In-House NAPA Auto Parts Store Saves Time and Improves Work

Item #: 20230016

CONTACTS

Implementing Organization: Equipment Operations
Champion: Troy Starley
Implementation Lead: Troy Starley
Development Team: Jeff Casper, Troy Starley, Chad Sheppick, Ryan Williams, Nicole Godfrey
Article Written By: Winston Inoway
Innovation Council Liaison: Jace Archuletta, Alison Williford
Innovation Team Coordinator: Winston Inoway

STATUS

Implementation Date: 10/1/2022
Adoption Status: Implemented
Adoptability Note: This innovation is applicable to one group of shops. However, it may give others the idea of bringing 3rd party services on premises.

APPLIES TO

Topic: Equipment
Organization(s): Central Admin / Senior Leaders, Equipment Operations, Finance / Comptroller, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, Region 4
Job Role(s): Administrative Staff / Commissions, Finance / Accounting, Mechanics / Equipment
Tags: highway transportation, capital costs, capital productivity, labor costs, labor productivity, parts, supplies, employee empowerment, job satisfaction, occupational safety, inventions, accounting > billing, budgeting, payment, ( comptroller ), finance > appraisals, investments, asset management, cost recovery, cost sharing, fees, loans, revenues, sales, taxes, usage charges, logistics > inventory, distribution, purchasing, procurement, warehousing, supply chain management, equipment, facilities

PROBLEM

The Central Complex has six different auto, machinery, welding and equipment shops. Each shop handles different vehicles and equipment. When parts or supplies were needed, each equipment technician had to place an order as they required items, or the shop needed to have an inventory for frequently used items to keep on hand. Technicians spent a lot of time looking up parts, checking local vendors for availability of parts, getting bids for non-contracted vendors, and following up on deliveries. Sourcing parts and supplies took time away from the technician’s work time. In addition, the accounting and payment of so many separate invoices created a mountain of work. Counting the work in shops, accounting and financial approval, it averaged 1,700 hours a year for processing invoices.

CHANGE

A contract was set up with NAPA Auto Parts to create an in-house parts store, known as IBS, located at the MTF building at the Complex. When a technician needs a part or supply, they can use the existing Fleet/Asset Works system to place an order right from their shop. Orders can be tied to specific work orders so accounting is managed within the system. The order is received by the IBS customer service rep who retrieves the items from the store’s local inventory. In-stock items are delivered to the shop in minutes. For hard to source parts or items from vendors without a state contract, the IBS rep is responsible for locating the part, finding the lowest price, and arranging delivery to UDOT.

RESULT

This centralized store saves time and improves workflow for UDOT in a number of ways. For equipment and shop technicians, the use of Fleet/Asset Works ordering from IBS saves time that would previously be spent placing and following up on orders, instead of doing their skilled tech work. With 25 techs working in six shops at the MTF building, this time saving is multiplied many times over. Supervisor signatures are still required for accountability and running reports is now more streamlined. In the past, accounting used to process approximately 300 invoices per month for the shops. This is now consolidated into one monthly invoice from NAPA, and all items are connected to work orders in the system. This store is still a work in progress and it has great potential. Sourcing parts and smoothing timely delivery will continue to improve. This innovation allows many people to focus on the work they do best.