement program look like? How will you manage and develop staff in the long term? Is the current fleet mix still relevant? Are your facilities appropriate?
We don’t know when the pandemic will end, but by thinking about a post-COVID-19 world now we will be better prepared when it arrives.
Komatsu partnership
It’s great news for IPWEA and the public works and fleet industries generally that Komatsu has again committed to be IPWEA’s Platinum Partner for the next two years. As well as being a platinum sponsor of IPWEA’s 2021 International Public Works Conference, Komatsu Australia will have a strong presence at the annual Australasian Fleet Conference in May 2021. A full statement on Komatsu’s support can be found here.