12/12/2017
Tired of New Year’s resolutions you know you’re only going to be able to keep for six weeks? Try our recommended resolutions for fleet safety instead, and start 2018 with healthy and productive vehicles and drivers.
Educate your drivers
Telematics have made it much easier to monitor driver behaviour and vehicle usage: but how easy is it to put that data to good use? A resolution to educate drivers on the realities of unacceptable or erratic behaviour can go a long way towards making your drivers want to work better. Make time in your New Year’s schedule to plan regular driver-education sessions, in which you explore the potential consequences of poor speed control, overlong idling, or unauthorised use. Many of your drivers may be unaware of the extent of their bad habits. Well-conducted education sessions can open their eyes, quickly turning them into safer and more cost-effective employees.
Streamline your cash flow
It’s hard to generate money in a fleet-management department: your role requires that you spend money, day to day and week to week, on fuel and vehicle maintenance. But a look at where and how you direct your cash can turn up some surprisingly quick opportunities to save.
Monitor vehicle usage, speed, and mileage to develop a reliable working picture of fuel consumption as measured against delivery times and route efficiency. If you have a fuel card, you can plan routes to take in approved fuel stations—ensuring your drivers are always getting the best price for the fuel at pump. Don’t forget, you can easily manage your fuel spend with your fuelGenie account, with just one invoice and competitive credit facility.
Cut down on lost time
Fleet managers need to be obsessed with time. Whether it’s making good on a delivery promise or monitoring the amount of time each driver spends behind the wheel, both profit and efficiency are dependent on knowing how every second of fleet time is spent.
Fuel cards can do away with the need for your drivers to do their own paperwork. Forget about lost receipts, or mountains of driver invoices raised for the fuel they have to buy: simply deal with one monthly invoice from your fuel-card provider instead.
Maintain your vehicles
It isn’t just speed and usage that causes vehicles to deteriorate. Efficiency, resale value, and profitability drop quickly if you don’t routinely maintain your fleet to prevent mechanical breakdown. Once again driver education is a key piece in the puzzle. Teaching drivers to conduct on-the-road maintenance, such as routine tyre-pressure checks and fluid checks, complements your standard planned preventive maintenance services and dramatically reduces unnecessary wear and tear.
Do you have any fleet New Year’s resolutions of your own? Let the community know on Twitter and LinkedIn.
