Key performance indicators for the SAPS vehicle depot

Abstract

Police service is one of the most critical in a community and society at large. To limit crime and ensure that the law is upheld, resources need to be readily available to the South African Police Service (SAPS). A full fleet of well-maintained police vehicles is one such crucial resource. Depots performing regular maintenance services and repairs and panel beating are available to the SAPS. Despite the availability of these depots in various regions, vehicles booked in for services spend a prolonged time at the depot. The longer a vehicle is at the depot, the less efficient it is in crime prevention. One such SAPS depot can be found in the Silverton area. This report focuses on the Silverton depot where a challenge contributing to under-performance has been identified: a lack of established Key Performance Indicators. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are one of the most important aspects of an organization as they reflect how the company is performing. Even inaccurate information regarding KPIs is dangerous due to the fact that critical decisions would be made based on this incorrect information. KPIs and the manner in which they are measured for the SAPS are thus all the more important as it is one of the basic and very key services that are provided in this country. This document explains how the student will explore ways in which one can improve the state of the depots in terms of their performance measures through the use of Industrial Engineering principles such as surveys, research and the Balanced Scorecard.