Fleet management is a comprehensive process that involves overseeing and coordinating all aspects of company vehicles to ensure smooth day-to-day operations. The main goals are to maximise profitability while ensuring efficiency, driver safety, and compliance. However, fleet managers often face challenges with productivity, cost reduction, and driver behaviour.
To achieve better resource management, fleet managers must implement best practices that promote safety, accountability, and cost-efficiency, helping managers retain better operational control.
Today, we explore 7 practical and effective best practices for fleet-operating businesses of all types and sizes, showcasing how the Cartrack platform can help you achieve these goals.
Comprehensive fleet policies and procedures are important for consistency and accountability. They clearly define expectations and outline consequences for non-compliance. Your fleet policy should be aligned with your company’s objectives, covering the following key points:
If your current policies are missing any of these key points, then you should update them. Another important factor in creating company policies is doing research. Reach out to other managers in the industry and learn what their guidelines include. Get input from different departments within your organisation to understand their specific challenges and concerns, and then distil this input into policies that address the most critical issues.
Preventive vs. reactive maintenance
Vehicle maintenance is crucial in improving fleet longevity and running the business smoothly. It also accounts for a big chunk of the total operational costs of running a fleet. Without proper fleet maintenance, you run the risk of unplanned downtimes, failing roadworthy inspections, and dealing with heavy repair costs.
The problem begins when managers wait for the breakdown to occur before fixing it, with the assumption that it offers lower maintenance costs. This is known as reactive maintenance. While this approach may reduce initial costs in the early stages when vehicles are still new, it can result in higher overall costs in the long run due to unexpected breakdowns, emergency repairs, and potential downtime. Additionally, a reactive maintenance approach compromises the safety of drivers.
Therefore, preventative maintenance is what every fleet manager should focus on for top performance. It involves following service maintenance schedules to quickly identify and address potential issues before they escalate. Addressing minor issues early is significantly more cost-effective than replacing entire components, making this the best approach to fleet maintenance.
The digitalisation of preventative maintenance has further enhanced overall fleet efficiency by enabling proactive and streamlined maintenance scheduling.
Embrace technological solutions that will help you monitor your fleet’s performance. Telematics systems collect a vast amount of data on fleet-related things that you can analyse to identify inefficiencies. They give you insight into how your vehicles are performing and how drivers behave on the road. You can use this to keep an eye on key metrics such as fuel usage, vehicle downtime, on-time delivery rate, and driver behaviour such as speeding and idling. Using telematics data to make informed decisions helps you stay on top of fleet operations.
Drivers are the foundation of fleet success. They directly impact safety, efficiency, costs, and customer satisfaction. Proper oversight of drivers ensures that they always perform well, improve their skills, and stay motivated. Additionally, by using technology such as AI-powered dashcams, fleet managers are able to spot specific behaviours such as distracted driving. Through this, they can train drivers on better habits on the road. It also helps with doing performance reviews, encouraging better behaviour and accountability.
Route optimisation refers to the process of finding the most cost-effective routes for vehicle fleets. The process involves factoring in variables such as:
Bear in mind that the most cost-efficient route does not always mean the shortest due to some of the above-mentioned factors.
Fleet compliance is essential. Always ensure that you meet the rules and standards that apply to your fleet. Common compliance requirements include roadworthiness, licensing, taxes, and recording driver hours of service (HOS). Most of these laws were created for safety purposes. Non-compliance can lead to fines, legal penalties, or operational disruptions.
The easiest way to ensure your fleet remains compliant is by using fleet management software to keep accurate records of driver working hours and to set reminders of things such as maintenance schedules and license renewals. Additionally, use a digital logbook to keep up accurate record of business and personal trips so you remain tax-compliant.
Fuel expenses are among the highest operational costs in fleet management. When not carefully managed, these costs can end up running down the profit. Therefore, it is important that fleet managers implement extra measures to save on fuel. One way to do this is by getting fuel sensors that can tell you the exact amount of fuel that is left in the tanks. This way, you can see the amount of fuel in the tank versus the distance travelled and the amount that has been refilled. Through fuel sensors, you can spot suspicious activities that could mean possible theft, such as syphoning.
In order to achieve all of the above-mentioned, technological tools such as the Cartrack fleet management system need to be present. Choosing the right one makes more of a difference. Fleet management systems offer a cloud-based platform, mobile apps, and API integrations. Choosing a powerful fleet management system such as ours is the first step to fleet success.
Have a look at some of the Cartrack solutions that will lead your fleet business to greatness:
Cartrack is a globally recognised leader in fleet management solutions. We have helped many businesses improve their fleet operations, all from one platform. With us, you unlock fleet savings and boost profit. Contact us today and invest in our fleet management solutions.
What are the 5 activities of fleet management?
Successful fleet management relies heavily on effectively managing the five key components. Namely, vehicle tracking, maintenance, driver management, fuel management, and compliance. Keeping a close eye on these components helps improve overall fleet efficiency.
How do you manage your fleet effectively?
Effective fleet management requires fleet managers to develop a solid fleet management strategy. The strategy should address driver safety, compliance, maintenance, and fuel management. The best way to implement this is through a fleet management platform such as Cartrack’s.
What are the KPIs for fleet management?
The Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for fleet management include the following:
