As a fleet manager preparing to purchase equipment, you have planned, conferenced, studied, asked questions, attended equipment shows and informed yourself as best you could. Now, it is time to write the specs for your new equipment order. How do you know that what you request will be what you get?
The short answers: Deal with reliable manufacturers that warranty their products. Weigh quality against price. And, most importantly, realize that your expertise lies in using and maintaining the equipment -- not in designing or building it.
When I assumed the position as head of the city of Los Angeles' refuse division, I realized that I needed help with my equipment purchasing. This procedure did not resemble buying a family car: There were no lots, showrooms or advertisements to browse. Fortunately, I received a lot of guidance from a group of experts in the fleet management bureau and their technical services personnel.
As I learned how to spec, I realized that my expertise was in knowing how I needed this equipment to function. Building on that knowledge, the manufacturing representatives educated me as to what was possible to put into or on a vehicle.
Thus, I learned that equipment manufacturers and equipment users are allies. In order to reach the ally status, however, manufacturers and users first must understand one another.
To start forging this road of understanding, World Wastes asked a representative from an equipment manufacturer and from an equipment buyer, the city of Los Angeles, for advice on how to ensure that the equipment delivered to the buyer will perform the required tasks.
Manufacturers Build Your Ideas
Alvin Blain, Director of Fleet Services, city of Los Angeles
As an equipment manufacturer's role is to work with fleet managers to design a body that will fulfill their operational needs. Fleet managers are the experts in determining those needs; manufacturers are the experts in designing and building trucks and bodies.
In this country, the chassis manufacturer is the entity that bids on a municipal refuse truck contract. The truck body is considered a subset bid -- it is bid to the chassis dealer, along with all the other accouterments -- manufacturers of cameras, lifters, tires, etc.
The fact that a body manufacturer is a bidder to the chassis manufacturer complicates most refuse collection vehicle purchases. While the belief is that this process provides the lowest, "qualified" bid, it typically means that quality suffers in the name of price.
The method Taiwan uses to bid on refuse vehicles illustrates a different approach: Manufacturers bid using two sealed envelopes. The first envelope contains the response to the request for specifications. If the specifications bid does not meet muster, then the second envelope, which contains the price, is never opened. Thus, if the quality isn't there, the fleet manager is not influenced by a low bid.
Some U.S. operations have discovered that their refuse bodies are wearing out at twice the rate of their chassis. Not too long ago, these same customers were having the reverse experience.
If this is the result of the low-bid-over-quality rationale, then it seems like a false economy. To alleviate this:
Buy from companies that have licensed engineers on staff. Professional expertise in manufacturing means a professional perspective in the handling of your specs.
Demand that the bidding manufacturer prove its ability to deliver your specs.
Start your selection process early enough to assure the equipment will be ready when you need it, without any compromise in quality.
Emphasize life cycle costing, rather than low initial price. Excessive down time and early equipment death can give new meaning to the word "cheap."
Specify the performance quality that is in your area of expertise, such as refuse density or product longevity.
Finally, as you spec equipment, review your operation's needs and specing procedure, asking questions such as:
How important are rapid delivery times?
Is the lowest bid a dominant factor in your equipment selection?
How often is quality your most important bidding consideration?
How many of your specs are requirements that were borrowed from another operation or were developed for older generation equipment that needs to be updated?
Equipment Specs Checks and Balances
The city of Los Angeles' Fleet Services Division has a Technical Services section, staffed primarily by engineers, that is involved throughout the entire equipment procurement process.
This staff's most important role is to ensure that the city departments acquire the best equipment to perform a particular task, while taking into consideration performance and maintenance requirements.
Another important concern is the feasibility of manufacturing and/or availability of spec'd equipment by the dealer.
The section answers technical questions from dealers that are responding to a bid request and also works with the city's purchasing agent to analyze the bids to identify dealers that have complied with the specs.
This process involves reviewing the vehicle summary sheets provided to the dealer by the factory and conferring with the contractors and/or the factory about discrepancies between the vehicle summary sheets and the specs.
Certain types of specialized equipment require that the dealer submit engineering drawings and/or certifications. Equipment such as a refuse truck requires the engineering drawings to be analyzed and approved by an independent engineer before the city will accept them.
Once the purchasing agent has awarded the purchase order to a dealer, Technical Services sets a "pre-production" date meeting, which will be attended by the ordering department, the dealer, a factory representative and the body company contracted by the dealer.
The factory notifies the dealer and Technical Services when the chassis has been built and is ready for inspection. A "factory prototype vehicle inspection meeting" is held at the factory. The factory provides Technical Services with a build sheet, which resembles the vehicle summary sheet submitted by the dealer.
Technical Services verifies that all components are supplied and that specs have been met. Most components can be verified visually, while others, such as axle ratios and tensile strength of steel, must be accepted per factory guarantee.
Technical services identifies the corrections or adjustments required from the factory and then gives approval for the chassis to be sent to the body company. If the order is for multiple units, Technical Services gives the factory approval to continue production.
Next, Technical Services examines the chassis when it arrives at the body company to confirm that all factory corrections and adjustments have been made. If so, the body company proceeds with the body installation.
This installation subsequently is inspected by Technical Services to assure that it meets specifications.
Before Technical Services approves delivery, the body company must provide proof of the rating of the steel used in the body, test equipment functions and make the necessary adjustments.
Upon delivery, Technical Services performs a final inspection and signs the paperwork. Only then can city personnel assign the equipment a number, affix city emblems and notify the requesting department about the delivery.
Depending on the equipment type, some items may require more attention than others. The bid requests state which meetings, inspections, certifications and supporting documents are required.