A lifecycle plan for plant, vehicles and equipment

The development and implementation of asset management plans is a central focus for most local government organisations.

The fleet asset management plan is prepared in line with the guidelines provided in the International Infrastructure Management Manual and the IPWEA Plant & Vehicle Management Manual, both of which are recognised as best practice manuals in Australia.

The goal of asset management is to provide a required level of service in the most cost effective manner, through the creation, acquisition, maintenance, operation, rehabilitation and disposal of assets, to provide for present and future citizens.

Plant and fleet is a significant investment and must be maintained over the useful life of the assets, and future maintenance, renewal and upgrades must be planned for and funded. Plant hire rates need to reflect full cost recovery with a surplus going to a reserve to fund plant replacement.

The lifecyle plan for fleet assets is about:

Purchase of the asset subject to a business case assessment which sets out capital requirements, whole of life costs, predicted utilisation and internal hire rates.

Operating the asset in the manner it was designed to be used for.

Maintaining the asset in line with manufacturer’s requirements with flat rates for workshop maintenance and keeping detailed records of reasons for failures.

Measuring utilisation and recording plant, vehicle and equipment downtime.

Replacement in accordance with optimum replacement timing principles based on whole of life costs.

Disposal where the item fails to meet minimum utilisation benchmarks or is no longer required.

Funding in line with a 10 year asset replacement program based on optimum replacement, financed through an asset replacement reserve built up from depreciation charged through internal hire rates.

The benefits of having a fleet asset management plan include improved:

• stewardship and accountability of fleet assets
• communication and relationships with service providers
• risk management
• financial accountability
• the plan will enable the organisation to make better informed and sustainable decisions on plant and fleet

Failure to adequately maintain or follow optimum replacement of fleet assets results in lost productivity in the other asset operational areas of the organisation and higher fleet maintenance and replacement cost. There are also higher risks for work place health and safety as the fleet gets older and less reliable.

Want to know more?

Simply contact us at admin@uniqco.com.au or +61 (0)8 9797 0700