Equipment Quality Improvement Measures: Large Truck Fleet

摘要

This paper discusses the findings of a Quality Improvement Team (QIT) established by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to evaluate the utilization and efficiency of the UDOT large truck fleet The fleet is heavily utilized during winter months when snow removal operations require the use of all available resources. During summer months the demands on the fleet are not as great and some trucks are used very little or not at all. The QIT examined different alternatives to increase the utilization of large trucks during summer months while maintaining the level of service (LOS) provided for snow removal operations during the winter months. One important outcome of the study was the development of a snow removal model. The model provides instant feedback on the LOS that can be expected due to any changes made to snow removal resources. The QIT examined many alternatives and two offered promise to help achieve the goals of the QIT. The first alternative is to identify areas where efficiency can be improved, and reduce the overall size of the fleet The second alternative is to create a partnership with other state government agencies to "share" equipment The second alternative is promising as many other state agencies utilize equipment heavily in the summer and very little during the winter.