How do we get the next generation trained for positions of leadership in time for succession? One tool for this is the newly published book entitled: Basics of Fleet Maintenance.
There are several reasons I recommend this book - aside from the fact I wrote it. The main rationale is that it covers topics important to all fleet managers in a format understandable not just to experienced fleet managers, but also to people coming up the ladder.
I have found that there are very few books available on fleet maintenance, particularly when you consider the size of our field. There are even fewer books that give a view from the ground up of the issues that fleet managers face.
Filled with explanations, questionnaires, check-off sheets, audits, extra resources, assessments and case studies, Basics of Fleet Maintenance contains the information needed to manage a fleet safely, effectively and reliably. The book begins with a discussion of all aspects of fleet maintenance, and then goes on to cover a wide range of subjects, including preventive maintenance, worker productivity, loss prevention, shop design, planning and scheduling, vendors, fuel, tire management, leasing and much more.
Among the specific subjects addressed:
Fleet issues in today’s marketplace.
Fleet maintenance fitness.
The basics for making good business decisions, based on such important elements as life cycle and operating costs, budgets and evaluating investments.
Maintenance costing.
Preventive maintenance systems and procedures, along with case studies.
Labor and shop management.
Parts and storeroom inventory and management.
Operations costs and opportunities.
Ownership costs.
Systems and tools for fleet management, including Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards, repair orders, CMMS, fleet metrics and key performance indicators and technologies such as onboard computers, routing systems, vehicle locating systems and vehicle identification systems.
I wrote the book to be a primary resource for learning and growing as a fleet manager. Regardless of the type of fleet and its operations, this book can be a valuable guidebook for fleet managers and especially their successors.
Think about how great it would have been to have had this kind of book available when you got started in fleet leadership.
The 245-page Basics of Fleet Maintenance is available from Reliabilityweb Press: http://books.mro-zone.com.
Joel Levitt has trained over 6,000 maintenance leaders from over 3,000 organizations. Since 1980, he has been the president of Springfield Resources, a management consulting firm that services a variety of clients on a wide range of maintenance issues.