Strategies For Fleet Management Excellence

Any manager who has mastered fleet management knows it is a strategic blend of best practices and a reliable management solution.

Trackunit of one of these solutions, allowing fleet managers to connect with their customers and machines through a unified platform. By reducing downtime and improving fleet tracking, the platform allows fleet-dependent industries to build lasting customer relationships. Learn more about Trackunit Manager here: https://trackunit.com/trackunit-manager/.

Apart from selecting a dependable fleet management solution, it’s also important to implement certain strategies. We look at some of them below.

What is a fleet management strategy?

A fleet management strategy, along with the use of electronic work diary software, is a process or a group of activities that help optimize your fleet’s performance and operations for maximum profitability and efficiency.

Components of a fleet management strategy

A fleet management strategy usually involves the following:

• Goals: Your objectives or goals are the crux of the fleet management strategy. To determine the goals, assess your fleet’s current shortcomings. Look for areas for improvement. For example, if downtime is a major roadblock in your fleet’s success, your goal would be to reduce it as much as possible.
• Data centralization: Proper fleet management requires data to be consolidated in a central repository, like the cloud. You can also store data in fleet management software.
• Risk assessment: Common risks for a fleet are non-compliance, increased costs, lack of driver safety, equipment theft, etc. A fleet management strategy would involve steps to minimize or avoid these risks.
• Progress: To see if a strategy is effective, you must have Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in place. Measure them periodically and fill the performance gaps that come up in these reviews.

Strategies to excel at fleet management

Modern fleet management is largely dependent on using technology. The following strategies can result in fleet management excellence for your job site.

Automating data entry

Manual data entry wastes time in every industry, including construction sites and other off-road operations. Wasted time results in poor productivity, wasted resources, delayed work orders, and more.

Manual entries are also error-prone, increasing the risk of monetary losses. The best way to tackle this issue is to automate data entry.

Use an integrated fleet management system that automates information entry from different sources, like the employees and telematics or GPS.

Choosing paperless compliance

Compliance is an integral part of fleet management. Gone are the days when you could rely on paper documents and log sheets.

In recent years, many companies have switched to paperless compliance, and fleet managers should follow suit. Record all your data, such as working hours and vehicle maintenance schedules, digitally.

Doing this has two benefits. First, you can ensure unhindered access to these documents in the office or remotely. Second, you can limit access to key stakeholders only.

Tracking vehicles using GPS and telematics

The GPS tracking device market size is currently valued at $1.87 billion. That’s a testament to the technology’s widespread adoption and benefits. GPS and telematics solutions can help improve fleet management in the following ways:

• Prevent false claims: Construction sites that rent fleets are often affected by false accident claims since they result in costly compensations. A video component in the fleet’s GPS tracking system can help prevent this. The video recorder will show situations as they happened, providing video evidence for fleet managers to deny false claims.
• Vehicle maintenance: Telematics systems can keep track of a vehicle’s health, alerting relevant parties when maintenance is required. These systems keep problems from becoming too big or costly.
• Equipment safety: With telematics and GPS solutions, fleet managers can see where their off-road vehicles and construction equipment are at all times. The real-time location provision minimizes the risk of theft and underutilization of an asset.

Using a mobile app for connectivity

If your fleet management solution has built-in connectivity features, you’re all sorted. But if not, you’ll need a mobile app to improve connectivity.

The app should streamline communication between fleet operators and managers. Drivers and equipment operators should get alerts about risk events or vehicle status, while fleet managers should be able to communicate immediate action plans through an app.

You can also gamify the app to engage drivers. For example, create leaderboards or in-app rewards that drivers can win based on their performance.

Using fleet reports

Performance analysis is paramount to the success of your fleet management process. Select your KPIs and measure your fleet’s performance against them. It will help you find areas for improvement.

Some KPIs to track are:

• Cost/budget adherence: It’s a measure of how aligned your fleet is with the designated budget. You can track benchmarks like taxes, vehicle replacement, fuel expenses, and labor costs.
• Downtime: How long is the equipment or vehicle not in use due to maintenance issues? Longer downtime periods are problematic for a fleet.
• Driver performance: Measure this indicator on three scores; harsh events, speed, and idling. The drivers with low instances in these three departments should be rewarded. Those who score badly must undergo additional training.
• Total cost of ownership: The TCO of a vehicle includes ownership costs like the initial purchase, fuel consumption, maintenance, licensing fees, and taxes. Monitor these costs to see where you may be losing money.

Implementing a fleet management solution

We said this earlier, and we’ll say it again; a fleet management solution can make your life easier as a fleet manager. These solutions help lower downtime and increase efficiency.

Select a solution with most, if not all, of your required features, such as vehicle tracking and telematics. Then, train your drivers and equipment handlers to use this solution for better connectivity, engagement, and productivity.

Final words

Fuel management excellence is more a ”need,” and less a ”want,” especially in competitive industries, where proper fleet management can make all the difference. Use the strategies mentioned in this guide to enhance your profitability and customer satisfaction.