\u201cKnowing your fleet\u2019s lifecycle is important to identify a proper vehicle cycling strategy. Cycling vehicles too early can cause unnecessary extra lease or depreciation costs, whereas cycling too late can lead to unnecessary, non-preventive maintenance costs and associated vehicle downtime expense,\u201d said Eric Miller, CAFM, senior fleet consultant for Merchants Fleet.<\/p>\n
Understanding the lifecycle for a fleet\u2019s trucks is essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cA good fleet manager has to find the right balance between a vehicle\u2019s falling fixed costs and its rising maintenance and downtime costs. If your fleet is too young, the fixed expense will be too high. And if the fleet is too old, then your organization risks losing focus on ensuring productive servicing of your customers and instead of becoming experts on how to maintain older trucks,\u201d said Collin Reid, truck strategic consultant for Element Fleet.<\/p>\n
Establishing the optimal lifecycle for your vehicles is typically the foundation upon which your overall fleet strategy is built.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long you keep a vehicle in service influences virtually all aspects of your fleet operations \u2014 how often you\u2019re cycling vehicles, capital expenditure requirements, how you establish PM parameters, repair versus replace decisions, even how many vehicles you need to efficiently support your business, etc.,\u201d said Ed Powell, manager of business intelligence & analytics for ARI.<\/p>\n
It is also essential to keep in mind that there isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all lifecycle strategy effective for all asset classes and truck types.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ideal lifecycle for a particular vehicle is influenced by factors such as specifications, job function, geographic location, payload, criticality to your business, etc. All of these elements can vary greatly across your fleet, and it is important that you adjust accordingly when necessary,\u201d Powell added.<\/p>\n
Additionally, understanding your fleet truck\u2019s lifecycle is vital for both the development and execution of your fleet plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile fleet managers are tasked with managing fleets in a cost-effective manner, the vehicles must also be able to get the job done. In addition, downtime can be very expensive in a truck fleet. Planning ahead and avoiding the unnecessary consequences that come with pushing cycles too long is always a best practice,\u201d said Jeff Krogen, assistant vice president of fleet strategy for Enterprise Fleet Management.<\/p>\n
At the end of the day, understanding the factors that impact a truck\u2019s lifecycle is key to striking the right balance between operating costs and vehicle productivity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the optimal point in a truck\u2019s lifecycle, cost of operation will be at its lowest point while the truck itself is operating efficiently with minimal downtime. If you replace that truck before that optimal point, you risk overpaying on the effective depreciation of that asset. Conversely, if you replace that truck too far beyond that optimal point, you risk paying for rising variable costs, including repairs, downtime, and repair rentals,\u201d said Alexander Walker, sr. data strategist for Donlen.<\/p>\n Effective fleet management and cost control require getting the most out of your truck assets.<\/p>\n There are several steps fleet managers can take to help increase the overall useful life of their trucks.<\/p>\n \u201cFleet managers should not overlook the obvious things that keep a fleet of trucks intact, and that is ensuring preventive maintenance (PM) compliance and having regular vehicle condition inspections completed,\u201d said Miller of Merchants Fleet.<\/p>\n When it comes to maximizing the useful life of a fleet vehicle, it\u2019s all about your PM strategy.<\/p>\n \u201cA comprehensive PM strategy helps you control operating costs, increase reliability, and minimize unforeseen downtime while also ensuring your vehicles remain in top operating condition for as long as possible,\u201d said Powell of ARI.<\/p>\n It is also important to keep in mind that consistency is key when it comes to preventive maintenance.<\/p>\n \u201cConsistent PM, often measured in terms of PM variability, is the cornerstone of any effective strategy. Arbitrarily extending intervals or skipping services may help reduce maintenance costs today, but undoubtedly, your operating expenses will increase over time, and these escalating costs typically far exceed the perceived savings,\u201d Powell added. \u201cToday, best-in-class fleet operators emphasize PM compliance with a focus on minimizing PM variability, which is among the most effective ways to improve reliability and reduce your total cost of ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n How you spec your trucks will also have a huge impact on its useful life.<\/p>\n \u201cBuild your truck to best meet the demands of the job it has been acquired to perform. This includes proper tires to payload and everything in between,\u201d said Walker of Donlen. \u201cAlso, don\u2019t underestimate the value of real-time dashboards to understand the readiness availability of your trucks, historical and projected costs, and key performance metrics.\u201d<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget: Data is king.<\/p>\n \u201cUse data to show the best replacement cycle. Stagger the replacement of your fleet. It\u2019s easier to replace 20 trucks per year than 100. Know the OEM requirements for load and tow capacity, maintenance costs, and order lead time,\u201d said Dale Jewell, director, North American maintenance for Emkay.<\/p>\n Reid of Element Fleet noted that to best maximize the useful life of trucks, fleets should:<\/p>\n Better planning can help ensure your fleet has the right trucks for the jobs at hand, instead of having to settle for less.<\/p>\n \u201cMany fleet managers are becoming impatient with extended lead times for both the chassis and bodies and are looking for pre-built options instead. They risk settling with the wrong setup for the job, which can hinder efficiency and create safety concerns,\u201d said Krogen of Enterprise Fleet Management.<\/p>\n Resale value is heavily influenced by vehicle age, mileage, conditions, and popularity.<\/p>\n \u201cCycling vehicles at the optimal time can allow clients to capitalize on resale values during peak times in a vehicle\u2019s life before the vehicle\u2019s value starts to erode. To bolster resale value, fleet managers should consider new vehicle models that are projected to hold their value and models that are easily transferable to the retail market.,\u201d said Miller of Merchants Fleet.<\/p>\n One of the key variables of determining the right cycle is the resale on the vehicle assets.<\/p>\n \u201cFleets that get higher returns can replace their units a faster rate than fleets that do not get good returns,\u201d said Reid of Element Fleet.<\/p>\n A unit\u2019s projected resale value is a critical factor in determining a vehicle\u2019s optimal lifecycle, and this information certainly needs to be accounted for in your projected lifecycle models.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen developing your lifecycle strategy, you\u2019ll want to identify the ideal window to remove your vehicles from service to maximize their resale value and, in turn, lower your total cost of ownership. This will also influence your capital expenditure forecast, which will also impact your acquisition strategy,\u201d said Powell of ARI. \u201cAgain, it\u2019s all intertwined. Typically, you are best served selling the vehicle while it still has value on the secondary market, recouping some of your investment, rather than simply running it into the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Krogen of Enterprise Fleet Management added that the obvious drivers of resale value are time, mileage, and condition.<\/p>\n \u201cBut choosing a vehicle that works well in various industries will increase the future buyer base when it comes to resale,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Equipping vehicles for the largest audience and ensuring repairs are completed by a qualified shop are both important.<\/p>\n \u201cMileage intervals should be monitored, because being on the right side of certain mileage milestones can boost resale value. These include warranty and certified pre-owned limitations as well as bank loan limitations,\u201d Krogen said.<\/p>\n How you care for your vehicles is essential to a long useful life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a fleet manager takes better care of their fleet, their vehicles will last longer and have a higher value when sold. Utilizing the tips listed above can help a vehicle be sold for a higher price,\u201d said Walker of Donlen. \u201cUtilizing proper cycling parameters can also help sell the vehicle for a higher value.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Lauren Fletcher<\/a><\/p>\n Source: https:\/\/www.worktruckonline.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The audit is a key tool to know the overall status and 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. We propose the following fleet management audit.<\/p>\n Once you have correctly spec\u2019ed your trucks, what can you do to ensure long, useful lives and high resale values? A truck\u2019s lifecycle is simply the time between purchase and disposal, also known as the useful life of your truck. \u201cKnowing your fleet\u2019s lifecycle is important to identify a proper vehicle cycling strategy. Cycling vehicles…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[119],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6149"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6152,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6149\/revisions\/6152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cycling](\"https:\/\/fleetimages.bobitstudios.com\/upload\/work-truck-online\/content\/article\/2020-03\/20200311-truck-maintenance-__-720x516-s.jpg\")
How to Increase the Useful Life of Trucks<\/h2>\n
\n
Lifecycles and Truck Resale<\/h2>\n
CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/04\/nueva-ley-auditoria.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"