In our last few blogs, we have looked in detail at the AJT Installs Fleet Management Software system, Tracker 365 and how it can help Fleet Managers to maximise fleet efficiency. We thought it was time to look more closely at the role of a Fleet Manager and answer the question: ‘What is Fleet Management?’
Fleet Management can be extremely challenging, especially during times of rising costs, as more companies try to streamline their operations to maximise efficiency. Companies place heavy reliance on their fleets to deliver products to customers on time, and those fleets and their drivers have to be managed efficiently to achieve their delivery targets.
We will look at everything a Fleet Manager has to take into account to keep a fleet running on time and at maximum efficiency for both route and driver, as well as the skills they need in order to fulfil such a demanding role. We will also be able to see how Fleet Management Software systems have helped to transform their role as they have become better informed by having driver and vehicle information relayed electronically, enabling them to make decisions in real time.
If you would like to know more about the AJT Installs Fleet Management Software system, you can discover the benefits to your role as a Fleet Manager in our blog ‘How Tracker 365 helps Fleet Managers’. Our expert technicians are on hand to talk about the benefits to your business, so contact us for a demonstration to show you how Tracker 365 can add value to your business.
What is Fleet Management?
Fleet Management comprises all the processes required to run a fleet of vehicles, whether cars, vans or lorries, carrying people, goods, or services, to run at maximum efficiency and deliver on time and within budget. The different aspects of Fleet Management are:
- Drivers – hiring, retention and firing
- Drivers – safety
- Fleet Tracking
- Cost saving
- Purchase and maintenance of vehicles
- Efficient route-planning
- Security of vehicles and drivers
When you think about the multiple roles of a Fleet Manager, it is easy to see why having access to real time information via Fleet Management Software is such a great benefit!
What is Fleet Management? Driver retention
There has been a lot of coverage in the news about the shortage of drivers since Brexit, so trying to make sure good drivers stay with a company and don’t move on is a major concern because recruitment costs money and time. Fleet Managers need to build trust by making sure that their drivers are happy with their contract and working conditions. There are a number of ways to ensure drivers stay, for example:
- Listen to their needs/complaints and act on any feedback
- Embed a safety culture
- Praise drivers for improving/eradicating bad habits
- Use Vehicle Fleet Software to support as well as check up on drivers
- Make sure drivers feel they are part of the team and valued
What is Fleet Management? Driver safety
Making sure that drivers are safe is a major part of any Fleet Manager’s role and has in the past been extremely difficult because of the distance between driver and manager. But that has all changed with the installation of Fleet Management Software. Vehicle Trackers and camera systems can provide up to the minute information to highlight:
- Bad driving habits that could cause vehicle maintenance issues
- Bad driving habits that could increase fuel consumption
- Dangerous driving such as tailgating, lane hogging, driving through red lights
- Where a driver may need more training
The information relayed by Fleet Management Software like Tracker 365 can be used to develop training programmes for drivers, to embed a safety culture, and to improve written safety policies. It can also be used to incentivise good driving habits so that drivers can be rewarded for improving their driving to protect themselves, the general public and the vehicle.
What is Fleet Management? Fleet Tracking
Knowing where vehicle assets and drivers are at any given moment is essential to a Fleet Management. The ability to have an overview of fleet operations and driver/vehicle safety and download data with just a click of a mouse gives Fleet Managers all the information they need to check and make quick decisions:
- Check tachographs/logbooks
- Produce reports for fuel efficiency, vehicle maintenance
- Schedule maintenance, driver holidays
- Plan more efficient routes avoiding roadworks and accident blackspots
- Monitor and improve fuel consumption
- Retrieve broken-down vehicles
- Plan driver schedules
This just wasn’t possible before the installation of Fleet Trackers, which have enabled Fleet Managers to be much more proactive.
What is Fleet Management? Cost saving
Keeping costs low is vitally important to businesses because it affects their bottom line. With the instant reporting available on Fleet Management Software, costs can be driven down through:
- More effective maintenance schedules, leading to longer vehicle life in service
- The eradication of bad driving habits, also leading to longer vehicle life in service
- Fuel economy via the reduction of bad driving and the streamlining of routes
- Tracking vehicle mileage to ensure even use across a fleet
- Forecasting the acquisition of new vehicles
- Reduction of theft via asset tracking and in-cab cameras
- Reduction in driver hours through accurate route planning and time sheets
- Reduced insurance premiums through accurate driver risk profiling and recording of incidents
What is Fleet Management? Vehicle Purchase/Maintenance
Part of the role involves forecasting how many vehicles a company will need in order to maintain day-to-day operations, now and in the future according to the business strategy. Having correct and up to date information is paramount to determining a purchasing plan going forward.
In addition, routine maintenance scheduling has been made simpler to forecast because the information on any particular vehicle can be seen at a glance, rather than having to collect all the data from paperwork and process it manually.
What is Fleet Management? Route Planning
Route planning used to be done with maps and drivers reporting back on roadworks, speed restrictions, etc. But now, with the technology available, routes can be planned to avoid hold-ups, and communicating with drivers on their route means alternatives can be found to avoid congestion or accidents. Improvements in Fleet Management Software have also led to better customer service, because they can track their delivery live on screen.
What is Fleet Management? Vehicle/Driver Security
In the past, it was difficult for Fleet Managers to protect their vehicles and drivers while they were out on the road, simply because they didn’t know what was happening or where these valuable assets were at any given moment in time. Now, however, with Vehicle Trackers, Asset Trackers, Immobilisers and cameras, you can see where every vehicle is during every minute of every day. Immobilisers can be activated remotely with the click of a button if ever needed, so vehicles cannot be driven anywhere else, and reactivated once the recovery vehicle arrives at the location to collect it.
In the past, it was difficult for Fleet Managers to protect their vehicles and drivers while they were out on the road, simply because they didn’t know what was happening or where these valuable assets were at any given moment in time.
Now, however, with Vehicle Trackers, Asset Trackers, Immobilisers and cameras, you can see where every vehicle is during every minute of every day. Immobilisers can be activated remotely with the click of a button if ever needed, so vehicles cannot be driven anywhere else, and reactivated once the recovery vehicle arrives at the location to collect it.