Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fleet Maintenance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fleet audit finds low preventive‑maintenance rates and staffing shortfalls; city outlines dashboard and scheduling fixes
Summary
An audit of San Diego's city fleet identified low on‑time preventive maintenance (about 20% on time, 39% with grace) and staffing gaps; management reported improved terminal compliance in some areas and committed to scheduling, dashboard visibility and further staffing analyses.
Auditors told the San Diego City Council that preventive maintenance and safety‑inspection compliance for the city's roughly 4,900 vehicles is well below industry standards, and that staffing has not kept pace with fleet growth.
"The city's fleet is comprised of about 4,900 vehicles and motorized equipment with an estimated total replacement value of $437,000,000," City Auditor Andy Henhouse said. The audit found that only about 20% of preventive maintenance (PM) services were completed on time during fiscal year 2023; allowing an industry 10% grace period raises the on‑time rate to just 39%.
Auditors highlighted safety risks in overdue "bit" inspections for heavy vehicles, which were on time only about 35% of the time and frequently identified safety repairs when conducted. The team also found long turnaround times for some work orders (average three calendar days citywide, though most servicing took under 24 hours) and cited labor delays as the main cause of backlog.
"When safety inspections are late, issues may persist that can lead to increased costs and breakdowns," the audit said, noting previous findings dating to 2015 and recommending ten actions to improve timeliness and compliance.
Mashria Little, director of the Department of General Services, told the council two of the 10 recommendations are complete (designation of fleet coordinators and routine meetings) and that the department has improved some compliance metrics: "For those departments with more than 100 vehicles subject to bit inspection, our current compliance rate is 91%," she said, attributing improvement to meetings, process changes and weekend work by technicians.
Union representative Paul Garibay, a fleet technician and vice president of ASME Local 127, urged that management fully implement the audit recommendations and consult labor before schedule changes. Garibay said the fleet technician classifications and staffing levels must be addressed to meet demand.
Auditors recommended establishing measurable turnaround‑time goals, implementing appointment scheduling in FleetFocus, prioritizing vehicles with scheduled appointments, boosting use of assistant fleet technician roles, and aligning FleetFocus data with operational needs. Staff said they anticipate completing several recommendations by the end of the calendar year and the remainder by June 2026.
Council members repeatedly emphasized that the underlying problem is staffing. "I don't see that being resolved without actually having more people," Council President Pro Tem Lee said in debate. Fleet managers said they are exploring schedule adjustments, weekend overtime and a 4‑10 shift to increase available hours, but acknowledged the need to recruit and retain technicians.
The audit was presented as informational; no council action was taken. Staff agreed to follow up with the council on progress, dashboard rollouts, and the staffing and space analyses that could lead to resource requests.
