Get to know your co-op: CoServ’s Fleet Management Team
Heavy hydraulic jacks lift a 36,000-pound bucket truck into the air so Fleet Coordinator Aubrey Fortenberry can inspect a leaky transfer case.
Elevating the truck allows Aubrey to find other problems, such as an obstruction in the tire. This type of preventative maintenance ensures the CoServ fleet is ready to roll so linemen, gas technicians, engineers and others can do their jobs – serving our Members and Customers.
CoServ’s fleet consists of 450 vehicles, including trailers, construction equipment, bucket trucks, pickups and other support vehicles. In 2023, the CoServ fleet logged over 3.6 million miles so it’s no small task for this six-person team to keep up with oil changes, tire swaps, sparkplugs and other routine maintenance.
“We’re a customer service group but our customers happen to be our Employees,” said Fleet Manager Tim Meyer. “We keep trucks running and doing preventative maintenance is a big part of it. CoServ Employees depend on their vehicle to be operational when they need it, especially in an emergency, such as a power outage or gas leak.”
The team started five years ago as the co-op continued to grow with new meters and new Employees. Historically, Fleet Management has relied on third-party repair shops to handle jobs they couldn’t do in-house. Everything changed in April with the opening of the Krum Fleet Service Center, where Aubrey, Tim and others can complete jobs in-house.
“With CoServ’s new Fleet Services building in Krum, we can not only make repairs in a timely manner, but identify other problems and conduct preventative maintenance so our Employees can continue serving our Members and Customers,” Tim said.
As Aubrey examines the bucket truck, he reminisces about how he’d troubleshoot these problems before he had the new equipment.
“You would crawl underneath it, so it was a lot more labor intensive, because you’re on the ground,” Aubrey said. “Now you’re working on it at eye level.”
In the next repair bay, Fleet Service Technician Tyler Garrett has a work truck on a lift so he can swap out the tires. To maximize efficiency, CoServ has standardized the tires for most pickup trucks.”
The Fleet Services area also features multiple fuel pumps with diesel and gasoline. CoServ’s fleet uses 30,000 gallons of fuel a month so having fuel in-house keeps crews self-sufficient, secure and safe while also saving money by buying from wholesale rather than retail.
The fleet area also has a wash bay, similar to the DIY car washes, where Employees wash their vehicles. This way, they no longer have to go to off-site for car washes.
Whether it’s repairs, preventative maintenance, refueling or washing, CoServ does it all on-site at the new Krum facility, which saves man-hours and money while ensuring the fleet is ready to serve our Members and Customers at a moment’s notice
