Government MotorPool Continuous Improvement

SpinDr99

Involved In Discussions
I'm working in a federal government motorpool which performs annual service, repair service, road calls and quick turn-around repairs. The mechanics work on everything from landscaping equipment, snow grooming equipment, Fire service, DPW equipment, show plows, buses (school and motorcoach) and airport shuttles. The operation includes minor body work and canvas repairs (for tactical vehicles). Since this is a federal government motorpool, funding is extremely limited.

Year to date, Final Inspection has found 3 N/C's on about 6,000 work orders, and this year we've had one customer complaint. We are ISO-9001:2008 compliant (a contract requirement). We are in compliance with contract work and reporting requirements as well. Management Reviews are held semi-annually and our CAR's (4 this year) were supplier related.

I'm looking for opportunities for continuous improvement, but coming up empty. Since we're a service organization, statistical data is somewhere between slim to nil. Turn-around time on service is monitored, but when we exceed the allotted time for the service/repair priority, the root cause is either customer or supplier related. I perform annual QMS Internal Audits and have begun performing sample audits on work order documentation to confirm completeness/correctness, and compare actual work time to industry standard allotted time, understanding that you get the occasional snapped bolt or "uncooperative" vehicle. MOST of whatever problems we have is with documentation completeness, which is being addressed by management.

I'm hoping one or more might be able to steer me in a direction(s) where I'm missing parameters which can be monitored to establish a baseline and then demonstrate continuous improvement. I thank you in advance for your assistance.
 

Kronos147

Trusted Information Resource
I'm hoping one or more might be able to steer me in a direction(s) where I'm missing parameters which can be monitored to establish a baseline and then demonstrate continuous improvement. I thank you in advance for your assistance.

Maybe I can help.

May I please know what are the process you have defined in your ISO 9001:2008 complaint system as per 4.1. Better yet, explain how it meets 4.1 a), b), and e) and I may be able to provide more guidance.
 

Ninja

Looking for Reality
Trusted Information Resource
I've never worked directly in government...but do speed (turn time), cost reduction for routine/repeating services or direct man-hours reduction per unit make sense as continuous improvement in this setting?
 

Randy

Super Moderator
Well I've acquired about 18 years of gov't contract experience doing exactly what you do for aircraft and ground equipment. You have a normal and common problem in contracting....Are you Cost+, Award Fee, GOCO or what?

There will always be issues in your relationship with your Contracting Officer and or deputies, the DCA or the Agency you work thru so look for improvements in reporting times and maybe even reporting metrics (We found that we were expending about 100 man hours per month gathering metrics that weren't reviewed by any Gov't dweeb and had ZERO impact on award fees (The flat rate for our contract compensation was $100 per hr so that equaled $10,000 per month or $120,000 per year for totally wasted time) Built our case, reported to the DCA had the reporting requirement dropped and got an award fee for cost avoidance...This was in the EHS Dept! You may have some similar goofy thing you're required to do so take a good hard look and start from there.
 

SpinDr99

Involved In Discussions
Maybe I can help.

May I please know what are the process you have defined in your ISO 9001:2008 complaint system as per 4.1. Better yet, explain how it meets 4.1 a), b), and e) and I may be able to provide more guidance.
Process are simply Transportation, Post Shuttle, Annual Vehicle Maintenance, Breakdown Repairs, Body/Canvas Repair.
 

SpinDr99

Involved In Discussions
I've never worked directly in government...but do speed (turn time), cost reduction for routine/repeating services or direct man-hours reduction per unit make sense as continuous improvement in this setting?
The vehicles we work on are notoriously old (20+ years) and so snafu's getting things removed sometimes increase turn time. Nothing you can do about that. Continuous improvement does not come easily here.
 

SpinDr99

Involved In Discussions
Well I've acquired about 18 years of gov't contract experience doing exactly what you do for aircraft and ground equipment. You have a normal and common problem in contracting....Are you Cost+, Award Fee, GOCO or what?

There will always be issues in your relationship with your Contracting Officer and or deputies, the DCA or the Agency you work thru so look for improvements in reporting times and maybe even reporting metrics (We found that we were expending about 100 man hours per month gathering metrics that weren't reviewed by any Gov't dweeb and had ZERO impact on award fees (The flat rate for our contract compensation was $100 per hr so that equaled $10,000 per month or $120,000 per year for totally wasted time) Built our case, reported to the DCA had the reporting requirement dropped and got an award fee for cost avoidance...This was in the EHS Dept! You may have some similar goofy thing you're required to do so take a good hard look and start from there.
The project was competitive bid. I'm not sure if it's Cost+, Award Fee etc. We work directly with the COR, not DCA. There's a rep covering our activities. Considering we've had 6 identified non-conformances on over 6,000 work orders, everyone agrees we have a solid workforce that does above average performance. To my knowledge, we don't have the flexibility in our contract or reporting requirements that you had.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
We didn't have much flexibility either but we were able to identify where the government could save money. On the previous contract I worked on, fixed price, we found improvements in documentation revisions, and equipment related maintenance to extend usage or equipment downtime resulting in cutting costs (We worked a fleet of about 30 helicopters for the Army)
 

Kronos147

Trusted Information Resource
Transportation,
Post Shuttle,
Annual Vehicle Maintenance,
Breakdown Repairs,
Body/Canvas Repair


What are the current KPI's for each?

What requirements apply to each process (ISO 9001, customer, statutory, regulatory, etc...)?

Do the owners identify the Risks and Opportunities specific to their Process?

Are the relevant interested parties identified for each of these processes?

These answers could help discover better performance metrics.

Does the Internal Audit plan look at these processes? What non-conformances are being identified there?
 
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