At the 2025 IPWEA Fleet Conference in Brisbane, Mihnea Stancuic, Coordinator Fleet Services at Hume City Council, shared a compelling case study on using better technology to optimise fleet processes. His presentation, filled with practical insights and candid reflections, showed how a local government fleet team transitioned from paper-heavy systems to streamlined digital workflows—and what they learned along the way.
Breaking Down the Bottlenecks
Mihnea opened by outlining the old way of doing things. Pre-start checklists were paper-based. If an issue was reported, the process kicked off a convoluted chain of nine manual steps—from notifying the fleet team, writing up a job card, physically walking it to the mechanic, writing comments by hand, then passing the paperwork back through multiple layers of admin before anything was even entered into the fleet management system.
This system wasn’t just inefficient—it chewed up 30 to 45 minutes every day, per issue. So Mihnea asked the obvious question: Can we do better?
Enter: Digital Tools
Yes, they could. But it took more than just buying a new system.
Hume was already using a fleet management software, but not the cloud-based version. With the help of their IT team, they upgraded to a cloud platform and rolled out tablets and smartphones to the workshop team. Pre-starts could now be completed digitally, and issues logged directly into the system with real-time visibility.
That nine-step process was reduced to six:
- Operators complete digital pre-starts on devices.
- If an issue is flagged, the fleet team is alerted immediately.
- The workshop supervisor creates a digital job card—no paper, no walking.
- Mechanics open the card, complete the work, and use pre-filled response options to speed up documentation.
- Supervisors double-check and close the job.
- No admin processing needed.
What used to take 30–45 minutes now takes a fraction of the time. That’s time saved, costs reduced, and staff now focused on value-adding tasks instead of shuffling paper.
Paper vs Digital: No Contest (Mostly)
Mihnea was candid about the pros and cons of going digital. Paper is cheap and easy—but also easy to lose, forge, and hard to track. Archiving alone wastes hours.
Digital systems, while costly upfront, offer faster workflows, real-time alerts, and better governance. But he warned: “It’s not just the tablets. The hidden costs creep in when you want to customise out-of-the-box software.”
Still, the gains far outweighed the cost. After initial resistance (typical in any organisation, especially local government), the fleet team is now fully on board.
Swipe Cards, Safety & Forklifts
One powerful example of technology improving safety came from a near-miss Mihnea witnessed involving a forklift. The operator couldn’t be identified from logbooks, and another person was on the forklift minutes later. It raised an immediate red flag.
The response was swift. Within 24 hours, Hume invested in a digital swipe card access system. Now, only authorised, licensed staff can start the forklift. The same system is being rolled out across garbage trucks and other high-risk plant.
It’s a simple but effective way to ensure compliance, reduce liability, and protect staff.
Cameras, Claims & Compliance
Hume’s garbage trucks and street sweepers are now fitted with live-access cameras. It’s proven invaluable—not just for safety and training—but also for handling public complaints.
“People would say our truck hit a car. We’d check the footage. Sometimes, they were right. But often, we proved we weren’t even there,” said Mihnea.
The cameras offer a window into operations that paper reports could never match.
AI: Hype, Help or Headache?
Of course, no tech discussion in 2025 is complete without AI.
Hume is dipping its toes into AI in practical ways. The waste team uses AI cameras to analyse bin contents—something that once took teams of staff manually sorting through waste. Mihnea’s own experiments with ChatGPT agents have helped create draft risk assessments and procedures by feeding in examples of existing documents.
It’s not perfect, he admits. Formatting is sometimes a mess, and results need review. But the efficiency gains are there.
They’re also exploring AI dash cameras that detect poor driver behaviour. It’s an exciting idea—but comes with union challenges. As Mihnea put it: “It’s a tough sell.”
The Road Ahead: One System, One Source of Truth
Hume’s next step is to consolidate everything into a single technology platform using TechnologyOne. It promises unified data, better financial reporting, and most importantly, a single source of truth for fleet operations.
Right now, information is scattered across systems. “The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” Mihnea said. The goal is to change that—with transparency, consistency and smarter decision-making.
Key Takeaways for Fleet Practitioners
If there was a message to take from Mihnea’s presentation, it was this: improving fleet processes doesn’t always mean chasing shiny new tech. It means using the right tools, simplifying workflows, and solving real problems.
Here are some actionable insights from Hume’s journey:
- Map your current process: Understand the inefficiencies before looking for solutions.
- Use pre-starts as a trigger point: Automating this step opens up downstream efficiencies.
- Go cloud-based: It’s the gateway to real-time data and smarter workflows.
- Invest in tablets and training: The upfront cost pays back in saved admin time.
- Use swipe card access for high-risk plant: Improves safety and accountability.
- Deploy cameras strategically: They’re invaluable for resolving disputes and training.
- Experiment with AI: Even basic tools like ChatGPT can add value with the right data.
Looking to 2026
For fleet managers who missed the IPWEA 2025 Fleet Conference, this presentation was a standout example of innovation in action. Hume City Council didn’t just buy new tech—they rethought how they worked. And the results speak for themselves.
If you’re wondering how to take your own fleet processes to the next level, start with one question: Can we do this better? Chances are, like Mihnea, the answer is yes.
The 2026 IPWEA Fleet Conference will be in Melbourne on March 23rd to 25th.
