Fleet Management Plan
Texas State University-San Marcos
Official UPPS No. 05.05.03 (New)
Issue No. 1
Effective Date: 07/12/01
Review: June 1 E4Y
01. POLICY STATEMENTS
01.01 We at Texas State are committed to the efficient procurement, maintenance, and transportation of equipment, apparatus, supplies and personnel; and the security and protection of all employees, students, and visitors. The following procedure contributes to the fulfillment of this policy.
01.02 The purpose of this UPPS is to establish guidelines for use, acquisition, and maintenance of vehicles in the University fleet, meeting the requirement of the State Vehicle Fleet Management Plan (SVFMP) administered by the State Office of Vehicle Fleet Management(SOVFM).
02. DEFINITIONS
02.01 University Fleet - Fleet in this UPPS refers to all university vehicles owned by the Southwest Texas State University for use of its faculty, staff, and students. This includes: vehicles purchased or rented commercially with state appropriated funds, vehicles purchased by Auxiliary Services with local funds and leased to departments, and all other vehicles procured by the University, without regard for the method of funding or ownership of the vehicle and maintained with state appropriated funds.
02.02 Rental Vehicle - A rental vehicle is a vehicle rented daily or leased long term from a commercial entity.
02.03 Lease Vehicle - A lease vehicle refers to a vehicle purchased through Auxiliary Services and leased to a University department as specified in UPPS No. 05.05.01.
02.04 Fleet Manager and Office of Fleet Management - The Director of Facilities Management in the Facilities Department will serve as the University's designated Fleet Manager and for the purpose of this UPPS the Director of Facilities Management's office will be referred to as the OFM.
03. RELATED POLICIES
03.01 Related policy statements pertaining to the procurement, use, and maintenance of university vehicles include:
- UPPS No. 05.05.01, Transportation Services - establishes procedures for the use and funding of leased vehicles provided by transportation services.
- 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 Driver's Licensed Employees
- FSS/PPS No. 04.05.05, Driving Safety Policy
04. UNIVERSITY FLEET MANAGEMENT POLICIES
04.01 Policy Application
a. The State Vehicle Fleet Management Plan states the following:
For institutions of higher education, the determination and disposal of excess vehicles (04.03), the determination of fleet size (04.01), minimum use criteria (04.03), and the state fleet consolidation requirement (04.03) applies only to vehicles purchased with appropriated funds.
b. All other sections of this UPPS apply to all University fleet vehicles.
04.02 Fleet size - The University fleet size will be capped at its current level. New vehicles will be added only to meet legislative mandates, federal program initiatives, and documented need resulting from program growth or changes. The University will abide by all other SOVFM rules and restrictions regarding fleet size and purchasing.
04.03 Vehicle Acquisition Decisions - Southwest Texas State University is committed to reducing the total cost of fleet operations by making informed vehicle acquisition decisions.
a. Departments are encouraged to use commercial leases to acquire (rental) vehicles rather than maintain a fleet for departmental use, where cost effective.
b. Rental cars must be paid for by a purchase order or a state issued (travel) credit card to assure proper insurance coverage for the rental vehicle. If the rental car is paid for by other means than a purchase order or state issued (travel) credit card, the insurance will be the responsibility of the renter (employee) and it may not be reimbursed.
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:
- September 1, 2000-August 31, 2001 1750 miles every 3 months
- September 1, 2001-August 31, 2002 2250 miles every 3 months
- September 1, 2002-August 31, 2003 2750 miles every 3 months
Vehicles with a manufacturer's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of more than 8600 pounds are exempt.
a. The OFM 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. No vehicle may be assigned to an individual administrative head on a regular or daily basis without written justification to the OFM, approval of the President, and reporting to the SOVFM.
c. All vehicles not assigned by the account manager/ department head to a staff employee engaged in activities that require regular daily use of a vehicle in conduct of their duties will be pooled for use by all employees in that department.
d. Pooled vehicles will be documented to the OFM.
e. The names of all employees assigned to vehicles for use in daily activities will be documented to the OFM.
04.05 Vehicle Replacement Schedule - The following table details the replacement goals for vehicles by type. Vehicle replacement will be contingent on available funding:
Vehicle Purpose Replacement Goals _Type_______________________________________________________ Age Mileage Sedans and Staff or client 6 years 90,000 wagons transport Light Basic transport 6 years 100,000 trucks/SUV Light hauling >8600 GVWR Passenger Staff or client 6 years 100,000 vans transport Cargo Vans Cargo hauling 8 years 100,000Specialized equipment, such as heavy highway construction equipment, does not fall under any of the above categories. Such equipment may be considered for replacement according to other criteria, such as hours in service.
05. FLEET MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
05.01 Fleet Manager - The Fleet Manager shall have the authority to curtail use of a university vehicle by a department or individual for misuse of the vehicle or for failure to comply with any of the requirements of this UPPS including all account manager requirements for fleet reporting. Responsibilities of the Fleet Manager will include:
a. review and approval of vehicle purchasing decisions;
b. review and approval of vehicle replacement decisions;
c. review and approval of maintenance decisions;
d. review and approval of repair decisions;
e. review and approval of vehicle assignment to University departments;
f. review and approval of vehicle disposal decisions;
g. management of fuel contracts for university vehicles ensuring that state contracts are utilized for the designated purpose, and acquisition and management of fleet fueling cards;
h. control of university fuel purchase, restricting all vehicles to regular unleaded fuel only;
i. review reported inappropriate use of state vehicles and inform the accused department of such reports;
j. obtaining fleet insurance cards and providing fleet insurance policy cards for all vehicles;
k. reporting vehicle accidents to the insurance company and the Office of Risk Management and Safety and disbursement of insurance proceeds as required to effect vehicle repairs; and
l. complying with State Reporting Requirements - Fleet reports will be submitted by the OFM to the State Office of Vehicle Fleet Management as prescribed by their rules.
05.02 Office of Risk Management and Safety - Monitors the fleet insurance contract and purchases insurance for all university vehicles.
05.03 Associate Vice President, Financial Services/ Treasurer - Administers acquisition of state vehicle titles and license plates.
05.04 Materials Management - Requests insurance and title acquisition from the above offices upon delivery of vehicles purchased.
05.05 Account Manager/Department Head - Account managers/ department heads must:
a. follow all policies and procedures discussed in this UPPS;
b. ensure every driver's Department of Public Safety (DPS) driving record is checked annually (UPPS No. 05.05.02);
c. provide accurate information to the OFM concerning vehicles assigned to individual employees and vehicles assigned to the department vehicle pool;
d. submit requests (on the form available from the OFM) for approval of new drivers to the OFM within two (2) weeks of hire or thirty (30) days prior to having them operate a vehicle as required in UPPS No. 05.05.02;
e. confirm that drivers meet the requirement for operating vehicles as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.04, Alcohol and Drug Testing for Commercial Driver's License;
f. ensure that staff assigned vehicles or their designee deliver monthly mileage logs and gas receipts to the OFM by the 5th of each month;
g. 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;
h. ensure that all vehicle accidents are promptly reported to the OFM as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.05, Driver Safety; and
i. report, to the OFM, vehicles assigned to individual drivers and document vehicles pooled by the department. The report is due prior to September 30 each fiscal year.
05.06 Vehicle Drivers - Authorized drivers of university vehicles must:
a. follow the requirements for vehicle inspections as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.05, Driver Safety;
b. maintain the vehicle logbook and submit the mileage report to the account manager monthly;
c. ensure passengers and/or materials are loaded in a secure/safe manner (seat belts) and ensure that the vehicle is not loaded above the vehicle's rated capacity;
d. use regular fuel, unless otherwise instructed by the OFM;
e. report any traffic citations received in a University vehicle to the OFM; and
f. report every accident in which they are involved when driving a university vehicle as prescribed in FSS/PPS 04.05.05, Driver Safety. Reports should be made immediately after the accident to the OFM.
06. UNIVERSITY FLEET MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES
06.01 Authorized Use of a University Vehicle. The following items regulate and limit the use of university vehicles:
a. University employees - Any employee of the University may use a university vehicle provided they are qualified as prescribed under UPPS No. 05.05.02, "Driver Selection".
b. Students - As prescribed in the Regents' Rules, all students employed under a university work program may drive a university vehicle provided they are qualified as prescribed under UPPS No. 05.05.02, "Driver Selection". Students who are not employed by the University must have an Automobile Use Release and Indemnity Agreement on file with their account manager prior to driving a university vehicle.
c. Use of a vehicle must be for official university business and the driver must comply with Government Code 2203.001 subsection (e).
1) A person commits an offense if the person does not file a report (completion of the mileage log and filing it monthly with the account manager, per section 05.06) as required by this section on or before the 10th day after the date on which the person uses the vehicle. An offense under this subsection is punishable by a fine of not less five dollars ($5.00) or more than one hundred dollars ($100.00).
d. University vehicles may not be used for travel outside the continental boundaries of the United States. Such travel is to be arranged by commercial carrier, rental vehicles or private automobiles.
06.02 Acquisition/Receipt of Vehicles
a. Departments seeking to order vehicles must submit the following information to the OFM: written justification for the purchase, including a cost benefit analysis comparing purchase to leasing or spot rental of a vehicle, information as to who will be assigned the vehicle and an estimate of the annual mileage. All approved requests will be processed by the OFM. The OFM will obtain purchase price or bids, and process the purchase request.
b. All purchase orders for vehicles must include the following shipping statement: "Ship to Central Receiving". New vehicles will be delivered to the Materials Management Department at the Central Warehouse and will be held at that location until all title and insurance processing is completed by the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Financial Services/Treasurer. Materials Management will deliver vehicles to the Office of the Fleet Manager for decaling, numbering, and final processing after proper registration, insurance, and license plates are received.
c. All vehicles, other than those purchased by Facilities and Materials Management, are to be obtained through the Transportation Services account as prescribed in UPPS No. 05.05.01.
06.03 Vehicle Disposal - Disposal of vehicles will be in accordance with UPPS No. 05.01.02, "Disposal of University Surplus Property". Vehicles will be prepared for disposal by the Facilities Department in a manner than ensure the maximum sale price.
06.04 Vehicle Maintenance
a. All vehicles must be serviced by the OFM unless alternative service methods are approved in writing by the OFM. Departments leasing through Auxiliary Services are responsible for the cost of all maintenance and repairs as prescribed by their lease. Maintenance and repair service for all E&G funded Facilities' Sections and Material Management will be provided at no cost. E&G departments will be required to pay for damage to vehicles incurred through vehicle accidents or repairs due to negligence on the part of the department or its employees.
b. All University departments and personnel assigned fleet vehicles must report all vehicle-related activities monthly. This includes departments that are approved to service vehicles at alternative locations. Monthly vehicle records include the following: mileage logs, fuel purchase receipts, preventive maintenance records, and repair records. The account manager must deliver all records to the OFM by the 5th of the month.
c. The OFM 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 OFM will maintain warranty information on all vehicles and coordinate all warranty service required during the life of each vehicle warranty. Departments are to inform the OFM when service is needed during the warranty period.
e. The OFM will maintain maintenance and usage records on all vehicles owned by the University and report this information to the SOVFM as prescribed in the State Vehicle Fleet Management Plan.
07. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS
07.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date Mr. Allen Goldapp, Director, Facilities Management June 1 E4Y Mr. Warren Tinseth, Director, Risk Management and Safety Office June 1 E4Y Mr. William L. Fly University Attorney June 1 E4Y 08. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
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.
Mr. Allen Goldapp, Director, Facilities Management; senior reviewer of this UPPS
Mr. Pat Fogarty, Associate Vice President for Facilities
Mr. Bill Nance, Vice President for Finance and Support Services
Dr. Jerome Supple, President