From money saving to safety
issues, the National
Association of Police Fleet Managers has many roles |
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| John Gorton |
The National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) is an
association of all the police fleet managers within the UK. The
organisation was set up as a point of liaison to discuss transport
matters between a limited number of member forces. Since then the
organisation has evolved, keeping pace with the developing professional
transport environment.
The key aims and objectives of the NAPFM can be summarised as follows:
- To support the police service and individual chief officers
and a professional consultative body
- To improve the technical competence and management skills of
those responsible for police vehicle fleets
- To develop constructive communication and liaison between police
fleet managers so that by design, management skill and technical
innovation may improve the cost effectiveness of police fleets
- To influence the motor and associated industries in the production
of equipment that is safe, effective, reliable and value-for-money
- To identify and advise on the impact of legislation, industrial
and other external factors on the management of police service
vehicles
- To encourage proper training and to raise the professional status
of police fleet managers
The operating environment
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| Fleet Management is one of the most
demanding activities, requiring expertise in finance, asset
disposal and fleet administration |
The collective UK police fleet consists of nearly 28,000 vehicles
with an annual mileage of almost 1,000,000,000 miles a year. For those
who like statistical comparisons, that is about five times the distance
to the sun and back or 40,000 times around the world.
The police fleet annually consumes £35m in fuel and £30m
in spare parts and tyres. Clearly, even small economies have the potential
to translate into significant savings. The NAPFM, in association with
PITO, has been successful in negotiating national agreements that
have saved UK police fleets millions of pounds. This is achieved through
the purchasing power and economies of scale of collective negotiation.
An example of this is the national contract for tyres, which reduced
the national spend by some £2,500,000 - in effect, police authorities
are buying tyres at 1994 prices. In the past few years, fleet management
has become a hugely competitive and complex business. With such expensive
assets (each with considerable ongoing variable expense), it is a
real skill to ensure that optimum value for money is being achieved.
Expenditure on police vehicles arguably reflects the highest level
of ongoing expenditure, (with the exception of police pay). Fleet
management is one of the most demanding activities, requiring expertise
in finance, resource and contract management, purchasing, asset disposal
and fleet administration, to name but a few. Most police forces have
made the role of fleet manager a civilian one, recognising the need
for a professional and commercial approach to managing this costly
asset.
The value of transport
Vehicles are often described as "a multiplier". A police
officer with a vehicle can accomplish a great deal more than an
officer on foot. With the average cost of a police constable is
in the region of £30 per hour, the comparative cost of providing
a standard police vehicle is about £1 per hour. Clearly the
motor vehicle becomes a highly cost-effective tool in maximising
the availability of officers.
This multiplying effect can be further enhanced by ensuring that
the vehicle matches the role that it is expected to perform. This
requires very close collaboration between the users and the fleet
manager and at a national level between the NAPFM and vehicle manufacturers.
For a vehicle to be at its most effective it must be accurately
matched to the role that it is expected to perform.
The choice of vehicle for operational police work is a highly emotive
issue. Most police drivers have a view of the attributes that would
make up the ideal police car. Unfortunately, a vehicle with the
performance and handling of a Ferrari, the load-carrying capacity
of a skip, and the constitution of a Sherman tank is not yet available.
If it were, it would clearly be out of the range of a police vehicle
budget.
Any police vehicle tends to be a compromise between what can be
achieved with a standard (albeit modified) production vehicle and
the demands of police work.
The changing environment
Over the past five years, the government has encouraged the concept
of devolved accountability. One effect of this policy has been the
reconstitution of police forces as freestanding public bodies. Each
police authority is required to demonstrate "value for money"
through an efficient and effective service. Accordingly, the culture
as a whole has changed as it moves away from that which has traditionally
prevailed in the public sector organisations, where goods and services
are perceived as "free" at the point of delivery.
Police fleet management organisations have become more akin to that
which prevails in the commercial sector, where the internal customer
or client controls the budget and there is greater freedom of choice
over the supply of goods or services. There is an increased emphasis
on achievement and performance rather than style for both operational
officers and for staff providing the service that supports them.
Devolvement of transport costs
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| Unfortunately, a vehicle with the
handling of a Ferrari, the load-carrying capacity of a skip
and the constitution of a Sherman tank is not yet available |
Through modern fleet management practices and improved data information
systems, most fleet managers have a wealth of information available
to them. At the sharp end of operational policing this information
is often not available or cannot be easily interpreted, therefore
officers may have little appreciation of the cost of the resources
that they consume.
Transport management is an activity widely recognised as deriving
significant benefit from central co-ordination and economies of scale.
It therefore seems a paradox to suggest that control and budgetary
responsibility should be devolved and fragmented between operational
command units. The key to effective devolvement of transport costs
is to provide choice and flexibility to front line operational decision-makers,
while maintaining an overall focus of cost-effectiveness and value
for money for the organisation as a whole.
Transport devolvement in practice
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Police authorities have adopted devolvement in varying degrees
and use various methods dependent on the differing organisational
structures and operating circumstances. A number of police authorities
have developed a "leasing" approach, whereby operational
managers are able to select their own mix of vehicles from a vehicle
catalogue. This allows the fleet to be structured in a way that
best meets local operational requirements. Each vehicle carries
a fixed annual charge that reflects the cost of providing, equipping
and maintaining the vehicle over its life. This system allows an
element of user choice within a budget allocation.
Accidents, avoidable damage and fuel budgets are identified separately
as there are all variable expenses. If a Division, through good
management practice and control, makes savings in these variable
costs then it is appropriate for those savings to be re-directed
towards front line operational policing.
Clearly, this provides encouragement and the ability to ensure finances
are directed towards the core business of policing rather than funding
potentially avoidable expenditure.
The vehicle catalogue is the key to the devolvement process. The
separate vehicle roles are clearly identified and against these
a very clear vehicle specification can be developed. This analytical
approach ensures that the vehicles accurately match their intended
role and can also reduce the range and fragmentation of vehicle
models.
This system has the added benefit of focusing the attention of vehicle
manufacturers and equipment suppliers whom, (due to the Force's
increased purchasing focus) see far greater benefits in ensuring
that they are the supplier of first choice. Some suppliers have
reacted to this by developing specific police specification vehicles
and have taken a "one stop shop" approach to service delivery.
Today's police vehicles
The nature of police use requires vehicles of the highest standards.
Due to exigencies of police use, vehicles are often driven to the
limits of their design capabilities. The technical sub-committee
of the NAPFM works closely with manufacturers and fleet managers
to improve and refine police specification models for inclusion
in the Home Office purchasing agreements.
Vehicle technology and design has advanced considerably in recent
years. Modern vehicles are much safer with the advent of ABS, air
bag systems and impact protection, making vehicles a much safer
working environment. This emphasis on vehicle safety and related
equipment is severely encroaching on the available space for police
related equipment. A considerable amount of work has already been
done in this area and there are many ingenious solutions to installing
the equipment used by officers into their vehicles while still ensuring
a safe working environment.
Emerging technology
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| With so much Emerging technology
the Police car dashboard has the potential to look more like
an aircraft flight deck than a car |
Many police vehicles are already equipped with an impressive array
of in-car policing technology, including radios, speed detection equipment
and videos. However, the availability of technology is set to further
boom in the very near future.
In-car data communication systems and on-board PCs are already in
use in the UK. Such technology will allow police officers in their
cars direct access to systems such as PNC and criminal intelligence
records. Other technology such as satellite location and mapping systems
are also well past the design stage. With so much emerging technology,
the police car dashboard has the potential to look more like an aircraft
flight deck than a car. Fleet managers, whose first priority is that
of the safety of officers, are continually presented with a conflict
of how to accommodate all this new technology without compromising
the occupant safety. As ever, the NAPFM in liaison with the various
Home Office departments is continually assessing potential solutions
through miniaturisation and the application of emerging technology.
By John Gorton at the NAPFM
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