Rural Technical Assistance Program newsletter, 05/1989

              Z 2135.6 L811g 5/1989 c.l
RURAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Newsletter
PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION AND THE OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PUBLISHED BY THE CENTER FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY, OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, STILLWATER, OKLAHOMA
MAY   1989
WHAT HAS IT COST ?
by Dave Harnly
Many managers have, at best, only a
vague idea of what the maintenance
of their fleet of vehicles actually
costs.  Often the manager has a
"gut feel" for which vehicles
require excessive maintenance but
has difficulty "proving" it.  If
records are maintained, the
information is often difficult and
time consuming to compile and put
into a meaningful form.
What about the time the vehicle is
out of service?  Does that result
in ineffective time for crews or
other equipment? What about
vehicle downtime while waiting for
parts?  Can you justify buying a
particular brand based on
maintenance costs and downtime?
We have developed a computer
program (requires dBASE III+) which
is an application to answer many of
those questions.  Cost and downtime
data is accumulated for each
vehicle in the fleet along with a
description of the maintenance
performed and vendor used, if any.
A history of any (or all)
vehicle(s) can be printed covering
any desired time period.
Many users are amazed to discover
the high cost of maintaining some
of their vehicles and equipment.
For further information contact
Dave Harnly at 405-744-6049.