From What to Where by When?

The Weekly

May 2, 2011

From What to Where by When?

Fuel, Fuel, Fuel!

The cost of fuel keeps rising, and everyone wonders when it will stop. The money it takes to fill our fuel tanks can be painful. However, have you ever thought about what it takes to fill the tanks of the Tempe’s entire fleet of vehicles? Fleet Services is responsible for the acquisition and distribution of over 2.8 million dollars of fuel annually. As such, we are diligent about our fuel strategies, and we monitor fuel prices and our consumption daily. Fleet continues to take a proactive approach in order to save the City of Tempe and its taxpayers as much as possible when acquiring fuel.

Fleet Services uses several strategies to help offset the high cost of fuel prices and continues to move forward on the latest innovations in fueling programs that are available to municipal fleets.

Some examples of the practices that the fleet is currently utilizing include:

Co-op contract fuel pricing allowing the city to purchase fuel at the lowest possible rate. This can be as much as $.50 a gallon less than pump prices in the valley.

The fleet is currently utilizing Bio-diesel (B-20) at the East Valley Bus Operation (EVBOM) which is a drop in fuel for vehicles that utilize diesel fuel and is a green alternative.

Tempe’s transit busses utilize Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fuel which is purchased at a rate under $2.00 a gallon

Many fleet vehicles have parameters set into the on board computers that limit idle time to less than 15 min to reduce usage of fuel

Fleet has an aggressive Preventative Maintenance program in place to ensure vehicles are running efficiently and tires are inflated correctly. These two items directly relate to increased miles per gallon.

A common misconception about diesel fuel is that Bio-diesel (B20) is less expensive than regular diesel fuel. Regular diesel fuel is referred to as Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) in the fuel industry. At this time, the Federal Government provides a $.20 per gallon tax credit which lowers our effective price of B20. The difference in the cost of regular ULSD versus the B20 can be as little as $.20 without the tax credit, so we sometimes break even, and still use a product that is better for our environment. While B20 is available at Tempe’s East Valley Bus Maintenance and Operation (EVBOM) fuel site, ULSD is currently more cost effective to fuel the cities’ fleet. However, as distribution continues to improve on B20 and cost to market by suppliers decrease, the cost of B20 will decrease. At that time, we can evaluate utilizing B20 exclusively.

Ethanol or E85 is another alternative fuel that is a possible replacement for gasoline. E85 is produced from corn and other renewable plant resources. Fleet has determined that E85 would be an excellent fit for the fleet and we have been purchasing E85 compatible “flex-fuel” vehicles for over four years. A flex fuel vehicle can run on E85, gasoline, or a combination of the two. Fleet has finished and submitted a grant request for the installation of an E85 fueling station at  EVBOM.  Since, the cost of E85 can be as much as $1.00 less per gallon than regular unleaded gasoline, Fleet is eager to get this program up and running. Additionally, Fleet is working on a grant to have electric vehicle charging stations installed. This grant can provide fast charge stations for Tempe as Fleet readies itself to integrate electric vehicle and hybrids into the cities’ automotive fleet in the future.

We are excited to integrate these alternate fuels and vehicles into our fleet and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel as well as help make the environment cleaner. Fleet Services believes that smart decisions and careful planning will ensure our energy independence for years to come at a cost effective rate.

 

From What to Where by When?

This past Monday we had a convocation of teams that are working to achieve improvement in their areas of expertise.  The meeting was called an executive report out and each of the teams reported on it's progress to date. The teams set out to accomplish wildly important goals that can move the bar in terms of how they get their work done. They have received training on how to set goals and then how to create a cadence of accountability within the group for accomplishing the goal. The teams get coaching support as they go along to ensure they have all the tools they need to succeed. The best part is that each team selects it's own goal and then work together to accomplish the goal.   At the risk of repeating, the goal is set by the team, not by the supervisor.  The following is the names of the teams, their goals and the date by which they intend to accomplish the goal:

PW: FIELD OPERATIONS FLEET Team: Achieve status of “The 100 Best Fleets in North America” that leads other valley cities of by 4 1 12.

Fleet “Accountability” Team:   Increase the number of direct labor hours to meet or exceed the national average of 70% by 6 30 11.

Fleet “Turnaround” Team:  Increase scheduled PM completion times by the shop standard of 1.5 hours from 79% to 95% by 5 29 11.

Fleet “Doing It Right the First Time” Team:  Reduce the percentage of “repeat" repairs of the total jobs per fiscal year from 5% (baseline) to below 2% by 6 30 11.

Engineering: Infrastructure Team:   Adopt standardized engineering permit procedures from fragmented to 100% completion of “must-do’s” by 2 29 2012.

Engineering: CIP Design & Construction Team:   Adopt a uniform standardized set of tools for Engineering CIP Management from 20% to 90% by 3 30 2012.

Engineering: Land Services Team:   Bring the Quarter Section Survey Monument Record System from an incomplete, fragmented record to a sufficiently controlled database to allow re-establishment of the City's survey control system by 5 1 12.

Engineering: Contracts Team:   Develop and Implement a Training Program to use Contract Administration Tools for CIP Project Management by 12 31 11.

Engineering: Records Team:  Re-organize and improve the record room so that the outstanding work (files, Mylars, procedures, and maps) is completed by 10 31 11.

COURTS Team:   Increase cross-trained CSS from 8% to 100% by 3 31 12.

POLICE Alarm Unit Team:   Increase resident and business online alarm registration and fee payments from 0% to 20% by 6 30 11.  

COMMUNITY SERVICES Team:  Have 13 of the 17 Community Services workgroups establish a measureable baseline for customer focus (satisfaction, retention and or recruitment) by 1 1 13.

Diversion Team:  Identify the key features of the diversion programs that make it indispensible to the Prosecutors Office and Courts by 6 30 11.

Northside Multi-Gen Team:  Establish a baseline for measuring customer satisfaction through quantitative and qualitative data for all partners and patrons by 1 31 12.

CITY MANAGER Sustainability Outreach Team:  Develop a comprehensive marketing and communication plan that packages and brands the City’s Sustainability Programs by 4 22 11.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS Mayor Council Staff Team:  Establish adopt a protocol of processing City staff’s scheduling requests for time with Mayor Council from none to a consistent, proactive meeting process by 5 31 11.

Each team has a scoreboard and their own unique way of keeping score.   The scoreboards are also being posted in the bulletin board in the City Managers Office.  What the scoreboards tell me is that each team is winning and the biggest winner overall is the City of Tempe and those we serve.

PS. We also had one rogue team goal from TJ and Chris from the South Tempe Maintenance Shop which did not get recorded but it had more to do with being the biggest loser and when beer should and should not be consumed - good luck with that one guys. 

Performance Management

Over the next several months we will be discussing a performance management system for the City.  Notice I did not say performance review.  A performance management system is just that - a system.  Most of what appears above is the perfect illustration of a management system.   Management provides you with the tools you need to come to agreement on what needs to be accomplished, how to plan the steps for getting it done and a system to measure whether we are getting there.  You set the goals, you take responsibility, you measure your own success and your supervisor checks in to see how they can help (in the language of the disciplines of execution "clearing the path").   No "Gotchas".  More later.

Come to the Fair!

We are pleased to invite you to the City of Tempe's 2011 Benefits Fair to be held Tuesday, May 10th 2011from 9:00am - 2:00pm at the Tempe Center for the Arts.  You will have the opportunity to meet with and ask questions of the various vendors that provide our benefits including Allegiance, Cigna, United Concordia, Avesis, The Hartford, Medco, EAP Preferred, MetLife, and Employee Networks.

Check out the City Clerk’s new Intranet site at http://www1.tempe.gov/clerk

In an effort to provide resources to City staff, the City Clerk’s Office has developed an intranet site that provides links to various documents and information regarding City boards and commissions, City Council committees and meetings, elections, open meeting law and public records.  There are also links to copies of current contracts, ordinances and resolutions.

Please take a moment to look at the new site.  If you have a suggestion for the new site or for other documents that would be helpful to City staff, please send your comments and ideas to the City Clerk’s Office.   We appreciate the feedback!      Brigitta M. Kuiper,  City Clerk

Tempe creates outstanding value for those we serve through shared vision, superior services and sustainable practices.

Charlie Meyer