Municipality

The City of Las Vegas operates a diverse municipal fleet, ranging from riding mowers to 18-wheelers, to support various tasks such as surveying, emergency response, law enforcement, and park maintenance. With approximately 1,300 fleet assets, including equipment like gators, forklifts, and backhoes, the fleet management faces unique challenges in tracking and optimizing assets across the expansive jurisdiction.

Challenge

The City of Las Vegas had been looking for a service provider that could attend to their specialized needs, including separating invoices and dealing with multiple departments. They needed to track and manage a diverse fleet, get real-time information on asset location and condition, optimize routes, and address maintenance issues. They also needed a company that had easy-to-use software, so they could meet their current needs, plus grow for the future.

Solution

The City of Las Vegas has found that GPS Insight has met their needs in a variety of ways, including for real-time asset tracking, maintenance monitoring, route optimization, and cost savings.

Cost Savings

Due to monitoring vehicles, there’s less expensive maintenance on vehicles, plus less money wasted on vehicles not being used.

“The dash alerts let us see when a battery is dying…and also to be able to see underutilized vehicles,” said Tracee Scott, Fleet & Fuel Services Division Manager for the City of Las Vegas.

As a result, they hope to be able to confirm the underutilized vehicles are, and disperse them to departments that are really in need. With introduction of electric vehicles in the future, the first critical step is to right-size the current fleet.

“Looking at it as a whole and not in pieces allows us to plan for the future,” Scott said. “If you’re paying $300,000 for a sweeper, and you’re not sweeping the streets, it’s losing value. If you’re not out there jetting those lines with a vacuum truck, we’re losing money. So it saves on labor and it saves us on parts.”

In addition to being responsible for 1,300 vehicles and equipment, they also manage 18 fuel sites. Every site is monitored 24/7, and fuel is trucked in weekly to the sites in need.

“We have roughly 3,000 city employees, and for them to do their job, they need us,” Scott said. “They can’t get to the parks to clean them…they need to inspect buildings and construction site. Most things that are done need transportation or equipment. So, the soft savings shine a light on the not-so-obvious items that are truly broken. It saves our assets and extends the life.”

In addition, the ability to provide preventive maintenance versus reactive maintenance can result in being able to provide better care of their assets, and be able to obtain a better resale value.

“We’re able to obtain larger profits when we auction them at the end of their useful life for us,” Scott said. “And then they can leave with a little bit of life for the people purchasing them as well, which isn’t a bad thing.”

In addition, the City of Las Vegas also sees savings on time, labor, and parts.

“Where we are saving cost is just the amount of time spent tracking various things…what we can see with idling, a lot of times is worse for a vehicle than the mileage itself,” Scott said. “And it’s saving engines. Engines are $14,000 to $10,000 to replace, and so we’re saving on those costs. We’re saving on the mechanic costs. We have two different facilities where we maintain the vehicles. So we’re saving on that. We’re saving on parts. It’s endless where we’re saving. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Choice

The City of Las Vegas did a small pilot and created a wish list using the various issues when using a variety of previous telematics providers. For Scott, it meant revisiting the past 17 years.

They wanted a solution where they had the option to expand and grow the program in the future.

“Another great thing about GPS Insight is we were allowed to pick two different types of devices,” Scott said. “A lot of the other providers only offered one device. Where we need to track specific operations, such as street sweeper broom use and PTO engagement, which need a device with greater ability. We also need a device to track the basics for our light fleet. So, we are able to pick and choose and really make it work for us. And that matters—that difference in price. It matters when you’re trying to do not just your vehicles, but your entire fleet equipment.

Service

“When we started with GPS Insight, I got chills from just their presentation,” Scott said. “And when I say that, I mean their overall presentation. We use the word a lot—professionalism—and all those catchy phrases. And they were the embodiment of that.”

GPS Insight takes pride in customer service, and the representatives met the many needs of the department.

“It felt like the pride that was taken many, many years ago by sales…we’re not giving you samples of other departments and other customers that we have,” Scott said. “When we go through every step of this, you can see your stuff. That’s vital. They did a phased in approach of meeting staff and it was always with the caveat of, should you choose us, this will be so and so over your account. I can’t explain how much of a playbook that is. That is a blueprint that vendors and service providers need to go back to because it’s about being heard, being seen, and being valued.”

In summary, GPS Insight assisted with:

• Real-time Asset Tracking: The GPS Insight solution enabled the city to monitor asset locations and receive real-time information. This capability proved crucial for dispatching emergency units, law enforcement, and addressing various municipal tasks promptly.

• Condition Monitoring: The telematics system offered insights into the condition of vehicles and equipment. It provided information on fuel levels, battery status, and potential maintenance issues. This proactive approach reduced the likelihood of mechanical failures and improved maintenance practices.

• Route Optimization: The fleet management team could analyze routes, right size them, and optimize efficiency. Accurate distance calculations is vital when planning for the integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into the fleet, ensuring they are able to meet minimum route requirements.

• Cost Savings: The implementation of GPS Insight resulted in significant cost savings for the city. Soft cost savings included reduced maintenance, improved vehicle utilization, and better planning of fleet resources. Hard cost savings were achieved through extended asset lifespan, reduced engine replacements, and optimized maintenance schedules.

• Department-Specific Invoicing: GPS Insight’s invoicing capabilities allowed the city to bill individual departments accurately. The system accommodated the complex structure of multiple departments and divisions, ensuring a transparent and efficient financial process.

“It’s just basically them being good to people, making people happy and…it felt like they only hire people that can make other people feel that way,” Scott said. “That’s what it feels like working with GPS Insight. It has been years since I’ve felt that kind of honesty…they didn’t want to just sell to us. They wanted to earn our business. I will recommend them to everyone.”