A review carried out under the Project Future programme of public sector reform has identified a range of improvements to Government’s maintenance of light vehicles. The recommendations, set out in the review report, published on Monday, 31 October, 2016, have been endorsed by Cabinet for immediate improvement.

As part of the Project Future Programme, Cabinet instructed the Ministry to review the current and future costs of light vehicle maintenance within DVES, as well as the quality and timeliness of services provided. In particular, Cabinet required that investigations and analysis be undertaken into the following:

• Cost and quality comparisons of in-house services and outsourced solutions; and
• Possible alternative means of delivering light vehicle maintenance.

The review was asked to identify strategies to improve efficiency and effectiveness, reduce the size of Government where possible, and achieve an increase in customer satisfaction.

The Strategic Assessment presented to Cabinet identified a persuasive case for change. As recommended by the Assessment report, Cabinet agreed that the necessary changes could best be achieved through the ongoing implementation of improvements already underway, alongside the development and delivery of further efficiencies identified by the review.

Minister for Planning Lands Agriculture Housing and Infrastructure, Hon. Kurt Tibbetts, commented: “The purpose of Project Future is to deliver a public service that utilises careful analysis and advance planning to work smarter and more efficiently. The vehicle-standardisation policy and the recommendations contained in the strategic assessment represent significant steps that DVES is already taking towards achieving this goal. They are to be congratulated for their forward thinking.”

Central to the current programme of improvements is extending the role of the private sector in vehicle maintenance through the roll-out of the CIG Vehicle Standardisation, Procurement and Use Policy (2014) which made it compulsory for the purchase of new Government vehicles to include maintenance packages for a minimum of four years.

This means that a private sector vendor will be responsible for the repair and maintenance of such new vehicles for this time, reducing the demand for DVES repair/maintenance services, and reducing overall operational costs.

Other on-going initiatives include:

• Reductions in DVES operational costs for the maintenance of vehicles and equipment;
• Achieving efficiencies in terms of reduced customer delays and Government vehicle down-time; and
• Increased use of the private sector in the light vehicle maintenance work previously undertaken by DVES.

range of internal improvements were also identified in the Strategic Assessment. These include process efficiencies that would reduce cost, such as:

1. a) Replacing older vehicles in the fleet (which require more maintenance/repair)
2. b) Avoiding mixed vehicle manufacturers within the fleet (which require more/different parts and specialised maintenance)
3. c) Utilising the private sector maintenance packages with newer vehicle purchases (meaning that private vendors would maintain and repair vehicles under warranty).

The Ministry’s Chief Officer, Mr. Alan Jones, says, “I am pleased with the changes I have seen in the Government fleet since the introduction of the CIG Vehicle Standardisation, Procurement and Use Policy. The reduction in the number of different vehicles on the fleet is bringing real synergies to the table.”

He said that this, combined with a drive to acquire more efficient vehicles, is helping to drive down costs significantly.. “However, there is still much work to be done and I have confidence in the DVES management to take the various initiatives forward with zeal and competence.”

The Strategic Assessment is available for public viewing on www.plahi.gov.ky