GSA, Office of Government-wide Policy
Vehicle Allocation
Methodology
The Federal Perspective
NPMA NES 2014
Federal Fleets
FY2013
• Total Inventory 635,748
• Miles traveled 4.82 billion
• Operating costs $4.4 billion
• 20 large fleets (>2,000)
• Average age 12 years
•
Fleet Composition Vehicle
Type
– Trucks 61%
– Passenger 37%
– Other 1%
• Fleet Composition
Agencies
– USPS 33%
– Civilian 39%
– Military 28%
• Fleet Composition
Sources
– Agency-owned 70%
– GSA Fleet 29%
– Commercial lease 1%
Vehicle Allocation Methodology
“A vehicle allocation results from a methodology
that provides agency fleet managers a standard
way to ensure that each vehicle in the fleet is
correctly sized and is appropriate for
accomplishing the agency missions.”
- FMR Bulletin B-30
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
Background
• Presidential Memorandum- Federal Fleet
Performance (May 2011) directed GSA to develop
and distribute to agencies a Vehicle Allocation
Methodology (VAM).
• Bulletin provides guidance on conducting an annual
VAM to determine the optimal fleet inventory and
identify resources to operate those fleets effectively
and efficiently.
• FMR Bulletin B-30 replaces previous guidance issued
in 2004 in FMR Bulletin B-9
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
What is the purpose of the bulletin?
•
•
•
•
Provides guidance on the development, maintenance, and
reporting of an agency VAM
Agency adherence ensures that agency vehicle fleets are
correctly sized, are appropriate for accomplishing agency
missions, and promotes cost-effectiveness of maintaining
the fleet throughout the lifecycle
Advises agencies that a VAM should cover an agency’s
entire fleet encompassing all vehicle types, including law
enforcement and emergency vehicles
Provides agency fleet managers with a standard way to
document the criteria and optimal vehicle allocation of a
vehicle fleet
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
Description of a VAM
Agency VAM’s must encompass the following steps:
1.
2.
Establish a baseline fleet inventory profile that tracks vehicles
individually. (FAST line item data is coming….)
Develop vehicle utilization criteria to justify mission essential
vehicles. Criteria must be specific such as but not limited to:

Mission

Miles of use per vehicle

House of use per vehicle

Ratio of employees to vehicles

Frequency of trips per vehicle

Vehicle function

Operating Terrain

Climate

Downtime
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
Description of a VAM cont’d
3.
Conduct a Utilization Survey
– Apply utilization criteria to each vehicle
– Collect Information about each vehicle typically
gathered by surveys and in-person interviews
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
Description of a VAM cont’d
4. Determine Optimal Fleet Inventory
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–
–
–
–
–
5.
Identify vehicles that do not meet established criteria
Dispose of or reassign those vehicles as needed
Create a list of vehicle types approved for each
organization and mission requirement
Compare existing fleet composition to mission task
needs
Identify mission essential vehicles
Evaluate alternatives such as public transportation,
contract shuttle services, or rental vehicles
Review and Update VAM annually or sooner as
mission needs change
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
How should a VAM be documented and reported?
• Integrated into the agency’s fleet
management information system
• Complete the VAM Reporting Tool in the
Federal Automotive Statistical Tool (FAST)
• Develop a fleet management plan which
describes how your agency will achieve its
optimal fleet inventory
• Updated and submitted annually to GSA
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
Fleet Management Plan
Must consider and address the following items:
• Schedule agency will follow to achieve its optimal
inventory including plans for beginning to acquire all
AFV’s by December 31, 2015.
• Agency plans and schedules for locating alternative
fueled vehicles in proximity to AFV fueling stations
• Vehicle sourcing decisions- Agency owned or leased
commercially or through GSA Fleet
• Must be incorporated into their Annual Strategic
Sustainability Performance Plan (EO 13514)
GSA Bulletin FMR B-30
• Annual requirement to complete VAM Reporting Tool
and submit fleet management plan through FAST at
the agency level
• Agency information is reviewed by GSA and agency
is issued recommendations to improve the plan
• Assistance is available at www.gsa.gov/VAM
Next Steps: Why you need to be involved?
Presidential Memo – Federal Fleet Performance:
The President states the Federal Government owes “a
responsibility to American citizens to lead by example and
contribute to meeting our national goals of reducing oil
imports by one-third by 2025 and putting one million
advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.”
2014 VAM Review
• 34 agencies submitted Fleet Management Plans (FMPs)
to GSA in compliance with the Presidential Memorandum Federal Fleet Performance (May 24, 2011).
• Agencies’ FMPs also satisfy the instructions in OMB
Circular A-11 entitled “Fleet Data Reporting in FAST”.
• FMPs update progress toward achieving VAM optimal fleet
inventory by December 31, 2015
• FMPs describe agency efforts to operate fleets most
effectively and efficiently.
2014 VAM Review
GSA’s Review Focused on the Following:
• Agency Deployment of Fleet Management Information
Systems
• Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM and
AFV Inventories
• Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and Survey
Questions
• Motor Vehicle Sources by Agency
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Agency Deployment of Fleet Management
Information Systems
• GSA asked agencies to describe their fleet management
information system (Table 1)
“The data needed to effectively support an agency’s
Fleet Management Plan comes from an agency’s
fleet management information system (FMIS)”
15
Agency Deployment of Fleet Management
Information Systems
• Federal executive agencies are required by Sections 15301 and
15302 of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
of 1986 (Pub. L. No. 99-272) (40 U.S.C. Sec. 17502 and 17503)
to have a centralized system to:
“identify, collect, and analyze motor vehicle data with
respect to all costs incurred for the operation, maintenance,
acquisition, and disposition of motor vehicles.”
•
In addition, Federal Management Regulation Part 102-34.340
requires agencies to have a FMIS at the department or agency
level
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Agency Deployment of Fleet Management
Information Systems
GSA recommends that:
• Agencies with a FMIS centralized at the agency level should begin
FAST reporting without the use of a complex hierarchy to provide
the same data that already resides in the agency FMIS
• Agencies should prepare their FMIS systems in order to be able to
report line-item information directly to FAST for the Fiscal Year
2016 reporting cycle
• Agencies that lack a centralized FMIS should:
– Develop or acquire a FMIS meeting FMR 102-34 requirements;
– Use FedFMS (now available from GSA at no additional cost); or
– Use GSA Leased Vehicles (which includes an FMIS as part of
the lease service)
17
Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM
and AFV Inventories
• Agencies established their optimal fleet inventory targets in
2011 by conducting Vehicle Allocation Methodology (VAM)
studies and have until December 2015 to reach their optimal
inventories. (Tables 2a through 2d)
“Agencies VAM efforts have resulted in reduced
Federal fleet inventory every year since 2011.”
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Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM
and AFV Inventories
• All new light duty vehicles leased or purchased by agencies
must be alternative fueled vehicles, such as hybrid or electric,
compressed natural gas or biofuel beginning 1/1/2016.
• An agency’s total inventory of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs)
has implications for compliance with EPAct mandated AFV
acquisitions, annual petroleum reduction, and increased use of
alternative fuels.
• The percentage of light-duty AFVs acquired in 2013 is an
indicator of an agency’s progress in preparing for the mandate
to acquire 100% light-duty AFVs.
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Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM
and AFV Inventories
1. Total Fleet
Inventory
2. VAM Inventory Goal
(VAM Covered vehicles)
3. Total AFV
Inventory
4. Light-Duty AFV
Acquisitions (%)
FY 2012
650,061
Actual: 359,937
Goal: 346,326
200,819
63.9%
FY 2013
635,748
Actual: 352,046
Goal: 338,782
203,579
59.6%
Agencies
reduced fleet
inventories
Agencies did not fully
meet their VAM
inventory goals
Outcome
Agencies acquired
Agencies
a smaller
increased AFV
percentage of lightinventories
duty AFVs
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Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM
and AFV Inventories
GSA recommends that:
• Agencies reduce the number of vehicles exempted from VAM
studies.
• Agency fleet managers identify and redeploy underutilized
vehicles to offset mission related growth rather than acquire
additional vehicles.
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Agencies’ Progress on Achieving Optimal VAM
and AFV Inventories
GSA also recommends that:
• Agencies continue efforts to carefully optimize vehicle size,
vehicle type and fuel type to the vehicle’s location and mission
use. Successful achievement of the 100% AFV acquisition
mandate by December 31, 2015 requires long-term strategic
planning.
• Agencies should complete another VAM fleet study by FY 2016.
22
Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and
Survey Questions
• GSA asked agencies to include in their 2014 Fleet Management
Plans their vehicle allocation methodology (VAM) survey
questions as well as their vehicle utilization criteria. (Table 3)
“A VAM study provides agency fleet managers a
standard way to ensure that each vehicle in the
fleet is justified, correctly sized, and is appropriate
for accomplishing agency missions.”
23
Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and
Survey Questions
• At the heart of the VAM process is a survey questionnaire
through which agencies gather the information needed to
identify their optimal fleet inventories and develop vehicle
utilization criteria to justify mission essential vehicles.
• In turn, utilization criteria helps a fleet manager determine
whether to retain, dispose, or reassign individual vehicles in an
agency’s fleet.
• Specific utilization criteria are set individually by each agency
(and sometimes by individual service or bureau within an
agency) based on mission requirements.
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Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and
Survey Questions
• Of the 34 agencies that reported, 29 provided evidence of
having used survey questions during their most recent VAM
survey.
• The most often surveyed topics included criticality of mission,
amount of miles, number of trips, and number of
passengers/amount of cargo carried.
• 32 agencies also provided specific utilization criteria or showed
evidence that they have criteria they use to determine whether
to retain or dispose of a vehicle.
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Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and
Survey Questions
GSA recommends that:
• Agencies should develop and document the specific questions
used in their VAM vehicle user surveys and include them in with
their annual Fleet Management Plan.
• FMR Bulletin B-30 provides examples of questions that should
be considered when developing survey questions.
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Agency Reported VAM Utilization Criteria and
Survey Questions
GSA also recommends that:
• Agencies should establish and document specific vehicle
utilization criteria for motor vehicle justification. This criteria
should be reviewed at least annually and action taken when
underutilized vehicles are identified. Utilization can be measured
in miles driven, trips taken, hours of use, or other criteria used to
measure vehicle use and identify underutilized vehicles.
• Knowing the amount and type of cargo and/or passengers
regularly transported, the terrain the vehicle travels, the climate,
kinds of weather expected, and criticality of the mission will help
determine the best vehicle suited to accomplish mission work.
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Motor Vehicle Sources by Agency
“The source from which vehicles are acquired has a
major impact on an agency's’ ability to operate a cost
efficient fleet.” (Table 4)
Per Section 17504(a)(2) of 40 USC 175, Federal Motor Vehicle
Expenditure Control, the head of each executive agency shall
include with the appropriation request the agency submits under
section 1108 of title 31 for each fiscal year, a statement that
justifies why the existing and any new motor vehicle acquisition,
maintenance, leasing, operation, and disposal requirements of the
agency cannot be met through the Interagency Fleet Management
System operated by the Administrator of General Services, a
qualified private fleet management firm, or any other method which
is less costly to the Federal Government.
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Motor Vehicle Sources by Agency
• Agencies generally report that GSA leased vehicles are typically
less costly to operate than agency owned or commercially
leased vehicles.
• Furthermore, customers leasing vehicles from GSA are
supported by a vehicle management information system, a
maintenance management system, an accident management
system, and driver safety training at no additional cost.
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Motor Vehicle Sources by Agency
• However, there are legitimate reasons why some Federal
missions are best met with agency owned vehicles or even
commercially leased vehicles, such as for meeting short term
vehicle needs, locations where GSA cannot support the vehicle
operation, or where very specialized or highly modified vehicles
are required.
• Nevertheless, to obtain maximum savings and the benefit of an
array of fleet services, use of GSA leased vehicles should be
first considered wherever they can be used to successfully
complete agency missions.
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Motor Vehicle Sources by Agency
GSA recommends that:
• Agencies should acquire vehicles from the least costly source
able to supply vehicles capable of accomplishing agency
missions.
• Agencies should document and be able to provide a data-driven
justification for acquiring vehicles from other than the most cost
effective source.
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More information
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Discuss with your Agency Fleet Manager
www.gsa.gov/vehiclepolicy
Quarterly FEDFLEET meetings
E-mail vehicle.policy@gsa.gov
• Questions?
• Thank you!