8.10 Fleet Services- Preventative Maintenance of Company-Owned Vehicles

Purpose:

As a provider of transportation services, Open Door desires to provide efficient, safe, and reliable transportation to all individuals served. It is also the organization’s intention and goal to ensure that all vehicles are in a state of good repair – always operating at a full level of performance.

Goals and Objectives:

The goals and objectives of the preventative maintenance policy are:

1. Maintain vehicles to promote the safety and comfort of individuals, drivers, and public.
2. Drivers shall conduct daily pre-trip inspections to identify vehicle and equipment problems and assure vehicles are in good operating condition.
3. Conduct routine Preventive Maintenance service in a timely manner to identify vehicle problems and keep vehicle systems in good repair.
4. Conduct vehicle repairs in a timely manner and in accordance with industry best practices.
5. Maintain a clean appearance for vehicles through regular interior and exterior cleaning. 
6. Manage Preventive Maintenance and repair activities to promote the reliability of the service by minimizing service interruptions due to vehicle or equipment failure.
7. Regularly inspect vehicles to identify and correct problems to prevent service interruptions.
8. Schedule repairs promptly to minimize service interruptions.
9. Utilize subcontractors as needed to perform specialized services. Open Door partners with Enterprise Fleet Management to provide repair approvals to Vendors. EFM also provides Open Door with various reports that are used for fleet and fuel analysis.
10. Schedule Open Door preventative maintenance appointments to maximize fleet availability during service times.
11. Analyze repairs to identify trouble-prone components or vehicles for pro-active attention.
12. Maintain vehicles and equipment to promote cost-efficiency of operations.
13. Maintain and repair vehicles to ensure their operation at peak efficiency, including fuel efficiency, emissions systems, etc.
14. Analyze fleet fuel usage and repair data; identify vehicles which may need remedial work or may need to be made inactive.
15. Maintain vehicles and related equipment to fulfill manufacturer’s warranty requirements and pursue warranty repairs where applicable; research and follow up on any applicable recalls or service bulletins.
16. Maintain vehicles to maximize the useful vehicle life, including the life of key components such as tires, brakes, wheelchair lifts, etc.
17. Manage the maintenance program to be cost effective in terms of staff time, service vendors and parts and supplies costs.
18. Conduct vehicle operations, repairs, and cleaning in compliance with applicable local, state and federation regulations. 
19. Ensure annual State Highway inspections are scheduled and completed successfully.
20. Ensure that each vehicle has all the required components such as fire extinguisher, first aid kit and Emergency blankets during cold months.

Procedures:

Pre-trip inspections.  The first driver on each day shall inspect the vehicle prior to driving it off the lot.  A walk-around will be performed with a vehicle pre-trip checklist found on Brittco. The inspection sheet must be submitted via Brittco at the beginning of the trip. The fleet technician will automatically receive work orders that are generated through this process as applicable.

Basic Service Routines.  At or before the recommended mileage intervals, the Open Door Fleet technician will schedule routine service with a certified Vendor. Oil Change due dates are tracked through the Enterprise Auto integrate software. The software sends reminders to the fleet team on vehicles that are due for routine preventive maintenance.

Vendors shall utilize the Enterprise Auto-integrate software to obtain approval for repairs.

Vehicle Cleaning.  Interior cleaning and sweeping of each in-service vehicle will be performed at the end of each shift or at the end of the trip by driving staff.  Vehicle exteriors will be washed monthly or more frequently, as needed. Where applicable, in SCL, the leads will be responsible to ensure that the vehicle is always clean.

Vehicle Repairs.  The need for a vehicle repair may be discovered during a pre-trip inspection, preventive maintenance inspection, or breakdown.  The fleet technician will determine warranty coverage for the vehicle, and if appropriate, pursue warranty repairs with the vendor, bus or chassis manufacturer, or authorized warranty outlet. 

Documentation and Analysis.  Vehicle condition will be regularly documented through pre-trip inspections and problems discovered on the road will be documented in Brittco inspection report by the driver.  In addition, all vehicle maintenance and repair activity and costs generated in the EFM software shall be analyzed every quarter.

Fuel: All Open Door vehicle are assigned an Enterprise gas card. Gas cards shall be used for the assigned vehicle only. PIN numbers are assigned to drivers in day service settings and to the location in SCL/ICF settings. All Open Door vehicle use Unleaded fuel and must be fueled using the Unleaded fuel. Vehicles shall not go to ¼ tank or less without being refueled to full tank.