As the fleet professional peruses through the voluminous subject-matter in fleet blogs and trade journals she or he can’t help but notice the nomenclature assigned to the various topics. For example, and by no means an exhaustive list: the reader encounters subjects such as Policies; Metrics; Operational Management; Risk Management; Right-Sizing; Utilization; Technology; and Management. From here its either drill down on a menu or scan the articles’ sub-topics for prospective solutions on how to fix what’s currently ailing the fleet. But all along the real issue, what’s really taking place, appears to go unnoticed.
The 21st century nears its 0.25 mark and fleets find themselves operating today much like they did back in 2000. Articles prescribing some course of action as if dispensing over-the-counter medication designed to alleviate symptoms rather than focusing on the root cause. Regardless of the reasons for their actions, operationally fleet management remains unchanged but not unscathed. Short-term fixes are just that, short term. Operationally as well as culturally, the organization must shift from an “analog business mode” to a “digital intellect model.”
The fleet is like any other business, a system-at-large created to serve a purpose which is to provide a service or product, or both to their customers. It all starts here. So, it requires a system approach. Whether it’s a fleet of vehicles or off-road equipment, the system requires a foundation built with efficacy, effectivity, and efficiency, every step of the way.
Building towards that end begins with changing the organizational culture or mind-set. That is, “the way things get done around here.” Transitioning the fleet away from the current “adaptation” school of doing things begins with assimilating an adoptive structure into the business. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines adapting as: “to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose.” The definition itself suggests a narrow purview, giving way to temporary fixes without regard for the system-at-large. And, while in some cases this action proves successful, in retrospect fleets find themselves at a disadvantage because of it. Protracted use of “adapting” leads to a cumulative effect or chain reaction known as the domino effect. When one event triggers a series of similar events, such as right-sizing, sharing, expense reduction, policy creation, fleet size analysis, etc.
Conversely, Merriam-Webster defines adoptive as: “to accept formally and put into effect. The act or process of beginning to use something new or different.” The differences between adapt and adopt are subtle but impactful. “Adopting” a system approach rather than “adapting” individual programs to the fleet, among many other things attempts to reinvigorate the archetypical fleet.
The Digital Intellect Model conceptualizes the intelligence system as a system-at-large composed of many working parts. Introducing fleets to the D.I.M. provides the concept from which to draw a working plan. To summarize, it embraces an “adoptive” structure which supports the integral intelligence system and provides the infrastructure for the data and system. It is a centralized, mutually inclusive model built to support efficacy, effectivity and efficiency coordinates.
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