OVM to Launch Town Hall Meetings
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The Office of Vehicle Management (OVM) is pleased to announce a new initiative intended to engage fleet-related staff from across the Commonwealth. Beginning in January of 2019, OVM will host a series of in-person “town hall” style meetings to share vehicle news, updates, and training; and to give participants the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback in real time. Fleet managers, finance personnel, drivers, and others who may interact with Agency fleets are encouraged to attend.
To maximize the value of these sessions for participants, we ask fleet-related staff to complete a brief survey, rating various topics of interest and their importance. This feedback will directly inform the agenda for each session.
To accommodate participants with offices outside of the greater Boston area, we plan to conduct sessions at various locations across the state. If you would like to host a session, please contact OVM by clicking on the button below.
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Policy Highlight: Driver Affirmation Forms
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The OVM Policies and Procedures (P&P) were created to promote the appropriate use and safe operation of state vehicles.
All drivers should review, understand, and acknowledge their compliance with the P&P by completing a Driver Affirmation of Review and Compliance Form (Compliance Form) with their Agency Fleet Manager. The Compliance Form must be completed by ANY individual authorized to drive a State vehicle, including employees (or contractors) who may simply move a vehicle from one location to another.
Agency Fleet Managers are responsible for obtaining signed Compliance Forms from each driver. These forms must be made available to OVM upon request and during vehicle reviews.
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Another Successful State Fall Fleet Event
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More than 150 participants convened in Sturbridge, MA, on October 3 for the third annual State Fall Fleet Event. The day-long event attracted experts in the field of vehicle management, along with state and municipal fleet managers and procurement professionals.
The Operational Services Division and the Office of Vehicle Management thank all who attended this year’s event. We appreciate your commitment to best practices in fleet vehicle management and procurement.
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Welcome OVM's New Vehicle Auditor!
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Will Rochon joined OVM on August 13 as the newest member of the Vehicle Auditor group. Will is a graduate of UMass Amherst, where he worked in different capacities for their transit services team. Prior to joining OVM, Will was a Senior Analyst at Beacon Capital Partners. We look forward to working with Will as he applies his previous transit and analyst experience to make an immediate contribution to OVM.
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Mobile Car Washes
Fleet Response has added vendors to provide environmentally friendly (Green Business Certified) interior/exterior maintenance solutions through a mobile format. Agencies interested in bulk on-site washing/detailing should contact Vincent Micozzi at (617) 720-3185 to obtain information on coordinating service (available for three or more vehicles). Pictured here is an OSD vehicle after a recent on-site car wash.
Car Wash Locations
Car washes also have been added to the VEH100 Statewide Contract (fuel card services) as an allowable service when the transaction is paid for at the pump (it cannot be paid for inside). WEX provided a partial
list of car wash locations
statewide that were identified through purchases made by WEX clients in MA over a 90-day period earlier this year.
Important!
Drivers must be aware of the height of their vehicle and the height of the car wash facility to determine if it can be accommodated.
Mobile State Inspections
Agencies are reminded to regularly review their fleets to ensure the Massachusetts State Inspection Stickers have not expired. Vehicles in need of state inspection services may be routed through Fleet Response and their closest in-network vendor.
Agencies interested in having their vehicles and equipment inspected onsite are welcome to contact Fleet Response to request an appointment with a mobile state inspection vendor. There is a five-vehicle minimum per appointment. Please contact Fleet Response at 1-800-338-0619 for details.
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View Your Fleet Information on FleetWave
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OVM utilizes FleetWave, an online fleet inventory management system, to document vehicle/asset records for the Commonwealth. Agency fleet managers now have the ability to view this data and create reports by accessing the system directly. Please use
this link
to request a user ID and register for training.
For those Agency fleet managers who have received a User ID and attended training, please note that an update to the “look and feel” of the system is coming soon. Please refer to this
Quick Reference Guide
to understand the changes you likely will see.
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Recent Recalls May Affect Your Fleet
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With recent recalls affecting several vehicle lines (including Ford, Toyota, and GM), OVM recommends Agency fleet managers review their fleet for open recalls using
NHTSA’s VIN lookup tool
. If you do not have access to OVM’s fleet inventory management system, FleetWave, please
contact OVM
to obtain your Agency’s list of VINs to complete your review.
Recalls from the past two months affecting vehicles on VEH98 include:
- Honda - 232,000 Sedan Models Over Backup Camera Issue (2018-2019 Accord or Insight)
- General Motors - 1.2 Million Pickup Trucks, SUVs Over Power Steering Problem (2015 truck-based SUV or light-duty pickup)
- General Motors - 230,000 Vehicles Over Defective Brake Pistons (2018-2019 various models)
- Ford - 2 Million F-150s Over Seat Belt Pretensioners (2015-2018 Regular and SuperCrew cab pickups)
- Toyota - 192,000 Hybrid Vehicles Over Engine Wire Harness (2016-2018 Prius)
- Nissan - 166,000 Vehicles Over Ignition Switch Problem (2017-2018 various models)
- FCA - 209,000 Vans, SUVs, Crossovers Over Brake Glitch (2018-2019 various models)
- Ram - 1 Million Trucks to Fix Tailgate Locking Mechanisms (2015-2017 Ram 1500, 2500, 3500)
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In-Person and Online Vehicle Auctions
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Please click
here
to learn more about the auctions that were held over the summer and what you might expect to see at upcoming auctions.
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Reminder to Report Odometer Reading
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Agencies are required to provide odometer readings, by plate number, on a monthly basis to OVM.
End-of-the-month odometer readings are due to OVM by the 10
th
business day of the following month. When providing monthly odometer submissions, Agency Fleet Managers should confirm that their plate listing matches the plates OVM currently has for each asset, so that the odometer record is attached to the appropriate vehicle record in our inventory database.
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As a result of an inventory clean-up conducted in conjunction with the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), the license plates of several vehicles in OVM’s inventory were updated to match the RMV’s records. Because of this clean-up, your license plate listing may be out of date.
Previously, the plate numbers for many vehicles began with the letter “S,” which designated the registration as a state plate. These plate numbers now begin with the letters “ST” and the records for those vehicles were updated in FleetWave. This update also impacted license plates with the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, or J, which were followed by several numbers. These license plates were updated to include the letters “ST,” which precede the letter and numbers. For example, former license plate A123 has been updated to STA123.
Please
contact OVM
to obtain an active listing of your Agency’s vehicles, as reflected in OVM’s database. (This update also may assist in confirming the appropriate listing of your Agency’s vehicles with EZPass and the Pay by Plate process.)
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New Format for the OVM Quarterly
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We will be making changes to the OVM Quarterly Newsletter to better serve the needs of our readers. Future issues will contain brief updates and news in a streamlined format. Topics requiring additional information or explanation will be addressed at OVM town hall meetings.
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ICYMI: In Case You Missed It
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Click the links below to access previous issues of the OVM Newsletter.
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