It’s okay, we understand that when it comes to fleet management there are several schools of thought.
After all, it was your job as a fleet manager to set up those spreadsheets to help you to manage compliance, vehicle maintenance, driver rotas, licensing, fuel, and mileage etc.
But using spreadsheets is not the most efficient way to run a fleet today.
Although Excel is low-cost and you spent time in the beginning setting everything up, the burden of accurate data entry and the constant updating of information costs a heavy toll in time and people resources.
Companies are continually looking for ways to cut costs by being more efficient and using spreadsheets might be preventing efficiencies in fleet operations.
In this article, we are going to show you how spreadsheets could be holding you back from achieving efficiency objectives and how the time-saving automated processes of fleet management software like Tracker 365 from AJT Installs can simplify and streamline admin by providing real-time data for every vehicle.
Contact our expert technicians for a demonstration and they will show you the benefits of Tracker 365, so you can get rid of those cumbersome spreadsheets once and for all!
Using spreadsheets for fleet management – the pitfalls
One of the main problems with spreadsheets is that they are passive.
They can only relate the information you have put into them in the first place!
They hold so much information that they become difficult to use because of their sheer size, and information can easily be missed – not an effective way to ensure compliance.
Using spreadsheets to manage fleet vehicles throws up a number of issues:
Human error
No matter how good your staff are, there is always the chance of an inputting mistake, a figure in the wrong column, a misread form, an important reminder missed.
Humans are fallible and it is impossible to be 100% correct, 100% of the time.
Ineffective way of using resources
There is a reliance on filling in paper forms and logbooks with information that then has to be added to the spreadsheet.
This means that time is spent on printing and filing forms, along with the need for filing cabinets to store these documents.
And again, you are relying on people to enter the information correctly on to that form in the first place.
When it comes to looking up or checking that important information, time is wasted searching files for the right piece of paper.
Technical issues
You need data storage too!
Spreadsheets take up space on company servers.
A glitch in the system or a malware attack could mean lost access to vital fleet data and could result severe disruption and compliance issues.
There is also the issue of multiple users updating spreadsheets e.g. Google Sheets at the same time.
It can be confusing as one user deletes or overwrites the work of another, increasing the risk of errors occurring.
The alternative of only allowing one user to enter data is slow and inefficient.
Keeping track
The amount of data contained in a spreadsheet from individual vehicle and driver information to scheduling maintenance can be difficult to keep track of as a fleet expands, especially when it is reliant on manual inputting into individual cells.
The bigger the fleet, the more difficult it becomes to navigate and stay on top of the inputting and retrieval of data.
Reports
Generating accurate reports is essential to the role of a fleet manager.
But with spreadsheets, reports are often manually produced or rely on integration with reporting software.
Retrieving the right information in report form can be costly, time consuming and inefficient because reports are using historical data, not real-time information.
Insurance claims
Spreadsheets cannot help you when it comes to accidents involving your fleet.
You have to trust the word of those involved, which could tie you up in lengthy disputes with the insurance company.
All of these issues build up into one an admin headache for fleet managers, as well as a drain on company resources – people, time, and physical storage space.
Although spreadsheets are free or only have a minimal cost, they are expensive resource drains in other ways.
Your staff waste time on data inputting and retrieval, chasing timesheets and logbooks, while drivers are irritated by completing them. The historical data they contain does not help fleet managers to be proactive, and reporting functions are limited.
How can fleet management software help?
Fleet management software automates the admin side of a fleet manager’s job with minimal data inputting and retrieval at the touch of a button, while automatic reminders ensure that important milestones are not missed.
It gives you an overview of every vehicle in the fleet from an operations and compliance perspective, as well as highlighting running costs via fuel consumption and maintenance schedules.
With Tracker 365 from AJT Installs you can save all the time previously spent on administrative tasks such as maintenance schedules, route planning, checking logbooks and tachographs and producing reports.
This frees up your time so you can be more proactive in making improvements to fleet efficiency through:
- Effective route planning to avoid congestion and roadworks
- Accident prevention through monitoring and training drivers
- Driver safety through in-vehicle cameras
- Cutting out time-consuming paperwork – banish those spreadsheets!
- Highlighting where fuel savings can be made
- Instant data downloads to produce up to the minute reports
- Real-time vehicle tracking
- Quick resolution to insurance claims through real-time recording of incidents
In the Tracker 365 client portal, hovering the mouse over any particular vehicle will show you where it is now.
With just one click, you can see its previous journeys and download the data to produce an accurate report about the vehicle, making auditing simple and straight forward.
Knowing where every vehicle in the fleet is in real time, its condition, driver behaviour, when maintenance is scheduled, its running costs and records ensure fleet managers keep on top of compliance and licensing requirements without having to retrieve data from a spreadsheet!
For a demo of how the AJT Installs fleet management software works, call our expert team and we will show you the benefits Tracker 365 can bring to your fleet management. And you have the added peace of mind that we offer a three year warranty on every product bought and installed by AJT Installs technicians!