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Fleet Director's Column

By FLEET e-news posted 10-08-2023
By Marc Sibbald – Director IPWEA FLEET What can we learn about teamwork from the Matilda's? Many organisations use successful sporting teams as analogies when talking about culture and performance. Watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup during July and August has caused me to reflect on the dynamics of a team and what makes a team rise to highest level against the odds. There have been many examples during the World Cup of nations with little, or no financial support punching above their weight. For me, a great example of leadership and team resilience is the Matilda’s. On the eve of the tournament they lost Sam Kerr, considered one of the greatest ...
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IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities

By FLEET e-news posted 09-08-2023
IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities   Upcoming Webinars . Join IPWEA for our webinars on Fleet Management KPIs - Part 2 . This is a topic that every organisation with fleet assets needs to understand and adopt to stay aligned with their organisational objectives and to maintain a focus on strategic issues. Presented online in two parts by a speaker panel consisting of a consultant, fleet manager and technology company. Fleet Webinars are a core feature of IPWEA Fleet so you will not want to miss these sessions.   Click here for more information or to register. Fleet Management Training Days ...
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In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum

By FLEET e-news posted 09-08-2023
In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum Topic: Building a new depot - any tips to get it  right? Marc: Hello everyone, Several of the IPWEA Fleet Subscribers are in the initial planning stages of building new council depots. Do you have any advice for them on what to include, or what not to do? What should they consider for the workshop? e.g. Are service pits still popular and safe? Do they need to plan for electric vehicle charging? What about managing CoR? Should they have a weighbridge? How should staff parking be allocated and where should it be located? Should ...
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Safety rating synchronicity

By FLEET e-news posted 09-08-2023
Safety rating synchronicity By: Anonymous Fleet Manager So let’s see. We’ve got our fleet safety policy in place. Check! We order our Prado’s with 5-star ratings per stakeholder requirements. Check! We’ve got our 10-year replacement plans in place. Check! We’ve got a stack more of the top selling four-wheel-drive wagons on order due to lead times. Check! All Good...WRONG! Umm, these new Prados (and the ones on our fleet register) have been stripped of their 5-star rating. But they’re still in demand, still on sale, and still on order. What the…? They’re not the only ones too. Navara’s, Pajeros, Passats, Tritons, etc. Why? Because of the introduced ...
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There's More To Fleet Management Than Electricity

By FLEET e-news posted 20-06-2023
By Marc Sibbald – Director IPWEA FLEET There's More To Fleet Management Than Electricity The cool weather has arrived in Australia and New Zealand, so it’s a good time to think about batteries. I know this isn’t high on the list of priorities for a Fleet Manager, however breakdowns and unscheduled maintenance increase at this time of the year and the most common cause is battery failure which can be avoided with a good preventative maintenance program. Preventative maintenance compliance, Whole of Life Costs (WOLC) calculations and fleet management KPIs aren’t the most exciting topics to pick for this column when electric vehicles and fleet EV transitions ...
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The Balancing Act

By FLEET e-news posted 19-06-2023
The Balancing Act By: Anonymous Fleet Manager I don’t get it! Why does the organisation want to transition the entire fleet to EVs right now? I mean, I get why EVs are so important to the environment and all. But have any of the Execs driven on a long journey beyond the initial charge? “Let’s see…mapped my journey in PlugShare. Yep. All good! Now I know all the ChargeFox stations for the next 1,200 kilometres. Let’s go! Hmmm, battery low so first stop. Oops…charging station down. Whaaat!! Oh no! Better drive to the next one another 120 km down the road (sweat rolling down face). Got there. Thank God! Um, 10 cars in front of me. Better see ...
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In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum

By FLEET e-news posted 19-06-2023
In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum Topic: Just in time parts delivery contract for planned Fleet Maintenance : Richard: Good afternoon I am currently investigating options regarding just-in-time parts supply for our Mechanical workshop. I would like to set up a contract for our preventative maintenance program where a supplier would receive our service schedule and supply the required parts the day before service. Has anyone previously or currently had such an arrangement in place? I am looking at developing a scope of work for an RFQ and would appreciate any assistance. ...
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IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities

By FLEET e-news posted 16-06-2023
IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities   Upcoming Webinars . Join IPWEA for our webinars on Fleet Management KPIs. This is a topic that every organisation with fleet assets needs to understand and adopt to stay aligned with their organisational objectives and to maintain a focus on strategic issues. Presented online in two parts by a speaker panel consisting of a consultant, fleet manager and technology company. Fleet Webinars are a core feature of IPWEA Fleet so you will not want to miss these sessions.   Click here for more information or to register. Fleet Management Training Days . The IPWEA ...
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Fleet Management KPIs – Why should Fleet Practitioner’s care?

By FLEET e-news posted 16-06-2023
Fleet Management KPIs – Why should Fleet Practitioner’s care? by Ken Goldberg, Consultant, IPWEA Fleet Back in December 2022, we ran an article in Fleet intouch called Fleet KPIs and Benchmarking. The article was developed from a survey that IPWEA conducted at last year’s Fleet Management Training Days. It was a real eye opener because the findings showed that fleet practitioners in the survey sample were mainly focused on Utilisation and to a lesser degree Whole-of-Life-Costs and Optimum Asset Replacement. The above key performance indicators (KPIs) represent only 3 of the top 10 KPIs as listed in IPWEA’s Plant and Vehicle Management Manual (PVMM). ...
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Emerging Trends in 2023

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
By Marc Sibbald – Director IPWEA FLEET Emerging Trends in 2023 We’re well and truly into 2023 now with the first quarter over. The end of March is also the end of the FBT year so it’s a good time to review how the FBT exemption announced last year for EVs and PHEVs will impact your Fleet Asset Management Plan, and operational fleet budgets over the next 12 months. Last month, IPWEA Fleet held the annual Fleet Conference in Brisbane. I would like to thank the delegates, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors for making it a successful event. I received great feedback from many delegates who felt inspired and excited to take new ideas and information back ...
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IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference 2023 a Huge Success!

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference 2023 a Huge Success! The IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference 2023 has concluded for another year and delivered an abundance of practical information based on its theme ‘The Shifting Tides of Fleet Management’. The 3-day event, held in Brisbane at the state-of-the-art Royal International Convention Centre, was well-received by attending delegates that saw an impressive speaker line-up led by Master of Ceremonies, Rob Wilson, and Director IPWEA Fleet, Marc Sibbald. There were a number of key highlights on Day 1.  Opening speaker, Ben Selwyn, Director at ACA Research, gave a comprehensive talk on big picture ...
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Exciting new Benchmarking Project on essential Fleet Performance Metrics

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
Exciting new Benchmarking Project on essential Fleet Performance Metrics by Ken Goldberg, IPWEA Fleet Consultant You may be aware that IPWEA Fleet is presently conducting its first ever FLEET BENCHMAKING PROJECT. The aim of the project is to provide IPWEA subscribers with benchmarking data on some of the most important key performance indicators as recommended by the IPWEA Plant and Vehicle Management Manual ed.4. The target KPI for the initial benchmarking exercise is UTILISATION. The KPI selection was evidence-based – stemming from a survey of 42 participants at the annual Fleet Management Workshops in October and November last year. Participants ...
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IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities Upcoming Webinars . Join IPWEA for our Chain of Responsibility webinar on “Practical tips for managing CoR in your organisation”. This is a topic that every organisation with mobile fleet assets needs to understand to avoid financial penalties and reputational damage. Presented online by IPWEA Fleet Consultant, Anne-Maree Coyne, on Wednesday 10 May at 11 am AEST.  Click here for more information or to register. Fleet Management Training Days . The IPWEA Fleet Management Training Days are an opportunity for fleet practitioners, coordinators, and ...
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In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum Topic: Proxy Switches on tipper tail gates : Lee: As a result of more than one incident, Workplace Health and Safety have asked us to look into the installation of tailgate proximity switches to alert the driver if the tailgate is still open after the material dump/load Yes, absolutely the driver should be manually checking, however, in the interests of consistency between organisations I have to reach out and see if this is an avenue other fleet managers are exploring as an additional control. Thanks in advance for any advice/information ...
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The Workshop Transition

By FLEET e-news posted 11-04-2023
The Workshop Transition By: Anonymous Fleet Manager Oh boy! Here we go. Another change for the workshops. I keep hearing about this EV transition. No matter what I read or what people are telling me it’s always the same question. How many electric vehicles do organisations have in their fleet now? If I were to guess across the industry…umm…probably less than 5 on average per organisation. Maybe less than 3 on average. Well, it seems that most at least have their token EV with branding showing that they’ve gone green. Wonderful! But there’s a storm coming beyond the acquisition. Traditional workshops that are planning to service these high-voltage-computers-on-wheels ...
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New IPWEA FLEET Webinar Schedule for 2023

By FLEET e-news posted 15-02-2023
New IPWEA FLEET Webinar Schedule for 2023 by Ken Goldberg, Consultant, IPWEA Fleet IPWEA FLEET’s webinar series is changing format for 2023 to make it more accessible for fleet practitioners over the entire calendar year. The format has changed so that current fleet topics will be dealt with every couple of months rather than having all webinars condensed into a themed series during the winter months. Webinars will also be free to all IPWEA FLEET subscribers. The first webinar for 2023 will be an “Information session on the FBT Exemption for EVs and PHEVs” to be held on Thursday, 23 February 2023 at 11 AM AEDT. Marc Sibbald, Director – IPWEA ...
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What’s all this AI about?

By FLEET e-news posted 15-02-2023
What’s all this AI about? By: Anonymous Fleet Manager I keep hearing all this bull dust about AI-powered this and that. It’s going to reduce our operational costs, decrease our fuel and maintenance expenses, and decrease insurance premiums. What??? I had a look at ChatGPT and OpenAI. Here’s a mouthful folks…Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer. Nice double-talk! AI might be great for generating marketing content, but it seems pretty much trial and error for anything else at the moment. I mean it’s only as accurate as the data and algorithms it’s based on and there’s lots of potential across the Internet for the chatbot to provide inaccurate ...
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In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum

By FLEET e-news posted 15-02-2023
In case you missed it, here's a recent post in the Ask Your Mates Forum Topic: Comparative analysis - Owning versus Leasing for mixed Government Fleet : David: I manage a Fleet of 74 vehicles and plant at the Australian Institute of Sport Campus in Canberra and have been asked to develop and submit a comparative analysis of the current operating model of buying our Fleet Assets outright versus a leasing model. I am sure this has been done a million times and I don't want to reinvent the wheel. Has anyone undertaken this exercise before for a similar sized Fleet, what were the Terms of Reference you used along with ...
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IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities

By FLEET e-news posted 15-02-2023
IPWEA FLEET Plant and Vehicle Management Professional Development Opportunities IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference . Save the dates! 27-29 March 2023. Join the 2023 IPWEA Australasian Fleet Conference to build the skills and mindset required to lead your Fleet into the future. Rethink how you move employees and goods to connect with customers and stakeholders. Engage more broadly with different stakeholders to find innovative solutions which have a smaller environmental footprint. The Conference will equip you to lead the changes that businesses and key industry stakeholders are making in the face of shifting tides. With over 180 attendees, ...
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Registration is open!

By FLEET e-news posted 14-02-2023
Registration is open! IPWEA’s premier event for the Fleet industry with an impressive range of practicing fleet professionals and industry leaders presenting on issues relevant to you today is now open. You don’t want to miss this action-packed 3-day event from Monday 27th to Wednesday 29th March 2023. The conference will cover a range of topics including: Big picture trends and future developments Car prices and KPIs for Fleet Managers Fleet practitioner’s asset management pathway towards more opportunity IPWEA Fleet Certificate awards presentation Sponsor Hino reception canapes/drinks and networking – first night Transitioning to ...
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