If one of the goals of your organization or district is to maintain an accurate asset list, here are some things to keep in mind when deciding what information will be kept up-to-date. It’s important to know what equipment you have and where it is located, so you’ll want to start with a list of the current location, make/model and serial number of each device. If you want to determine the cost of the equipment, then you’ll also need to track the installation date, acquisition method (purchase or lease) and cost, and service contract base and overage amounts. For any leased equipment, it is especially important to track the lease end date and the date the letter of intent is due to the lease company. To add meaning to the cost information and to aid in future acquisition decisions, it is very helpful to also track the actual and targeted monthly usage of each device. In order to track usage, we recommend gathering meter readings on your devices at least once a quarter. If your fleet is large, gathering meter readings and maintaining some level of contact with the key operators of the devices will give you a decided advantage when you need to make decisions and confidence that you know where and how the equipment is being used. It’s great if your vendor(s) can provide data for your asset list, but maintain it as your own, and don’t rely completely on the information your vendor provides - double check everything. This list will be your most useful tool when constructing your next RFP. Our services include maintaining a Centralized Data Repository for our clients and we track approximately 150 data points on an ongoing basis for each device. If you have any questions or would like further information, please feel free to contact me at hrecla@optimizon.com.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Fleet Management, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.