{"id":9012,"date":"2020-12-30T16:19:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T15:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=9012"},"modified":"2020-12-30T16:19:44","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T15:19:44","slug":"fleets-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/12\/30\/fleets-22\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways Fleets Improved Operations with Best Practices & Innovative Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Dec. 9, 2020, Automotive Fleet<\/em> in partnership with Merchants Fleet hosted a webinar<\/a> featuring several 2020 Fleet Visionary Award<\/a> honorees who shared their innovative fleet management strategies and best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Holland<\/span>
Holland<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Fleet Visionary is any fleet professional who has brought a new perspective to running a commercial fleet with the result that the fleet is more operationally efficient, cost-effective, safer, or any combination of these by introducing new methods, efficiencies, and\/or technologies. Merchants Fleet is the exclusive sponsor of the award.<\/span><\/p>\n

The webinar featured David Farber, fleet administrator, Dish Network; Russ Wilson, fleet operations manager, Kadrmas Lee & Jackson (KLJ); Stephanie Connor, program manager vehicle administration, FedEx Office; and Aleece Beaulieu, senior program manager, transportation Genentech, who was last year\u2019s 2020 Fleet Visionary of the Year. It was moderated by Diana Holland, VP, strategic pursuits, Merchants Fleet.<\/span><\/p>\n

The webinar was divided into several major talking points to which the Visionaries were able to share areas of success in their operations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fleet Sustainability Initiatives<\/span><\/h2>\n

Beaulieu of Genentech, which has a fleet\u00a0 of roughly 1,500 vehicles, opened the discussions with a focus on her company\u2019s efforts in sustainability and becoming a member of the EV100 by The Climate Group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beaulieu<\/span>
Beaulieu<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs part of EV100, we have committed to do the following by 2030: convert our sales fleet of over 1,300 passenger vehicles to all electric or plug-in hybrid; electrify the majority of our commuter bus fleet; transition at least 50% of our 30 plus medium-duty site fleet vehicles to EV or plug-in hybrid; and to continue to expand the charging infrastructure so that employees can use electric vehicles to commute to work, if they\u2019re not using our commuter program,\u201d Beaulieu said.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the company\u2019s most recent ordering period, Beaulieu said that Genentech\u2019s fleet has roughly 15% of its fleet running with PHEVs, 10% are diesel vehicles, and roughly 50% are hybrids. \u201cMore recently, we rolled out a full solution to provide employees driving fleet EVs with level two charger installs providing reimbursement for at home electricity used to fuel that company car, and functionality in our expense report system to accurately report EV expenses,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of her challenges to introducing more sustainable products into the fleet was getting buy-in from company drivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBased on where you are in the U.S., EVs may not be as widely adopted. So we started with PHEVs and getting drivers comfortable with the technology, building trust,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a good stepping stone so that employees are more excited to order a full electric vehicle next time they\u2019re allowed to order.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Effective Vehicle Cycling<\/span><\/h2>\n

Following this, Wilson of KLJ discussed his fleet\u2019s vehicle cycling program, specifically how modernizing cycling strategies improved their maintenance strategy. Wilson manages 275 transportation assets across an eight-state region with KLJ.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Wilson<\/span>
Wilson<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He championed introducing a different lease model and shorter vehicle cycle for the company\u2019s long-term fleet, which previously was functioning on an ineffective replacement plan, and operating vehicles until roughly the 250,000-mile mark.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a number of assumptions that were being made, and most were really not based on good or recent data,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAt the same time, we had been also supplementing our fleet with a considerable number of rental vehicles and expensing personal mileage to try to make up the difference in need versus what we had in assets purchased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilson and KLJ introduced a new maintenance program with the help of their FMC to ultimately establish a thorough vehicle cycling program, after doing a thorough lifecycle costs analysis for the fleet based on maintenance intervals, and data provided. From this, KLJ transitioned to more of an open-end leasing model for preserving company capital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis allowed us to transition to a newer fleet model that allowed us to rely upon the five-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranties that were being introduced by the manufacturers to help insulate us from major repair costs and also retire the vehicles at a point where there\u2019s still some residual value and maintenance costs that have not yet materialized,\u201d Wilson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fleet Vehicle Maintenance<\/span><\/h2>\n

Continuing on fleet maintenance, Connor of FedEx Office spoke to how she implemented several enhancements to her maintenance program, particularly to overcoming challenges of operating a decentralized fleet. She manages a fleet of 950 Class 2 vehicles with FedEx Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn an effort to better service our fleet, we brought on mobile maintenance vendors to help with that need,\u201d Connor said. \u201cWhat that is, is they can do maintenance, whether it be an oil change, tires, serpentine belts, brakes; almost anything, they\u2019ll come on site and complete\u00a0 maintenance repairs without the vehicle having to be taken into a brick and mortar shop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Connor<\/span>
Connor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This created flexibility to when to schedule maintenance appointments, which she said helped with reduction of vehicle downtime for her fleet. Her fleet also launched a mobile carwash program for consistent vehicle cleanliness. To implement this new program, Connor worked with ensuring that drivers were aware of the new program and how the vendors operated. Her drivers were introduced to the services via an online webinar so they could be introduced to the services before the vendor would dispatch technicians.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur drivers are taking these changes very well, it helps keep them on the road,\u201d Connor said. \u201cThey come in before their shifts, get their service done, and then they are on the road. So they don\u2019t have to get their vehicle serviced during their lunch hours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Farber of Dish also commented on new strategies his fleet has implemented to better manage maintenance, particularly with overcoming challenges of non-compliance of its preventative maintenance program due to challenges in 2020. Dish has a fleet of 3,665 vehicles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Complications he mentioned included proper vehicle mileage not being tracked, delays of repair facility invoices, user input errors when filling out inspection forms, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s say your vehicle has averaged a certain amount of miles for years and years and all of a sudden that pattern changes drastically,\u201d Farber said. \u201cYour fleet management company might be utilizing a certain algorithm or time threshold that is now inaccurately stating the vehicles need service or being due at that time. So this compounds with the earlier problems mentioned.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To solve this issue, Farber said his fleet implemented and is mastering a \u201cback to basics\u201d strategy, which they were able to secure through buy-in from leadership and the company\u2019s different business units. This strategy included localizing vehicle maintenance tracking at the facility level, updating the fleet\u2019s internal tracking sheets, and improving its receipt capturing processes. \u201cEver since implementing this process earlier this year, we\u2019ve seen a 43% reduction in overdue vehicles and a 97% reduction in vehicles over 10,000 miles since their last PM events,\u201d Farber said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fleet Safety<\/span><\/h2>\n

Farber expanded on Dish\u2019s improved PM program by elaborating on how it\u00a0 improved the fleet\u2019s vision of safety.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo not only did our new preventative maintenance process help with OEM compliance and downtime, it was also helpful in finding bald tires, faulty brakes and other safety items,\u201d Farber said. \u201cAnd just being able to get the vehicle in more frequently and having more frequent inspections, getting the tires off, things like that, it gives us the opportunity to catch more of those safety items prior to failure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Farber<\/span>
Farber<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In other areas of fleet safety, Farber also said that Dish implemented a collision avoidance system back in 2014, which through 2020 was implemented in roughly 80% of the company fleet. Dish also implemented a collision reporting application tool for its drivers, to improve tracking data that is reported in the event of an accident. This solution walks the driver through the process of gathering the right information in the order of importance and in the order of time constraints. He was able to integrate this tool with other internal business units as well as the company\u2019s accident management company. Again, gaining buy-in from leadership and the surrounding business units was critical toward implementation of the tool. He also noted the addition of a new internal dashboard that was created to house all the submitted claims.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connor of FedEx Office also touched on safety during the presentation, particularly the addition of new accident prevention devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The new devices included a high mount pulsing brake light to the rear of vans, which helps draw attention to the drivers behind the vehicle when they are coming to a stop; engine disablement device, which can remotely shut off a van in the event it is stolen; and a vehicle even data recorder, which records activities such as distracted driving, hard braking, and acceleration if they\u2019re speeding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo what we use that for is we help to coach the couriers on driver behavior,\u201d Connor said. \u201cA lot of things that they\u2019ve not thought of before as being distracted driving, with these cameras now we can work with them and notify them when we observe distracted driving tendencies and kind of coach them into having better driving behavior and with that decrease their incidents.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, Beaulieu of Genentech spoke to how safety was equally as important as the company\u2019s sustainability initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe partnered with our environmental health and safety partners to complete a risk assessment as to why drivers were getting into accidents, with the goal to reduce our accident rate,\u201d Beaulieu said. \u201cThe results supported adding more safety technology features to our vehicles as standard during the ordering process. So now, these features are considered standard for any new vehicle orders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The standardized safety features included backup camera with cross traffic alert, blind spot detection, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wilson of KLJ also discussed how safety plays a factor in fleet decisions around vehicle cycling. \u201cBy shortening our cycle time, we have created new opportunities for newer technology, and increased the reliability of our fleet, which pretty much equals increased safety across the board,\u201d Wilson noted.<\/span><\/p>\n

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by Andy Lundin<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source: https:\/\/www.automotive-fleet.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

CUT COTS OF THE FLEET WITH OUR AUDIT PROGRAM<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/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

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Dec. 9, 2020, Automotive Fleet in partnership with Merchants Fleet hosted a webinar featuring several 2020 Fleet Visionary Award honorees who shared their innovative fleet management strategies and best practices. Holland A Fleet Visionary is any fleet professional who has brought a new perspective to running a commercial fleet with the result that the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9013,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[353],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9012"}],"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=9012"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9014,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9012\/revisions\/9014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}