We've all noticed those odd looking vehicles with long arms and platforms reaching up to the power lines. They show up sometimes in emergencies when a storm has knocked out the electricity.
Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) repair crews ride these hydraulic propelled platforms to do the work that keeps electricity flowing to homes and businesses.
With slightly different platforms, crews trim away tree limbs that could interfere with power lines with these Aerial Bucket Trucks. GRU has 26 of them. They cost a lot, but they last a long time.
The technicians who use them are no amateurs. They have to work with high voltages. One slip can be fatal.
INSIDE THE WATER MAINS
We see other mysterious vans checking out the water, gas and sewer lines. Like surgeons looking into human pipe lines with catheters, lights and video cameras, GRU technicians probe the region's life support infrastructure. They can examine the inside of lines and see it all on video monitors. Sometimes they have to operate.
Other GRU vehicles include ladder trucks, backhoes, bulldozers, cranes, giant front end loaders at Deerhaven (they move coal), mobile drill units, excavators, generator trucks, trailers, trenchers, tractors, pickup trucks, rollers, sedans and others. Each vehicle has a number and computer file. Mechanics who do repairs and preventive maintenance can read the whole history of the vehicle from its day of purchase until the day it is auctioned off towards the end of its useful life. These are the vehicles that make up GRU's fleet. There would be no utility services without them.
FLEET MANAGER KNOWN NATIONALLY
The GRU Fleet is one group of Gainesville-owned vehicles. There are others. There are the Regional Transit buses. There are the General Government (city) equipment: the police cars, public works vehicles, the fire protection trucks, rescue vans and so on.
At one time these three separate fleets were separately managed. Six years ago, one man, the Fleet Manager, took overall responsibility for the entire Gainesville fleet, the ordering, maintenance and performance of all vehicles. He is Milton R. Reid. He brings impressive credentials to the job. He began with a degree in mechanical engineering. He held early jobs in development with General Electric, Ford Motors, and Alcoa. He opened his own successful consultant services, which landed him several years of work in Florida.
In 1984, he took over fleet management for the City of Gainesville. Reid is 52 years old, has five sons, all doing well on jobs or in school. He is known state-wide and nationally for his work in fleet management. He is past president of the Florida Association of Fleet Administrators.
He is current chairman of the National Association of Fleet Administrators. He chaired the National Convention of Fleet Managers held in Orlando recently. Two thousand delegates attended. Born and raised in Jamaica, he speaks with a bit of Caribbean accent, but with an engineer's precision.
UBIQUITOUS COMPUTER HELPS OUT
Computers are vital to the operation of the fleet. From a terminal in his office Reid can scan the entire operation. He can examine the file on any vehicle. He can also reach out to other computer systems throughout the United States and Canada. Fleet managers stay in touch with one another. The pass useful information around and have access to data banks. What's new in the field? What's happening in Toronto or Denver or Chicago or in hundreds of other cities that are "on line?"
Reid says a central imperative in fleet management begins with highly qualified mechanics.
"We have a really talented group of mechanics who take care of our vehicles. It is so important to have people who can do their work well and quickly. They work at three garages and do emergency work in the field. Taxpayers should know how much money an expert fleet maintenance crew can save."
A vital ingredient of success is preventive maintenance, the routine scheduling of vehicles for maintenance work.
"We try our best to avoid having equipment breakdowns. If a front-end loader servicing four dump trucks breaks down on the job, we might have five people waiting for another vehicle or for emergency repairs. So we have extra expenses that can be largely avoided with a rigorous preventive program."
SPENDING HELD DOWN
To maintain its utility delivery systems of electricity, water, waste water, and natural gas, GRU uses 545 vehicles of every description. Overall costs of the fleet for fiscal 93-94 amounted to $1,428,614, a sum that pays for labor, parts, occasional outside repairs, fuel, accident repairs and modifications. For the same period, parts cost $146,486. Repair and maintenance expense came to $1,151,630.
Reid has kept increased spending at a minimum. Five years ago, there were 501 vehicles in the fleet compared to today's 545. Vehicle costs, however, went down from $1,207,754 to $1,151,630. For the same five-year period, the number of GRU customers grew from 57,803 to 67,549, a really big jump in people and demand.
Rates of pay for employees range from $19,531 per year to $51,222 for top supervision. Mechanic I earns $26,436; Mechanic II, $29,182.
EMPLOYEES ARE UNION MEMBERS
Employees of non-supervisory status belong to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local No. 3170. President of the Local Union is Tom Balduc. The current contract runs through September 30, 1995. Negotiations will soon be under way.
Many local businesses provide goods and services for GRU's fleet operation. The list includes Santa Fe Auto Parts, Central Motors, Main Street Chevrolet, Paul West Ford, Wade Raulerson Pontiac-GMC, Tom Niehl Trucks, Taylor Diesel, The Parts House and many others. Altogether, some 200 vendors serve GRU's Fleet for parts, materials and services. New vehicles are bought by competitive bid.
Is there a storm on the way? Yes, there is. Sooner or later. Will somebody run over a fire plug and flood the streets? It happens. Will lightening knock out a transformer on your street? Does somebody smell gas? Is a sewer line blocked?
When these things happen, here comes the Fleet with its technicians. They can't wait around for daylight or nice weather. Their vehicles had better function. And they do. Careful planning and strict maintenance makes sure they do. It's a comforting thought to keep in mind when the wind blows hard and the coffee pot still works.