THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010508
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ESTHER DISKIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940601 LENGTH: CHESAPEAKE
In 1991, an oil change and filter on a van or truck was often a two-hour job that could cost as much as $70. Now, mechanics do that work, and check wheels, brakes and exhaust systems, in 30 minutes to an hour. The typical bill: $27.
{REST} Overtime has been slashed. In the 1990-91 fiscal year, the City Garage billed more than 6,000 hours of overtime for mechanics, at a cost to taxpayers of $124,355. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, the garage billed 747 hours at $20,499.
For more than four years, Graham's Body Shop used to have a near-monopoly on the garage's body work, and it got much of the work without competition. Now, the garage seeks three bids for any job over $250. It has 25 to 30 vendors under contract to supply parts.
By late 1992, the garage had a backlog of 120 vehicles a month. Now, no vehicles stay at the garage for more than 24 hours, unless mechanics are waiting for parts to arrive, the automotive director says.
But these statistics add up to something bigger, and less easy to quantify: a new mood of pride. ``It's better than it's ever been in the 21 years I've been here,'' said Pernell Easter, a mechanic. ``Everybody feels good about their jobs and they work their butts off.''
Most mechanics credit the change to their new boss, Vernon Lee Whitehurst Jr. In January 1993, Whitehurst left the business world to take charge of the chaotic City Garage, which had been run by three different city supervisors over the previous year.
The revolving door in upper management was the result of a scandal over mismanagement and corruption. As a police investigation began in January 1992, Automotive Director George McCoy was reassigned and, a month later, he retired; he was followed by two temporary directors.
Whitehurst was an outsider, brought in to make the garage run with the efficiency of a business. He wasn't tied to the traditional city ways or old-boy networks: He has shaken up the place with a style that emphasizes straight talk, practical improvements and unity between managers and workers.
He said he was forced to accommodate his management style to government regulations on everything from buying engine parts to hiring new employees.
To get the City Garage moving again, Whitehurst said, he had to win the trust of his workers. He started from rock bottom.
By the time he arrived, the mechanics' dark blue uniform had become a badge of shame, an invitation for dubious questions: You work at the City Garage? Mechanics say they hated to wear the uniform when they went out on their lunch break. The scandal over poor management seeped through the ranks, tainting the lives of men who repaired engines and followed orders.
``We were kicked to the curb,'' said Scott Henline, a mechanic. ``Morale stunk. We got on each others' nerves. The whole city was against the garage, so we got after each other.''
Henline and other mechanics say that Whitehurst quickly impressed them with his fairness, and his willingness to give them a voice in the garage's operations. They said they used to find out about new policies after the decision had been made. Now, the entire staff has meetings twice a week to hash out problems and discuss ways to fix them.
But talk doesn't get the job done. The city gave the mechanics practical help. As the fleet grew from 1,250 vehicles to 1,400, the City Council approved six new positions at the garage.
Whitehurst made other changes: Vehicles were scheduled for routine oil changes and maintenance twice as often to reduce wear and tear that causes breakdowns.
Whitehurst replaced some outdated equipment, and there are plans for more improvements: Visits by council members prompted plans for a new sanitary-wash system - particularly needed for the smelly garbage trucks - and it should be built by September. The council approved an expansion, planned for next year.
The garage's stockroom was once crammed with old, often useless parts, including more than 200 tires. Now, the inventory has been reduced from $1 million to about $250,000, and the garage is getting an improved computer system to keep track of it. The garage floor is swept and cleaned every night.
Mechanics are getting more training, which makes them more confident and more efficient. Speakers are invited to the garage to hold classes. Four mechanics recently went to a four-day seminar at the company where the city's street-sweepers are manufactured. ``No one in this garage knew how to fix a sweeper,'' said Buddy Hoover, a mechanic. ``We could get inside and figure it out, but now we really know.''
The new style hasn't been painless.
Whitehurst cut out overtime in one swoop, saying it would be reserved mainly for emergencies. That took a chunk out of mechanics' pay: In the 1990-91 fiscal year, six of 18 mechanics received more than $10,000 in overtime; one of them earned $17,000 in overtime pay alone.
Mechanics felt the hit. Henline, who had just bought a new home, took a second job for awhile. But he realized he could live without the extra income. Now, he has time to be a softball coach for his daughters' league. ``Money's great, but it's not everything,'' he says. ``I enjoy life now.''
Even without the overtime, the work is getting done faster. Mechanics used to stare out the garage bays at three rows of vehicles waiting for repairs. Now, there are two short rows with many empty spaces.
To workers at the garage, it's one sign they've finally turned the corner. ``It's a new generation of management, and they are not afraid of change,'' says Susan Kenney, who works in the stockroom. ``The old management, they were afraid.''
by CNB