This proposal builds on the six analytical models recently completed for the project “Fleet Management Criteria: Disposal Points and Utilization Rates” and addresses the need for expansion and application of this approach to management and analysis of equipment, utilization, costs, and optimal life cycle for the remaining classes in the NCDOT fleet. Due to the larger scope compared to the original study, the project team includes students and faculty from East Carolina University and UNC-Charlotte. This team provides both the experience and depth to complete the goals outlined in the RFP and in the proposal.
The project plan covers two years and is organized so that the startup can begin as soon as the project is approved. During the first twelve months, the project team will initially conduct a literature review of the current state of practice and update and evaluate the depreciation rate, utilization rate, and disposal point recommendations for the six most common equipment classes from the previous research based upon the most recent data (2010).In parallel with updating and evaluating the previous economic models, the project team will take the lead in working with the Fleet and Material Management staff to group the remaining equipment classes and identify the most financially important 150 equipment classes. The classes will be grouped by similar economic and operational behavior allowing for the development of models based upon common groups. This will reduce the overall number of models and provide for a more sustainable management system. Using the top identified groups, we will develop approximately twelve more analytical models applying the methods developed in the recently completed project. Based on these twelve new models, we will test and refine the methods on approximately 150 equipment classes. Best practices to automate this process using SAP reports and similar methods will also be identified and tested. During the second year, the project team will support the Fleet Management Unit in updating the models with an additional year of data and applying them to the remaining 150 equipment classes.
The classes of equipment in the NCDOT fleet will be divided up based upon the following three categories: on-road (equipment of which the operational costs are measured in $/mile), off-road (equipment of which the operational costs are measured in $/hr.), and other equipment that does not fit well into either of the previous categories. These three categories will be divided between each of the three project investigators, thus providing an efficient project management structure as we anticipate similarity among the models of each of the three categories.
At the end of the two years, we anticipate that we will have developed a modeling method that can be applied to the NCDOT equipment classes and automated using SAP reports and spreadsheets so the system can be managed by the Fleet and Material Management Unit staff to make appropriate adjustments to the composition of the equipment fleet to enhance equipment utilization and overall cost effectiveness.
