Confessions of a NAFA 100 Best Fleets Judge: Behind-the-Scenes Stories, Lessons & Surprising Trends
For more than five decades in fleet management, I’ve seen just about everything—from world-class operations to organized chaos disguised as “best practices.” But nothing gives me a clearer annual snapshot of our industry’s heartbeat than serving as a NAFA 100 Best Fleets judge.
Each year, when the applications arrive, I get a front-row seat to the innovation, grit, creativity, leadership, and occasionally baffling surprises that make this industry so uniquely rewarding.
As an example, last year’s 2024 applications were some of the most memorable I’ve ever reviewed.
Below is an insider’s look—packed with lessons, stories, humor, and real trends that I hope will inspire fleets everywhere to apply this year.
1. The Funniest, Strangest & Most Unforgettable Entries From 2024
Every judging cycle produces a few “Did that really just happen?” moments—but 2024 took creativity to a new level.
The 224-Slide PowerPoint Application
Maybe a slight embellishment but one fleet submitted their entire application as a PowerPoint deck—with animated transitions, background music, and a narrated drone flyover of their parking lot.
By slide 50, I still had no PM compliance metrics.
By slide 100, I was motion-sick from the transitions.
Creativity? A+
Score? Well… metrics matter.
The Detective Novel Application
Another fleet wrote their entire submission as a detective mystery.
Chapter One: “The Case of the Elusive PM Compliance.”
I wish I were making this up.
It was entertaining.
It was fun.
It had plot twists.
It just didn’t have measurable performance indicators.
The Fleet That Used Placeholder Text… And Never Filled It In
One team left multiple sections saying:
“Insert answer here”
“Need to add metrics later”
“Find the spreadsheet”
We admired the honesty… but as judges, we can only score what’s there.
2. What Impressed Us Most About the 2024 Applications
While a few applications made us laugh, several truly inspired us. Many came from fleets with limited budgets, small staff, or aging equipment—but incredible discipline and culture.
These fleets consistently demonstrated four things:
A. PM Compliance That Was Real, Verifiable, and High
Several top fleets didn’t just claim 90%+ PM compliance. They documented it:
- FMIS screenshots
- Work order histories
- PM triggers and workflows
- Evidence of audits
- Reductions in emergency repairs
Their discipline in preventive maintenance put them well ahead of competitors.
B. Technician Training Programs That Actually Work
2024 saw the strongest set of technician development initiatives I’ve seen in years:
- Apprentice programs
- Internal academies
- Monthly training calendars
- ASE incentive bonuses
- Skills assessments
- Standard Repair Time (SRT) verification
- Structured quality control inspections
These fleets were building skilled teams, not just “positions filled.”
C. Culture You Can Feel Through the Page
The top submissions all had stories that made you want to work there:
- Employee spotlights
- Recognition programs
- Team-built solutions
- Inter-department partnerships
- Shop improvement initiatives
Judges can always sense a strong culture, and it always scores higher.
D. Dashboards Used for Decisions, Not Decoration
We saw more dashboards than ever:
- PM compliance
- Availability
- Cost-per-mile
- Work mix
- Technician productivity
- Workflow bottlenecks
But only the best fleets showed that supervisors actively used the dashboards to run their operation.
That’s where the scores climbed.
See why 7x NAFA 100 Best Fleets winner Facundo Tassara thinks every fleet should apply this year.
3. Trends We Saw Across the 2024 Applications
The 2024 judging cycle revealed several clear themes.
Trend #1: Small Fleets Outperforming Big Fleets
This has become increasingly common.
Small teams with 3 to 10 technicians were:
- Cleaner in data
- Tighter in processes
- Stronger in culture
- Clearer in goals
- More disciplined in execution
Meanwhile, some large agencies struggled with:
- missing metrics
- vague answers
- incomplete applications
- weak PM programs
- high downtime
Size isn’t strength. Discipline is.
Trend #2: Massive Digital Transformation, but Uneven Execution
Almost every fleet talked about:
- Telematics
- FMIS upgrades
- Dashboards
- Tablets
- Automation
- Process digitization
But here’s the differentiator: Only the best fleets connected technology to outcomes.
Example:
“We implemented tablets.”
Score: Low.
Better example:
“Tablet inspections increased PM compliance from 68% to 93% in 12 months.”
Score: High.
Trend #3: Better Storytelling, Stronger Narratives
Many fleets improved dramatically in how they:
- communicated their strategy
- articulated their “why”
- highlighted staff contributions
- structured their responses
- connected initiatives to results
This made scoring much clearer, and helped fleets stand out.
Trend #4: Leadership Excellence Shining Through
Great fleets showed unmistakable leadership characteristics:
- structured daily huddles
- weekly KPI reviews
- documented processes
- aggressive vendor management
- strong collaboration with user departments
- investment in employees
Leaders set tone. Tone sets culture. Culture sets performance.
4. The Most Common Mistakes Fleets Made in 2024
Even strong fleets stumbled in some predictable ways.
Mistake #1: Weak Metrics or No Metrics
Judges routinely saw lines like:
- “We are improving our PM program.”
- “We believe we are efficient.”
- “We have high uptime.”
Without numbers, these statements score poorly.
Data wins. Always.
Mistake #2: Leaving Sections Blank
Several fleets left:
- Customer service
- Productivity
- PM compliance
- Shop management
- Performance measures
…completely empty.
This results in major scoring gaps.
Mistake #3: Formatting Over Substance
Some fleets submitted visually gorgeous applications that lacked:
- KPIs
- Measurable outcomes
- Clear organizational goals
- Technician development strategies
- Leadership philosophy
Pretty isn’t performance.
Mistake #4: No Lifecycle Strategy
A silent but powerful differentiator.
Fleets without:
- Replacement plans
- Cost-per-mile monitoring
- Utilization thresholds
- Capital forecasting
…lost key points.
5. The Most Inspiring Success Stories From 2024
These are the types of stories judges still talk about.
A. The Fleet That Went From Struggling to Succeeding in 18 Months
One team documented their turnaround:
- PM compliance from 52% → 93%
- Backlog cut by 40%
- Telematics usage tripled
- A 5S shop redesign
- A technician-led process improvement team
- Improved supervisor accountability
They didn’t claim to be perfect, just committed. And it showed.
B. The Fleet That Modernized Without a Budget
Using only:
- spreadsheets
- QR codes
- basic dashboards
- shared drives
- staff ingenuity
This small fleet produced one of the highest-scoring submissions.
Proof: Excellence is not about money. It’s about mindset.
6. The Secret to Scoring High on the 100 Best Learned From Many Years of Judging
After reviewing applications for many cycles, including 2024, here’s the truth:
The fleets that score highest are the fleets that know themselves and tell their story clearly.
They share:
- Their people
- Their processes
- Their results
- Their culture
- Their innovations
- Their challenges
- Their wins
No fluff. No theatrics. Just real fleet excellence.
7. Complete Every Section. Incomplete Applications Score Poorly
One of the most consistent issues we saw in 2024 was fleets submitting applications with several sections left blank, partially filled in, or marked “N/A” without explanation. While judges absolutely will score incomplete submissions, those entries almost always fall to the bottom of the rankings.
Why?
Because the scoring is cumulative, and every empty section is a missed opportunity to showcase your strengths, culture, innovation, people, or performance.
Even if you feel weak in an area, a thoughtful explanation, a small initiative, or a simple plan for improvement scores dramatically higher than leaving the space blank.
Bottom line:
If you want to be competitive, complete every section. Even modest answers score better than silence.
Final Thoughts
Judging the NAFA 100 Best Fleets program is one of the greatest privileges of my career. Every year, it reminds me that this industry is fueled not by equipment or technology, but by people.
Your team, no matter the size, has a story.
Your technicians deserve recognition.
Your culture deserves to be celebrated.
Your performance deserves a platform.
So if you're on the fence about applying, I’ll tell you what I tell every fleet:
Even if you think you aren’t ready.
Especially if you think you aren’t ready.
The process alone makes your fleet stronger.
And who knows?
You might surprise yourself—just like many did in 2024.