01.01 This UPPS establishes guidelines for university
fleet vehicle acquisition, use and maintenance as required by the State Vehicle
Fleet Management Plan (SVFMP) administered by the State Office of Vehicle Fleet
Management (SOVFM).
02.01 University Fleet – All university-owned vehicles
used by its faculty, staff, and students. This includes vehicles maintained
with state appropriated funds, regardless of origin of purchase funds or
ownership.
02.02 Rental Vehicle – A vehicle rented daily or
leased long-term from a commercial entity.
02.03 Fleet Manager – The director of Facilities
Management in the Facilities Department will serve as the university's
designated fleet manager.
03.01 Related policy statements pertaining to the
procurement, use, and maintenance of university vehicles include:
- UPPS No. 05.02.02,
Texas State Purchasing Policy
- UPPS No.
05.05.02, Driver Selection (establishes eligibility of employees to drive state-owned
university vehicles)
- FSS/PPS No. 04.05.04,
Alcohol and Drug Testing for Employers with Commercial Drivers' License
- FSS/PPS No. 04.05.05,
Driving Safety Policy
04.01 Policy Application
a. The State
Vehicle Fleet Management Plan states the following:
For
institutions of higher education, the determination of fleet size (04.02), disposal
of excess vehicles (06.03), minimum use criteria (04.04), and the state fleet
consolidation requirement (04.04) apply only to vehicles purchased with
appropriated funds.
b. All other sections of this UPPS apply to all university
fleet vehicles.
04.02 Fleet Cap – The university
will add new vehicles only to meet legislative mandates, federal program
initiatives, and documented need resulting from program growth or changes and will
abide by all other SOVFM rules and restrictions regarding fleet size and
purchasing. Departments requesting increases in the university fleet cap should
submit requests and supporting documentation through their vice president prior
to forwarding to the fleet manager.
04.03 Vehicle Acquisition Decisions – To reduce the
total cost of fleet operations by making informed vehicle acquisition
decisions:
a. Departments should use commercial leases to
acquire rental vehicles rather than maintain a fleet for departmental use, where
cost-effective.
b. Employees should use purchase orders or a
state-issued (travel) credit card to rent vehicles. If using a different payment
method, the university’s insurance will not cover the employee who must pay for
the rental car insurance directly, and may not receive reimbursement.
04.04 Fleet Consolidation – The university
will conform to the state-mandated fleet consolidation policy and fleet minimum
use criteria where appropriate for the vehicle use activity. The fleet manager
will file applicable written justification for vehicles not meeting the
following minimum criteria:
·
2,750
miles every 3 months
·
11,000
miles annually
Fleet
consolidation policy for vehicles with a manufacturer's Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating (GVWR) of less than 8600 pounds:
a. The fleet manager will document vehicles
falling below the state minimum mileage and prepare the required information,
in consultation with the department head assigned the vehicle, for reporting to
the SOVFM.
b. Assigning a vehicle to an individual administrative
head on a regular or daily basis requires submission of written justification
to the fleet manager and approval of the president. The fleet manager reports
approvals to the SOVFM annually.
c. The department will pool all vehicles not
assigned to staff employees requiring regular daily use of vehicles for their
duties, for use by all employees in that department.
d. The fleet manager requires documentation of
all pooled vehicles.
e. Departments will forward the names of all
employees assigned to vehicles for daily use to the fleet manager.
04.05 Vehicle Replacement Schedule – The following
table details the replacement goals for vehicles by type. Available funding
will determine vehicle replacement.
Vehicle Type Purpose Replacement Goals___________________________________________________________ Age MileageSedans and Staff or client 6 years 100,000wagons transport
Light Basic transport 6 years 100,000trucks/SUV Light hauling
Passenger Staff or client 6 years 100,000vans transport
Cargo Vans Cargo hauling 8 years 100,000
Specialized
equipment, such as heavy highway construction equipment or vehicles rated at
over 8600 pounds GVWR, do not fall under any of the
above categories. Other criteria, such as hours in service or age may make such
equipment eligible for replacement.
05. FLEET MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
05.01 Fleet Manager – The fleet manager may curtail
department or individual use for vehicle misuse or for failure to comply with
any of the requirements of this UPPS. The fleet manager will:
a. review and
approve vehicle purchasing decisions;
b. review and
approve vehicle replacement decisions;
c. review and
approve maintenance decisions;
d. review and
approve repair decisions;
e. review and
approve vehicle assignment to university departments;
f. review and
approve vehicle disposal decisions;
g. manage university vehicle fuel contracts to
ensure utilization of state contracts for designated purposes and fleet fueling
card acquisition and management;
h. control university fuel purchase, restricting
all vehicles to regular unleaded fuel only, E-85 (ethanol), diesel, propane or
other approved alternate fuel;
i. review reported
inappropriate state vehicles use and inform the accused department of such
reports;
j. obtain fleet
insurance cards and provide fleet insurance policy cards for all vehicles;
k. report vehicle
accidents to Environmental Health, Safety & Risk Management office and disburse
insurance proceeds for vehicle repairs;
l. submit fleet
reports to the SOVFM as required; and
m. administer
acquisition of state vehicle titles and license plates.
05.02 Environmental Health, Safety & Risk
Management Office:
a. monitors the
fleet insurance contract and purchases insurance for all university vehicles,
and
b. reports accidents
to the fleet insurance carrier.
05.03 Materials Management – Requests insurance and
title acquisition from the above offices upon delivery of vehicles purchased.
05.04 Account manager and department head – Account
managers and department heads must:
a. follow all
policies and procedures outlined in this UPPS;
b. review every driver's
Department of Public Safety (DPS) driving record annually (UPPS No.
05.05.02);
c. submit requests on the form available from
the fleet manager for new driver approval within two weeks of hire or thirty
days prior to operating a vehicle (UPPS No.
05.05.02);
d. confirm that drivers meet the vehicle operating
requirement in FSS/PPS
04.05.04, Alcohol and Drug Testing for Employees with Commercial Drivers'
License;
e. ensure that
staff assigned vehicles provide the fleet manager monthly mileage logs and
receipts by the fifth of each month;
f. ensure that staff assigned vehicles or their
designee deliver all vehicles, on the date assigned, for preventive maintenance
to the Facilities garage or notify the garage (5-2831) and make arrangements
for delivery on an alternative date;
g. ensure that all
vehicle accidents are promptly reported to the fleet manager as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.05,
Driving Safety Policy; and
h. report to the fleet
manager vehicles assigned to individual drivers and document vehicles pooled by
the department prior to September 30th of each fiscal year.
05.05 Vehicle Drivers – Authorized drivers of
university vehicles must:
a. follow the
requirements for vehicle inspections as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.05,
Driving Safety Policy;
b. maintain the
vehicle logbook and submit the mileage report to the account manager monthly;
c. load passengers
and materials in a secure manner and ensure the vehicle is not loaded above
vehicle capacity;
d. use regular
fuel, unless otherwise instructed by the fleet manager;
e. report any
traffic citations received in a university vehicle to the fleet manager; and
f. report every
accident in which they are involved when driving a university vehicle as
prescribed in FSS/PPS
04.05.05, Driving Safety Policy. The fleet manager should receive accident
reports immediately after all accidents.
06.01 Authorized Use of a University Vehicle. The
following items regulate and limit the use of university vehicles:
a. University employees – Any university
employee may use a university vehicle provided they qualify under UPPS No.
05.05.02, Driver Selection.
b. Students – All university work program students
may drive a university vehicle if they qualify under UPPS No.
05.05.02, Driver Selection. Students not employed by the university must file
an Automobile Use Release and Indemnity Agreement with their account manager
prior to driving a university vehicle.
c. Individuals may use university vehicles for official
university business only and drivers must comply with Texas Government Code §2203.001
(e):
A person commits an offense if the
person does not file a report [mileage
log filed monthly with the account manager, per Section 05.05] as required
by this section on or before the tenth day after the date on which the person uses
the vehicle. An offense under this subsection is punishable by a fine of not
less than $5 nor more than $100 dollars.
d. Individuals may not use university vehicles
for travel outside the continental boundaries of the United States without
prior approval of the fleet manager. Such travel requires special insurance and
documentation. Account managers must contact the fleet manager three weeks
prior to the departure date to obtain the required documentation.
e. Employees may not use university vehicles for
transportation to and from their home or to lunch.
06.02 Acquisition and Receipt of Vehicles
a. Departments seeking to order vehicles must
submit the written justification for the purchase, including a cost-benefit
analysis comparing purchase to leasing or spot rental of a vehicle, the name of
the person assigned the vehicle and an estimate of the annual mileage to the fleet
manager. Departments should use the, Request
for New Vehicle form. The fleet manager will process all approved requests
and obtain purchase price or bids prior to issuing the approval of the
acquisition.
1) The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has
levied alternate fuel requirements for state agencies with fleets of twenty or
more vehicles, requiring that alternate fuel capable vehicles make up 75% of
general purpose vehicles (those under 8600 pounds GVWR) purchased in any given
model year. The DoE also mandated that the alternate fuel be used if it is
available. Texas State uses E-85 or propane. The fleet manager will determine
the distribution of non-alternative fuel vehicle quotas for the university.
b. All purchase orders for vehicles must include
the following statement: "Ship to Central Receiving." The Materials
Management department at the Central Warehouse will receive new vehicles and
hold them until the fleet manager processes the title and the Environmental Health, Safety & Risk Management Office obtains
insurance. Materials Management will deliver vehicles to the fleet manager for
decaling, numbering, and final processing.
06.03 Vehicle Disposal – UPPS No.
05.01.02, University Surplus Property (Equipment and Consumable Supplies)
states the manner in which to dispose of vehicles. The Facilities department will
prepare vehicles to ensure the maximum sale price.
06.04 Vehicle Maintenance
a. The fleet manager must service all vehicles
unless alternative service methods are approved in writing. 1) The fleet manager
provides service to all Education and General (E&G) funded Facilities’ sections
and to Materials Management at no cost. 2) The fleet manager will charge all
other departments for service, maintenance and repairs.
b. All university departments, including those
approved to service vehicles at alternative locations, and personnel assigned
fleet vehicles must report all vehicle-related activities monthly.
c. The fleet manager will maintain a preventive
maintenance schedule for all vehicles serviced through the Facilities' fleet
maintenance shop and will provide scheduled services to those vehicles.
d. The fleet manager will maintain warranty
information on all vehicles and coordinate all warranty service required during
the life of each vehicle warranty. Departments will inform the fleet manager of
needed service during the warranty period.
e. The
fleet manager will maintain maintenance and usage records on all vehicles owned
by the university and report this information to the SOVFM as prescribed in the
SVFMP.
07.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Director,
Facilities Management June 1
E4Y
Director,
Purchasing June
1 E4Y
Director,
Environmental Health, June
1 E4Y
Safety
& Risk Management
This UPPS
has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and
represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of this document
until superseded.
Director,
Facilities Management; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Associate
Vice President for Facilities
Vice
President for Finance and Support Services
President