Professional Diploma in Fleet Management

Day 1

Session 1: Fleet management principles and techniques

• Comprehensive overview of fleet management principles and techniques,

Session 2: Fundamentals of fleet management

• Identify various elements of an effective fleet management program;
• Recognize fleet management business processes;
• Understand the organization of fleet management functions;
• In-depth exposure on fleet management policies and procedures.

Session 3: Information systems, analytical tools and methods

• Comprehensive overview of Fleet Management Information Systems (FMIS);
• Discuss typical system features and functionality;
• Identify the variances between ERP / EAM systems and FMIS;
• Discover other fleet management application software;
• Applications of computerized information;
• Information to examine in a fleet management information system;
• Custom versus off-the-shelf systems;
• Hosted versus stand-alone systems;
• Discuss the key considerations in acquiring, implementing and using a system;
• Automated analytical tools for fleet management;
• Dashboards – Understand the status of vehicles over time;
• Telematics –  Enhance driver productivity and route management;
• Geofencing – Track and trace vehicles in remote areas.

Session 4: Performance measurement and benchmarking

• Quantitative measurement of vehicle and fleet management program performance;
• Identify the performance measurement process which have to be executed well;
• Define performance measures and interpret performances statistics accurately;
• Recognize the available channels for data sources;
• Group Exercise: Defining and Using Key Performance Indicators and Benchmarks.

Day 2:

Session 1: Outsourcing and supplier management

• Gain insights of insourcing vs. outsourcing of fleet management functions;
• Categorize what fleet management activities to outsource;
• Determine key phases in the outsourcing process;
• Obtain strategies to measure and manage supplier performance;
• Identify fleet management functions that can never be outsourced;
• Cultivate knowledge and skills in order to decide what and when to buy or lease

Session 2: Determining and managing fleet costs

• Adopt the best management practices to develop a fleet management cost plan;
• In-depth exposure to the principles of Activity-Based Cost Analysis;
• Develop fleet cost charge-back systems;
• Case study: Determine the costs of managing a fleet.

Session 3: Managing vehicle total cost of ownership

• Determine when to replace vehicles;
• Economic principles of vehicle replacement;
• Vehicle life cycle costs;
• Economic vs. fiscal impacts of a fleet modernization program;
• Manage vehicle capital and operating costs;
• Case study: Determine optimal vehicle replacement cycles.

Session 4: Managing fleet safety

• Operator and driver management;
• Vehicle safety management;
• Shop safety management.

Day 3

Session 1: Managing vehicle allocation and utilization

• Define vehicle needs and the best means of meeting them;
• Establish responsibility and accountability for fleet size, composition and utilization;
• Explore alternative vehicle provision methods;
• Justify vehicle acquisitions and assignments;
• Measure and monitor vehicle usage;
• Conduct a fleet resizing and right typing study.

Session 2: Managing shop & maintenance technician performance

• Determine shop staffing levels;
• Measure and manage maintenance technician performance;
• Determine shop competitiveness.

Session 2: Develop a fleet management business plan

• Examine all the key elements in the plan development process;
• Define the “Business” of fleet management;
• Perform SWOT analysis of the current fleet management organization and its business practices;
• Set priorities and establish improvement strategies;
• Create and implement concrete action plans;
• Group Exercise: Defining a strategic improvement initiative and developing a model action plan;
• Conclusion: Develop fleet management professionalism

Paul Lauria

President of Mercury Associates, Inc.

Paul Lauria is the President of Mercury Associates, Inc. the largest dedicated vehicle fleet management consultancy in North America. Over the last 30 years, he has provided consulting and management training services to hundreds of corporate, investor-owned utilities, and government fleet operations touching on virtually every facet of fleet management. He has conducted presentations and workshops on fleet management best practices around North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.

Prior to co-founding Mercury Associates, he was Vice President and Director of Fleet Management Consulting Services for Maximus, Inc.; a Senior Manager in the National Transportation Consulting Group of Ernst & Young; and an analyst with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and Durham (NC) Transit. Mr. Lauria’s particular areas of expertise include fleet optimization, fleet management program evaluation, strategic business planning, cost of service determination and optimization, determination of optimal vehicle replacement cycles, and fleet replacement planning and capital financing alternative analysis.

Paul has made presentations and published articles on a wide array of fleet management topics. He served as the only non- governmental member of the steering committee that founded the National Conference of State Fleet Administrators in 1986. He has co-authored research reports and/or fleet management manuals for NAFA, the American Public Works Association, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and RAND Corporation.

He has published articles in such periodicals as Fleet Executive, Automotive Fleet, Fleet Financials, Government Fleet, Utility Fleet Management, American City and County, CarNation, and APWA Reporter magazines and INC.com; has given interviews on fleet management topics to such publications as Bloomberg, Governing, City and State, Government Purchasing; Transport Technology Today, CNNfn, Truck Fleet Management, Police Fleet Manager, FLOTA (Poland), Light and Medium Truck, and World Trade Magazine.