Mohonasen Central School District Utilizes Servicefinder To Improve Fleet Productivity, Proactive Maintenance and Better Time Management
Challenge
Prior to using Servicefinder Mr. Jerreld’s department was using another software program for their fleet management, but it was not “as complete a program”. Mr. Jerreld “had complaints from his head mechanic about the fact that it just didn’t do all the things he wanted it to do”. They took a look at Servicefinder and saw that it answered all the questions and problems they had, and as a result Servicefinder has been a great solution to meet their needs.
Solution
Mr. Jerreld, as Transportation Supervisor uses it mostly for reports, and his head mechanic uses it “…for just about everything else, from parts inventory to scheduling work orders and keeping track of that data on the vehicles. Also, he schedules the mechanics, their work day, every day.”
In addition, Servicefinder has helped Mr. Jerreld with budgeting and cost management. Mr. Jerreld is responsible for purchasing the buses each year. The parts and labor costs are stored and maintained in Servicefinder, so he can show the cost of an older bus, in terms of its maintenance, versus the cost of maintaining a newer bus. He can present this data to his administration and board, and show when it is time to replace a bus. Since being able to present these cases, he is on a replacement schedule, purchasing an average of four buses a year, which keeps them on budget.
Finally, a key feature that has helped move the department to a proactive approach to fleet management is the dashboard. The dashboard provides helpful information on services and upcoming maintenance.
Prior to using Servicefinder, the district fixed their vehicles when they were broken, which would often mean not finding out something was broken until it was too late and on the side of the road. Using Servicefinder they can put timers on their parts within the software and see when the lifespan of those parts are almost up, so mechanics can replace hoses and belts, for example, before they die on the road, as well as many other assets that wear often.
“Servicefinder aids us in being able to time the life of these wear parts and replace them on intervals before they crack or blister”, says Mr. Jerreld.
Results
As a result of using Servicefinder the district can analyze the cost of maintenance on their vehicles to determine when it is more cost effective to purchase a new vehicle.
In addition, they are proactive in their maintenance, which results in better upkeep of the vehicles, replacing parts before they present a problem on the road, as well as managing their mechanics time more effectively.
