Service Center Travel Time Benchmarking Report This report contains the results of the 2014 service center travel time benchmarking program. By Bob Lambe & Keith McClanahan All rights reserved, copy and distribution without written permission is prohibited. (c) Facility Issues & RAL Location Strategies

Introduction Why Benchmark Service Center Travel Time? o Geography is an important factor in how well a service center supports field operations, primarily due to how it impacts crew travel time. o Benchmarking helps to identify how your organization’s travel times compare to peers, and identify actions to either reduce the time or better manage the implications. o The objective is to find the balance of travel time that best meets your organizations’ needs 2 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Objective: Find Travel Time Balance 3 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ● Service centers serve as the field headquarters for a designated “territory” and can be centralized (with one or few field headquarters serving large geographic areas) or de-centralized (with many smaller field headquarters serving smaller areas) as shown conceptually in the diagram. Both consolidated and distributed facilities present tactical advantages: Dispersed centers provide the ability to more quickly get to work locations in the field and lower travel costs. Consolidated centers offer lower facility cost, less material inventory, ability to share equipment, and crew assignment flexibility. The objective is to identify the balance the different efficiencies of dispersed and consolidated service centers.

Participants The following organizations participated in this years benchmarking program: o Company 1 o Company 2 o Company 3 o Company 4 o Company 5 o Company 6 o Company 7 o Company 8 o Company 9 o Company 10 o Company ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Summary Results The following charts show the summary results, (provided to all participants): Percent of Customers by Travel Time – This chart shows the cumulative percent of customer locations within increasing travel time of the service centers. Average Crew Travel Time – This chart shows average travel time from service centers to all customer locations. Square Miles per Service Center – T his chart shows the total service area / number of service centers. Customers per Service Center – This chart shows the total number customers / number of service centers. Service Center Size Ranges – This chart shows the median size service center (in terms of crew FTE) and the range of sizes high/low (largest/smallest) by participant. 5 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Percent of Customers By Travel Time 6 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Travel Time and Service Area Size 7 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Customers and Service Center Sizes 8 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Travel Time Assessment Maps The following maps show the results of the travel time assessment (provided to each participant for their own service area): Optimum Coverage Area Map – This map shows the coverage areas by service center, optimized based on (lowest) travel time. “Real world” consideration such as union boundaries, distribution network junctures are not considered. Potential opportunities to investigate: realignment of your current service areas to be more like these can provide immediate travel savings without any facility investment. Travel Time Map – This map shows the estimated travel time from nearest service centers across the coverage area. Potential opportunities to investigate: consolidation of service centers in “overserved” areas (short travel times) and addition of service centers in “underserved” areas (long travel times). 9 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Optimum Coverage Area Map 10 ( ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Travel Time Map 11 ( ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Travel Time Impact of Consolidation The following chart show example results of a preliminary assessment of the travel time impacts associated with potential service center consolidation:* Change in Average Time – This chart shows the cumulative percent of customer locations within increasing travel time of the service centers. Map of Potential Consolidations – This map (not included) shows which service center locations to close with least impact upon the average travel time. (*Optional additional fee service) 12 ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

Travel Time Impact of Consolidation 13 ( ● (c) RAL Location Strategies ●

How Can You Participate? Join the Service Center Travel Time Benchmarking anytime. There is a rolling schedule – no deadline date. 14 Link to More Info