Having a fleet of vehicles is essential for any small or large transportation business. When you have a large fleet in your company, your duty as a fleet manager is to ensure that all the vehicles are well-maintained and running efficiently. Ensuring fleet productivity comes with many challenges, and often they can be met with a dedicated fleet tracking system installed on your vehicles.
Be savvy in all areas that could compromise fleet productivity in your business. That means you should employ best practices and fleet-centered tools to improve productivity in your team.
If you are looking for some tips to boost fleet productivity, you are in the right place. This article gives you insights and critical elements of fleet productivity that can help your business run more smoothly and efficiently.
1. Maintain Regular and Scheduled Fleet Checkups
Maintaining your fleet can be overwhelming if your vehicles don't get regular checkups. For optimum performance and long-life of your fleet, ensure each vehicle is kept in top shape. By taking your trucks, vans, and cars for routine checkups and keeping an up to date maintenance portfolio, you can increase fleet performance.
Engine malfunction and wear and tear of fleet parts are common in a poorly maintained fleet. When you perform regular checkups and maintenance on your vehicles, you can prevent or reduce vehicle malfunctions. Regular maintenance of the fleet can help identify any fleet issues that could grow to cost you time, money, and resources.
Set a day every month to take your vehicles for routine checkups and maintenance to ensure everything is running optimally. You can easily spot any malfunctions during the checkup and correct them on time. A well-maintained fleet is safer for drivers and other workers that access the company vehicles.
2. Implement a Vehicle Safety Protocol
A professional fleet manager understands that drivers are essential business assets. Driver performance and driving habits can significantly impact fleet productivity. Invest in a reliable vehicle safety program for your workforce. Educate your drivers on road safety and the importance of preventive maintenance to boost your fleet productivity over time.
Increase fleet productivity with safety protocols that correct reckless driving behaviors and improper use of company vehicles. You can install the best fleet tracking app from Azuga to monitor driver activities like hard braking, harsh acceleration, and speeding.
Monitor your fleet and implement a safety program to educate drivers on defensive driving techniques. This can reduce road accidents and damage caused by reckless driving. An effective driver safety program saves drivers' lives and minimizes transportation costs, which is essential to your company’s bottom line.
3. Establish a Fuel Program
Vehicle fueling is a significant concern in companies with a large fleet. Fleet managers should develop a fuel spend program if you want to boost your fleet's productivity.
Cut down on discrepancies from the cash purchase of fuel by establishing a fuel program. Assign each driver a company card for fueling his or her vehicle. This lets you track how often each driver in your team is stopping for fuel.
Next, collect data on how much fuel your fleet consumes monthly and plan ahead. This helps you avoid overspending on fuel by having a clear picture of how much fuel your fleet typically consumes.
Telematics technology, a robust fleet tracking system, and a well-thought-out fuel program can improve your fleet productivity by preventing excessive idling. The best fleet trackers help drivers find routes with low traffic, which reduces idle time on the road lowering fuel consumption.
4. Set an Effective Maintenance and Replacement Program
The foundation for a productive fleet must include reliable vehicle maintenance and replacement program. Vehicle maintenance is crucial to improving fleet productivity over time. Set a regular maintenance schedule for all vehicles in the business. Maintain a fleet portfolio to determine which vehicles in your fleet need replacement.
Cycling out older vehicles can reduce downtime and unnecessary maintenance costs in your fleet. Holding vehicles past their lifetime can lead to mechanical failure, which costs time, money, and resources. If you want to ensure driver safety and boost fleet productivity, you must ensure your fleet is well maintained.
To boost fleet productivity, keep a maintenance portfolio for your vehicles. Replace older vehicles on time to reduce downtime and other risks related to poorly maintained vehicles.
5. Make Use of Fleet Data
Getting the right insights on how your drivers use company vehicles is vital to planning fleet maintenance. The easiest way to collect this data is by using a robust telematics program with customizable reporting. For example, Azuga provides fleet management software that can track your fleet vehicles. With this application, you get real-time updates on each vehicle’s location and other useful information like speeding, braking, and idle time.
With the use of fleet data, you can begin to set clear fleet policies for your company. Every driver should be made aware of this policy and should understand the consequences of violations. Set, explain, and review fleet policies periodically to ensure every employee accessing company vehicles is informed and accountable.
Final Thoughts
Ensuring fleet productivity is a major challenge for most fleet managers. However, telematics technology and fleet tracking systems can make the job easier. If you want to ensure your fleet is running optimally and minimize maintenance costs, employ the five practices explained here.
