Sonoma County Human Services Department Successfully Automates Fleet

Case workers applaud ease of use and around-the-clock accessibility to vehicles

CHANTILLY, VA, November 19, 2015 -- Since implementing fleet automation technologies nearly three years ago, the Sonoma County Human Services Department (HSD) of California has achieved its goals of improving vehicle management and efficiency, and enabled workers to better serve their at-risk clients. Details of the Department’s fleet automation initiative are included in a new case study just released by Agile Access Control, Inc., creator of FleetCommander fleet and motor pool technologies implemented at the Sonoma County Human Services Department.

“The transformation of our fleet management and motor pools has significantly improved the efficiency in which we are able to serve our clients. Costs are reduced and we can focus on the important business at hand – serving an at-risk population. We have much more freedom to access vehicles, and using the motor pool now is hassle-free,” says George Malachowski, Sonoma County HSD.

Late in 2012, the Sonoma County Human Services Department selected Agile’s FleetCommander fleet and motor pool technologies to assist them with automating their internal motor pool processes. The Human Services Department Family, Youth, and Children’s Services Division was the first to automate their fleet and motor pool. The Family, Youth and Children's Services Division works with individuals and the community to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth. Staff provides protective and supportive social services to families in which children are at risk. The HSD has achieved significant personnel time savings as a result of the FleetCommander online reservation system, automated key boxes, and minimized staff interactions related to managing reservations, dispatching, and vehicle usage reporting. As a result, HSD fleet staff has the time to attend to other important business.

Metrics collected by FleetCommander enable fleet staff to monitor shortages in vehicles, and rotate between high- and low-usage vehicles. Data collected also identifies vehicle demands throughout the Department and enables them to almost eliminate personal vehicle usage reimbursement costs. Social services organizations, in particular, need to manage their fleet resources as efficiently as possible because they assist an at-risk population that frequently must be served during non-business hours. The Sonoma County Human Services Department is no different. Automating the usage and management of motor pool vehicles via FleetCommander fleet and motor pool software helped HSD by:

• Enabling them to better meet the needs of their clients by providing access motor pool vehicles 24 x 7 (without the need for staff to be present)
• Freeing up staff time by automating the paper and manual processes; cutting time spent assigning vehicles to drivers; and reviewing, approving, and managing reservation requests
• Reducing budget overruns for personal mileage reimbursement for private vehicle use
• Enabling them to rotate vehicles so that vehicles are properly utilized, and unneeded vehicles are identified and eliminated
• Helping workers to comply with policies requiring them to transport clients in county vehicles (including frequent short trips) and collect the data needed to assess utilization
• Enabling them to automatically communicate and enforce the Department’s internal vehicle usage policies and best practices via the online reservation process

For more information about the Sonoma County Human Services Department’s fleet automation initiative, download our new case study.