8. Fleet Information Management System

Effective fleet management requires agency heads and Agency Fleet Managers to know their vehicles’ operating cost over the life of the vehicle and to make effective management decisions regarding the daily management and replacement of their fleet. DOAS OFM uses a Fleet Information Management System to manage fleet assets within the state along with supporting decisions regarding the number of vehicles owned, vehicle utilization, and total cost of ownership associated with the operation of the fleet. Additionally, this assists in the decision to continue using, replacing, or disposing of a vehicle. Every Agency Fleet Manager will maintain an asset record in the fleet information management system on each vehicle that provides a complete history of the life cycle of the vehicle. This asset record will be used to document the vehicle operating cost associated with each vehicle. Additionally, this system provides the ability to:

Submit a vehicle request to procure a new vehicle and replacement vehicles.
Maintain the agency’s current inventory of fleet vehicles. The vehicle asset inventory records contain pertinent information on all vehicles in the state inventory.
Capture, record, and view fuel cost and mileage data.
Record all maintenance and repair activity conducted on each vehicle.
Generate standard and custom reports regarding your agency’s vehicle fleet.
Record current Book Value • Provides a discussion Forum for all registered users.
Houses all individual and overnight assignment documents.
Allows agencies to attach important documents to a specific vehicle.

8.1 Fuel Expenses within the Fleet Information Management System

All fuel purchases should be captured and recorded for each vehicle into the Fleet Information Management System. This includes fuel purchased using the state’s contracted fuel card, purchased/dispensed from state owned bulk sites, or any other fuel card purchases made for any vehicle. Drivers may be required by their agency to obtain a transaction receipt for every fuel purchase and return this receipt(s) to their supervisor/Agency Fleet Manager; however, DOAS OFM does not require the paper receipts to be kept. All the required information is captured and reported automatically by using the state fuel card. Some items captured include:

Date of the fuel purchased
Driver’s First and Last Name
Number of gallons purchased.
Dollar cost of fuel transactions.
Odometer reading at the time of purchase NOTE: Drivers are required to accurately capture the odometer reading at the time of any fuel purchase.
The unique vehicle number or VIN assigned by the agency.

Agencies operating bulk fuel sites should equip them with automated card readers to automatically capture fuel transaction into the database of the state’s contracted Fuel Card Program vendor. This will eliminate the need to manually record fuel transactions into the Fleet Information Management System. Agencies must ensure the fuel cost is constantly updated in their systems to provide the accurate cost of fuel in the automated system. If the automated card reader is not available, manual transaction tickets must be provided to the vehicle operator. The Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) aids state agencies with bulk fuel tanks. Agencies should contact GEFA at 404-584-1000 for possible assistance when considering upgrading of these facilities.

8.2 Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Expenses within the Fleet Information Management System

DOAS OFM requires all vehicle maintenance and repair expenses to be captured and recorded in the Fleet Information Management System. The Fleet Information Management System generates expense reports that allows both DOAS OFM and agency management the ability to review vehicle total cost of ownership.

Agencies may use their existing fleet information management system to capture and maintain fleet maintenance and repair data. However, agencies must coordinate with DOAS and format their data into a standard format that will allow their maintenance and repair data to be imported into the state’s Fleet Information Management System monthly.

In order to facilitate the gathering of maintenance data and ensure proper maintenance of older vehicles, all light duty (under 9,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating) vehicles must be enrolled in the maintenance program overseen by OFM unless the vehicles are being maintained at an on-site repair facility. However, all state vehicles, regardless of their participation in the OFM maintenance program, must be populated in the state’s Fleet Information Management System for proper recordkeeping and documentation purposes as mentioned above.