Landscape Management, March 2010

COVER STORY LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET MARCH 2010 24 continued on page 26 continued from page 22 I BUILT THIS BUSINESS BASED ON MY ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND I BROUGHT IN PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE SAME ATTENTION TO DETAIL Rick Kiers Pro Scapes Pro Scapes distinctive red service delivery fl eet a common sight in central New York fl anks Rick Kier and his management team PHOTO COURTESY PRO SCAPES Outside consultant Recognizing the importance of safe dependable trucks and other equipment and planning for Pro Scapes to continue growing Kier this past fall enlisted the aid of fl eet management consultant John Dolce to help put systems in place that ensure the companys truck and equipment maintenance and repair program will continue to meet its needs Even though the new maintenance shop is larger cleaner and better organized the companys continued growth had put a strain on its ability to keep trucks and other equipment properly maintained and serviced And on occasion this strain caused fi nger pointing among the crews or between the crews and the shop Kier realized This isnt unusual Dolce explained to Kier The consultant described the stress being put on the maintenance shop as part of the growing pains of a successful operation One of the solutions Dolce suggested was more employee training on proper vehicle and equipment use Kier agreed One of the reasons weve been so successful is because were committed to training The next step for us is to implement a structured program for our vehicles and every piece of equipment Kier says Im not going to slow down Im going to continue growing this company and buying more trucks and equipment But what I have to do is lower our overall costs for vehicle and equipment utilization maintenance and repair Dolce who has been a fl eet consultant for almost 40 years and has written three books on the subject looks at truck repairs and maintenance strictly by the numbers Words have different meanings They can be misunderstood Numbers cant says Dolce In building your service fl eet and related fl eet management and maintenance programs develop systems to keep your fi eld crews in close communication with your fl eet and equipment maintenance person or people But manage it with numbers just like you do the rest of your business Dolce points out there comes a time when the costs of maintaining and repairing vehicles and equipment and the risk of related downtime and lost production far outweigh the machines value to a company Unless a company meticulously tracks each trucks and each piece of equipments expenses also considering factors such as depreciation and trade in value it might hang onto vehicles and production equipment much too long This and misused trucks and equipment result in unexpected breakdowns and costly repairs which can be a huge drain on a shop managers time and resources and can trigger disruptions in production and lost revenues Dolce says shop managers and lead mechanics even the most talented and organized can only do so much Many feel like theyre being asked to do a 12 hour job in an 8 hour day because systems based on numbers that track every aspect of a trucks or piece of equipments usage maintenance and repair history are not in place Mirror check To help determine where the ineffi ciencies resided in the system Pro Scapes used to maintain and repair its vehicle fl eet owner Kier allowed Dolce to spend a day in private separate face to face meetings at the company headquarters with its two