Maintenance and Service Standards

Maintenance Facility Assignments

The DPW&T Transportation Division will assign all County vehicles to a primary central and/or designated secondary maintenance facility. The St. Andrew’s location is the primary facility that users will deliver vehicles and equipment to for inspections, repair, and maintenance. Secondary facilities will be designated on an as-needed basis should the primary facility be unavailable.

As a general rule, inspections, preventive maintenance, minor repairs, and interim compliance work are performed in-house. Emergency maintenance may be outsourced and performed by a facility other than the assigned facilities if previously authorized by the Transportation Division.

Preventive Maintenance (PM) Guidelines

A poor maintenance program can negatively affect both the fleet and fleet-cost performance by increasing downtime, increasing the probability of unsafe vehicles and reducing resale value for vehicles at the time of disposal. As such, all County-owned vehicles must be under a preventive maintenance program. For non-County owned vehicles, departments can elect to include non-County owned vehicles in the Transportation Division’s preventive maintenance program or contract with a third party vendor, but not both.

The Transportation Division is responsible for ensuring the scheduling and performance of preventive maintenance for all County vehicles. Preventive maintenance and periodic inspection procedures help to prevent failures from occurring while the vehicle is being operated. Once a week, or more frequently as required, the Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor will identify vehicles and equipment that are due for preventive maintenance checks. The Supervisor will also check the availability of parts required by established minimum preventive maintenance inventory levels.

The users are responsible for contacting the Vehicle Maintenance Division or bringing their assigned vehicle(s) into the shop by the mileage or date posted on the oil change sticker. In some instances, the using Department may be sent a preventive maintenance notification reminder at least one (1) week in advance of the scheduled maintenance. If it is necessary to re-schedule the preventive maintenance appointment, the using department must do so no later than 48 hours prior to the scheduled appointment. At that time, the Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor will re-schedule the preventive maintenance appointment within two (2) weeks.

Preventive maintenance for heavy trucks and equipment will be accomplished according to the manufacturer’s specifications at minimum. For non-County owned vehicles such as STS buses and equipment that the Transportation Division maintains, a schedule for preventive maintenance must be prepared and filed with the Transportation Division. STS Transit System passenger buses may have additional FHSA criteria for preventive maintenance and inspections that will be incorporated into the program (i.e., emergency hatch inspection every 90 days). For additional information on STS Preventive Maintenance for dedicated transit vehicles.

After completing each preventive maintenance service, the Transportation Division will place a sticker on the vehicle indicating the miles (or hours) when the next preventive maintenance check is due for Levels A, B and C. Such procedures also reduce reliance on the driver, who may have limited skill and knowledge for detecting vehicle deficiencies. Transportation has established Preventive Maintenance Forms for Level A, B and C maintenance and the established preventive maintenance schedule(s) based on vehicle class.