Charles “Chuck” Cramer is currently the Director of Fleet Services for the City of Lynchburg. He is a passionate and efficient executive with expertise in fleet, equipment, and facilities management across multiple locations. He has multiple years of experience developing and delivering effective solutions to optimize operations. Prior to being the Director of Fleet Services, Chuck was a Fleet Manager in the U.S Air Force where he served for nearly 25 years.
Can you share the journey you had so far with the City of Lynchburg, and what are your current roles and responsibilities?
I’m currently the Director of Fleet Services for the City of Lynchburg where I’ve been working for nearly eight years. Before this role, I was also a fleet manager in the Air Force. So, altogether, I have roughly 30 years of experience in the fleet industry.
The City currently owns and operates just shy of 900 assets, including everything from lawnmowers to fire trucks. My team and I manage a fleet of police and fire vehicles, as well as light, heavy-duty, and off-road vehicles, from the cradle to grave. We build specifications, purchase, maintain, and dispose of them ourselves through online auctions. We also support external agencies, like the regional jail, Sheriff’s Department, Commonwealth Attorney, and the Housing Authority. Although we don’t own these agency vehicles, we manage them, provide maintenance to some, and provide gas/diesel at the central fueling site, which we also operate.
Our journey in Lynchburg had humble beginnings, and it took us a while to become a fully-functioning team. But with a lot of hard work and collaboration, in 2023 the City of Lynchburg, Fleet Services department was ranked the #1 mid-size fleet, and the #4 overall fleet in Government Fleet Magazine’s 50 Leading Fleets, as well as the #25 fleet in North, Central, or South America by the National Association of Fleet Administrators’ (NAFA) 100-Best Fleets.
We’re proud to say that we have once again made the 50 Leading Fleets with Gov’t Fleet Magazine and the 100-Best Fleets with NAFA for 2024!
What are the limitations of current systems in fleet services that hinder the delivery of an optimal solution?
One of the biggest challenges we have faced over the last couple of years is the vehicle and parts supply chain.
Order to delivery times used to be 90 to 120 days for standard pickups and sedans, but now it may be a year, or two, or even more before we take delivery. In fact, we just received a delivery from an order placed in 2022. It was ordered as a 22-model year, then the order was cancelled (by the OEM) and reordered as a 23-model year, then pushed to a 24, then a 25!
...and the only reason we got a vehicle last week? ...they had one available on the lot! Really? ...not to mention the 20 other units we ordered in 2023 and still don’t have...
People are the key ingredient for a seamless and productive fleet operation. We strongly believe this and take every opportunity to build and improve long-term relationships; a lesson learned from our past experiences
Dealings such as these create a larger set of problems including prolonged service, increased mileage, higher maintenance and repair costs, and additional downtime. Not to mention the increased acquisition costs and the headaches it causes trying to build a replacement schedule and budget.
Concerning increased cost: I used to pay around $38,000 for an interceptor. For the last two years, the cost has risen to $53,000 or more. Needless to say, the budget process has become a huge concern.
In addition to rising prices, vendors are now charging us for the increases that come with model year change over. Previously, once a contract price was set, that’s what we paid
Being hit with these increases creates the dilemma of whether to pay the extra cost, or cancel the entire order. So, depending on the situation, we end up paying the extra money and take the hit on the rest of the budget. Not ideal.
Concerning parts: although the situation is far better now, the past few years we’ve experienced long lead times on acquiring parts that ideally used to take only hours; now it takes days, even weeks, or longer. In an effort to overcome supply chain issues, we’re seeking additional vendors, closely tracking shipments, looking at different Makes and Models, and considering alternative means of procurement.
Is there any emerging trend in the fleet service space that can potentially impact the market today?
Electric vehicles (EV) have stormed into the market over the last few years. If you’ve been a Fleet Manager for long, you knew they were coming, but perhaps you didn’t know how fast. With Presidential mandates in-place, OEMs rushed to the table and began cranking them out, with some even deciding to build “the biggest & best” plants right from the jump. Local Governments, small businesses, and large corporations flooded vendors with orders which led to increased prices and long lead-times. ...and now...EV sales have declined for the first time in a decade or more. They’re still being built, but not selling, which forces OEMs to offer rebates and reduce pricing.
Why the decline in sales? Here are some thoughts:
Rising interest rates, higher acquisition costs, huge utility rate increases, and a lack of affordable infrastructure are just a few of the causes. Each of these can affect both the public and private sectors, but in my opinion, the bigger hindrance is to the municipal fleets...
The typical consumer and private fleets have access to incentives, tax relief, and grant funds for EVs and EV charging infrastructure. Unfortunately for municipal fleets, many grant funds are for “public-facing” charging solutions and cannot be solely used for a City or County fleet. To be fair, government fleets have access to grant opportunities, but they’re typically for school busses and public transportation.
Some have found ways to capitalize by building charging stations at City Parks and Parking garages, but the ways to receive funds to buy light pickups and sedans are few and far between...maybe I’m missing something?
Are there any recent projects you were involved in?
One of our recent, successful projects was DEI. It was another piece we needed to add to our “people puzzle”. When you think about it, DEI can and should be applied to nearly every concern we face. Earlier I mentioned how people are the key ingredient. DEI helps ensure that our people know they belong, that they’re respected, and that they’re appreciated.
The dearth of skilled technicians, and skilled employees in general, is a big hurdle to overcome, especially with the salaries we’re able to pay, and the heavy workload we face. For instance, when our department was created, we had 16 personnel to support 400 vehicles; now we have nearly 900 vehicles and only 14 personnel.
“Doing more with less” highlights the importance of treating our people well, and considering these factors, we focused on “us”. We worked toward fostering continuous improvement, both personally and professionally, expanded team-building activities, and promoted an open and positive work culture where creativity is welcome and encouraged. We wanted to help our team grow enough so that they can move on, but treat them well enough they’d want to stay.
As part of this initiative, we assembled a team and conducted our own internal DEI surveys where every person in our department was afforded the opportunity to be interviewed and asked a series of questions. Amazingly, we had full participation. This continued for several weeks, during which everybody actively contributed ideas and recommendations. The team worked intricately and focused intently on each concern.
The team prioritized everyone’s input, considering all important aspects of the interviews, and created a plan of execution to address each item accordingly. This, along with the hard work and dedication of our whole crew, is how we have made drastic changes in our operations.
What would be the key piece of advice to your fellow peers and young professionals in the fleet service field?
I guess the first thing would be to stay active and build connections. You will find that the strong relationships created by meeting and getting to know other fleet professionals will be invaluable.
Connect with your fleet peers by joining and being active in fleet industry associations such as NAFA, Gov’t Fleet, and APWA. Be sure to attend their annual conferences and trade shows as well. They’ll not only help you to network, but the additional education they provide can help you stay up to date with industry best practices. Fleet professionals are truly the most collaborative group in the business world.
Obtain a professional fleet certification, such as the Certified Automotive Fleet Manager (CAFM) from NAFA, or the Certified Public Fleet Professional (CPFP) from APWA. A professional fleet certification provides a well-rounded fleet education and can open up career/salary increase opportunities.
Get out, and stay in front of new technology and don’t stop learning new technological trends in the industry. Even if you think you will never use them, one day you will.
