It is recommended that the function of "appropriation" accounting, which includes posting operations and preparation of financial statements and is now performed in district offices, be transferred to the central office in Summary of Savings Possible Under Albany where it can be done more efficiently and economically. trict offices, the Commission proposes a reduction of supervisory personnel as outlined in Table F. Similar transfer to Albany of operations involved in distribution of salaries and expense and in the processing of highway contract payments, plus substitution of machine procedures for both, also is recommended. As a result of the previously mentioned reorganization of administrative units in dis Recommendations Savings that could be achieved through the recommendations for reorganization of administrative units in district offices, transfer of functions within these offices and to Albany, and improvement in procedures, total $399,052 and, involving 73 positions, are detailed in Table G and summarized in Table H. Source: Tabulated by Coordination Commission Staff from data supplied by District Offices. (In addition to the above, and by the reassignment of work, five positions one each in Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10-would be eliminated for an estimated annual saving of $15,706.) III UTILIZATION AND REPAIR OF EQUIPMENT AND TRUCKS The Commission's Study of Department of Public Works operations in 1960 concentrated upon the utilization of highway maintenance equipment and trucks and the distribution and repair of both. These activities are carried on throughout the ten Public Works districts previously named, each of which has in close proximity to its headquarters a repair shop where maintenance equipment and trucks are stored, distributed and repaired. Within each district are a number of resident engineers who are in charge of highway maintenance and repair in their individual residencies. A residency may consist of a county, part of a county or parts of several counties. It also has storage facilities for equipment and repair garages for light maintenance work. The Department of Public Works operates on a varying basis of decentralization, with some districts controlling equipment after state headquarters initially assigns it while in others such control is given to individual residencies. Summary of Findings The surveys on utilization of trucks and equipment disclosed use at about 55 per cent of the equipment potential, with over 2,000 units ranging from motorized lawn mowers to road pavers in excess under operating conditions at the time of the study. Similarly many trucks could also be readily eliminated or placed in reserve. It is estimated that the Commission's recommendations in this area, discussed hereafter, could result in eventual savings of about $7 million by eliminating the need for future replacement of excess machinery at present purchase prices. The survey on distribution and repair of trucks and equipment includes an evaluation of current automotive shop facilities, parts inventory maintenance, equipment maintenance, and assignment and storage practices. It resulted in recommendations which could mean $4,053,046 in economies, a $1,457,899 reduction of operating expense plus the possibility of $2,595,147 in savings by freeing capital assets, including buildings and repair equipment, for other uses. Summary of Recommendations The Commission's recommendations in the two fields of utilization of trucks and equipment and maintenance and repair of same can be stated broadly as: 1. A continuing re-evaluation of needs, in relation to work requirements, for various types of equipment currently in use, for the assessment of which formulae and standards have been developed by the Commission for Department application. 2. Transfer of certain equipment, now restricted to use within a single district or residency, to a pooling arrangement for servicing larger areas. 3. Establishment of a planning program at the state level for (a) judicious replacement of equipment to avoid excessive maintenance cost and (b) to activate more preventive maintenance so as to eliminate the greater cost of equipment breakdowns. 4. Reduction of the present ten district maintenance and repair shops to five currently operating shops that would service equipment on a designated area basis, instead of the present district basis. The Commission's study developed information which could support a specific recommendation, based on present operations, as to which shops would be retained. However, the anticipated expansion of highway building and likely changes of emphasis in such programming are major factors to be considered in a gradual changeover of the shop set-up. The Commission believes, therefore, that discretion as to shops to be retained should be left with the Department. Detail of Recommendations 1. Purchase, Assignment and Effective Use of Equipment (a) Equipment and truck acquisition and replacement. Highway maintenance equipment should meet minimum operating use standards in terms of hours on the job. No equipment should be purchased unless its utilization according to such standards is anticipated. (Examples of such standards are shown in Charts I, J and K.) ᏟᎻᎪᎡᎢ ] Graders Hours Reported During 1959 The graders and maintainers are listed by year of purchase and are identified AVERAGE HOURS PER ALLOCATED MACHINE-In order to initiate NORM-This line represents the average annual use of graders and main- AGE-The horizontal line placed between the listing of 1950 and 1951 A. Accumulated repair costs do not exceed 120% of replacement cost. B. Maximum one-time repair as a percent of replacement cost does not |