Fleet Technology: Leveraging Technology and Data to Improve Fleet Management

Fleet technology has rapidly evolved over the years. Fleet managers no longer have to rely on disorganized spreadsheets or messy paper inspection reports to gauge the health and value of assets.

Fleet Technology Maximizes Efficiency

Regardless of its application, technology’s general purpose focuses on efficiency. It’s more than just a tool to replace doing some of the things we don’t want to do. The more efficient you can complete your remedial tasks, the more time you’ll be able to dedicate to more significant responsibilities.

For fleet operations, technology can be a major stress reliever that no rubber ball can match. Rid yourself of those pesky spreadsheets that are clunky and difficult to manage. Especially when dealing with various assets and seemingly endless variables.

Take advantage of the array of fleet technologies at your disposal. Eliminate some of the painstaking data entry that is mundane and prone to error by switching from spreadsheets, paper forms and work orders to electronic forms and a fleet management software.

Evolving fleet technology is an industry trend that isn’t going away any time soon. Here’s our white paper of the top fleet industry trends to watch.

eDVIR

Electronic daily vehicle reports (eDVIR) allow you to manage vehicle inspection reports on electronic devices. The log history is then securely held in the database of a fleet management software for you to access at any time.

Using eDVIR instead of paper inspection forms make it easier for operators to quickly input results and document issues they find with an asset. This information is then transmitted directly to fleet managers who no longer have to wait for the paper copy to be delivered. Being able to input information on a mobile device instead of writing it down also prevents human error and eliminates legible handwriting concerns.

Monitor maintenance

Whether you have an in-house team of technicians or outsource your fleet maintenance, it’s best to use fleet technology to monitor asset maintenance. Now, fleet managers can use fleet technology to digitize the entire fleet operation. Having a software-based system of record using online work orders and invoices, allows you to easily verify and approve maintenance requests.

Here are five maintenance solutions to improve your fleet today.

You can also implement a preventive maintenance schedule and set custom alerts for when you want assets to undergo maintenance. This could be based on mileage, hours or even time elapsed.

This process will allow you to stay ahead of any maintenance issues, verify the quality of work and maximize the investment you’ve made in your assets. Now that’s leveraging fleet technology at its finest!

Connect fuel cards and track consumption

Fuel is the largest operational cost for any fleet (unless you deploy all electric vehicles). As of April 2019, the national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.84. Most fleets use fuel cards in order to regulate fuel spending. But what is the best way to monitor spending?

Fleet management software seamlessly integrates your fuel card data so you don’t have to waste time waiting for receipts or manually input fuel data. It can also calculate the fuel cost-per-mile for each of the assets and generate reports that can be easily shared with other stakeholders.

Manage parts inventory

Spare parts are another operational expense that fleets have to keep an eye on. Managing inventories and preventing out of stock parts will limit the crippling effect of vehicle downtime.

Barcode scanning devices are one of the most effective uses of technology fleets can take advantage of for inventory management. Barcode scanning technology uses handheld or mobile devices (like smartphones or iPads) to scan a barcode on a part and a corresponding barcode on a location, such as a bin, where the part is stored.

The scanner or app is connected directly to a fleet management software database which can keep a real-time quantity, calculate costs and synchronize parts inventory levels housed at multiple locations.

Take a look at some spare parts inventory best practices using technology.

If you have an in-house vehicle maintenance team (or even a single technician), effectively managing your parts inventory through technology will help you manage your costs and potentially lower them with less overstock and avoiding critical lows.

What is the Best Fleet Technology Solution?

Biasedly, we’d say that Fleetio is the best fleet technology solution a fleet can use. Fear not, we can actually back up our claim!

Fleetio is a fleet management software that streamlines the workflow for all of your fleet’s operational needs. Whether you have commercial trucks, construction equipment or even specialty items like drones, Fleetio’s web-based software works with any mobile asset and is fully customizable to fit your assets needs.

As we mentioned throughout this blog, using fleet management software like Fleetio to track your fleet data allows you to control everything in one centralized database. This gives you insight into the factors that influence your fleet the most and empowers you to make data-driven decisions to maximize efficiencies while tracking expenses and reducing costs.

 

Source: https://www.fleetio.com

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:

Graph 1: fleet management activities

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:

• Know the overall status of the fleet management activities
• Provide the analysis, the assessment, the advice, the suggestions and the actions to take in order to cut costs and increase the efficiency and efficacy of the fleet management  activities

With the information obtained, we’ll elaborate a report that holds the overall status of the fleet management as well as the suggestions, recommendations and the measures to take in order to cut costs and optimize the fleet management activities.

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE PROPOSED FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT:

Fleet Management Audit AFMC

Contact:

José Miguel Fernández Gómez

34 678254874

info@advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com

I´m a Fleet Management expert, and the manager of Advanced Fleet Management Consulting, that provides Fleet Management Consultancy Services.