Agenda item

The Director of Procurement & Commissioning and the Fleet Manager introduced the report on the Present and Future of the Fleet which provided details on the composition of the Council’s fleet, the key challenges within fleet and future decision making around the fleet replacement programme.

It was reported that the main challenge for the fleet was driver behaviour and avoidable fleet damage. Avoidable fleet damage was costing the Council more than £800k per anum.

The Committee heard that the cost of fleet damage had been under review by management and the reasons for the increasing costs were wide and varied. It was reported that historically data had been unavailable to provide sufficient management oversight however this had improved in the last 12 months with the purchase and installation of new ‘tracker’ devices and improved reporting. Vehicles and associated budgets were managed by the fleet team which created a disconnect in ownership of vehicles and users, the culture of work within some teams and the nature of the fleet was different from an average road fleet undertaking the same function day in and day out. Hillingdon vehicles operated in challenging operational environments where damage was  more likely to be incurred and external factors such as the costs of operating vehicles and costs relating to insurance, repair & maintenance continued to rise.

A regular fleet forum comprising operational and senior management took place to help address the issues and drive down the costs being incurred. One of the outputs of the forum was a combined insurance damage report which required the operational teams to record actions taken for incidents. The Fleet team also liaised with other councils to share good work practices and perform benchmarking exercises.

The Committee heard that driver behaviour played a crucial role in fleet costs and the inclusion of tracking devices offered information on how vehicles were used. The system processed the data to generate an Eco Efficient Driver Index (EDI). Each driver received an EDI score which served as an overall performance monitor. These scores were specifically used in regular discussions with drivers with poor performance. 

Members were informed that vehicles consumed substantial amounts of fuel.A review was underway to assess green spaces’ winter fleet, aiming to identify opportunities for reduction during winter months. Over the past 18 months, significant progress had  been made in fleet utilisation and four vehicles had been from the fleet. The Council followed a cyclical vehicle replacement program to maintain cost-effectiveness and reliability.

There were 90 frontline service vehicles that had reached the end of their serviceable life and were no longer subject to daily fees. These vehicles were in their ninth year of operation, with reliability declining and maintenance costs rising. There was a recommendation to replace 32 vehicles with electric equivalents however factors such charging facilities, speed of charging, grid capacity, payload, cost and maintenance first had to be considered.

During Member questions it was noted that 45% of the heavy duty drivers were agency drivers and there were numerous behaviour challenges including conflict between newer and more established drivers. Training had been provided to drivers and the introduction of the EDI was good as it alerted drivers to instances of speeding or harsh braking. The benchmark score for EDI was  80% a week however there was still room for improvement.

In response to questions regarding trailing 26 tonne wagons, it was explained that charging the vehicles could only be done at the depot and this was difficult due to the amount of charge or battery required.  The charging time would be approximately 7 hours to fully charge. When the vehicle came back after its daily use there was only 30% charge left so it couldn’t be used for second day without charge which was problematic. Factors such as weight and weather conditions also needed to be considered when charging vehicles along with grid capacity.

It was confirmed that the 800k per anum  in avoidable fleet damage was a combined cost of damages and insurance. There were plans to include dash cams in vehicles in the future and the introduction of the ULEZ charge was around £20k a month. A close eye was kept on the market for both electric and hydrogen vehicles.

In terms maintenance versus hiring, it was noted that the current arrangement involved purchasing vehicles and maintaining them through an on-site maintenance provider. Hiring vehicles was significantly more expensive than the present arrangements. When Council owned vehicles reached the end of their life, they still had  asset value in contrast to hired vehicles which had no residual value. Damage costs were also incurred when returning hired vehicles. It was noted that hiring vehicles impacted the revenue budget and purchasing vehicles affected the capital budget, allowing for better financial planning.

It was acknowledged that it was difficult to maintain the fleet for the size of Hillingdon and officers were thanked for their work and detailed presentation.

RESOLVED: That the report on the Future and Present of the Fleet was noted.