Thomas Keyser has been part of two organizations recognized among the 100 Best Fleets in the Americas, with Washington County, Oregon ranking as high as #25, and Spire, which was recognized as the #1 Commercial Fleet the very first year of the award being created. He was also honored with the 2025 Fleet Professional of the Year by NAFA. He started his career right after high school by joining the Air Force. He stayed with it for over 29 years, working in the Transportation/Logistics arena. After retirement, he worked as a fleet manager for four years at Washington County, Oregon and moved back to the mid-west, where he is currently working as the Spire Fleet Director in St Louis.
Planning Ahead and Standardizing for Fleet Success
One of the biggest operational blind spot in the fleet industry today is succession planning, not only for the administrative staff but for the garages as well. We are about to see a huge transition in the form of a max exodus of a generation of professionals who have been in the industry for 30 to 40 years and there isn’t a large pool of experienced people to replace them. When leading a fleet of thousands of assets across multiple states, the most critical decision-making discipline has proven to be standardization. It’s tough because we are a combination of several companies and everyone has their own opinion on what they need, but to do it effectively and efficiently, you have to standardize to the maximum extent possible.
Automation, Simplicity and Telematics for the Win
Predictive maintenance and driver notifications offer the greatest ROI in fleet operations. I strongly feel that a good preventative maintenance program is the foundation for great fleet management. If we can use machine logic or AI to guide maintenance schedules, predict maintenance issues and help notify our operators when something is due, it frees up time and helps us to more effectively manage the fleet.
“I strongly feel that a good preventative maintenance program is the foundation for great fleet management.”
At the same time, any technological upgrade must be simple. If we make it hard for the operators to do, they simply won’t do it. I always keep that in mind when looking for solutions. I used to be an operator and if something made my job harder, I fought against it. If it helped me do my job more efficiently, I was all about it.
It’s especially tough because we have such a small staff in relation to our fleet size, which means we end up being reactive more than proactive at times. However, we leverage telematics to help us drive decisions using real-time data instead of chasing down information from departments or operators. It's been a game-changer for us, and I can’t see running a large fleet without a robust telematics solution.
Building Trust Starts on the Ground
My advice for anyone looking to build stronger relationships with the operators and teams behind the vehicles is simple, and that is to get out from behind the desk. Go spend time with the crews and hold town halls with the operators and leaders who use the vehicles and equipment. This not only helps you better understand their needs, but also gives them a chance to hear directly from you and your team on the “why” behind some of the decisions we have to make in a large organization.
