Giving More When Getting Less – Increasing Efficiency and Output on a Shrinking Budget

It’s the worst case scenario: a fleet manager, excited for the new year and a new budget, finds out that the expectations for the coming year’s successes have gone up while the budget to help meet those challenges has either stayed the same or even dropped from the previous year.

With a large amount of flux happening throughout the industries that help support fleet vehicle operations; fuel, vehicle manufacturing, and even infrastructure and road support, a fleet vehicle manager’s budget is under constant assault. Managers have to fight for every cent and then fight to make sure that their budgets aren’t re-directed toward some other company initiative.

The smart and agile fleet manager will see an opportunity here and the chance to seal his or her success from the start. Because, even in the face of a shrinking budget, there are still actions that can be taken to maximize a fleet’s efficiency.

The obvious place to start in this situation is with fuel costs. Fuel accounts for the vast majority of a fleet’s budget so every measure possible should be taken to ensure that fleet vehicles are getting every last bit of fuel economy that they can. Implement policies that discourage and prohibit aggressive acceleration, speeding, idle times over a certain pre-determined limit, or the use of company vehicles for non-business purposes.

The next place to look to squeeze out additional efficiency is within your fleet vehicle maintenance regimen. Make sure that vehicle tune-ups occur on a regular basis and that fleet vehicles are proactively inspected for issues rather than waiting for a problem to be discovered. Rotate and inflate tires on schedule to maximize fuel economy and reduce engine wear. And, build a culture that rewards drivers for bringing issues to light rather than making them feel as though they’ll be held responsible.

Of course, none of this will return any usable data unless you’re using a high quality fleet vehicle management system. It is only through analyzing the data over time that you’ll be able to determine if your efforts are having an impact. More so, however, you’ll be able to determine if any drivers or vehicles are presenting any abnormal data. It may be that one driver spends an inordinate amount of money on fuel or one vehicle goes through tires faster than the others. Without solid data however, the only thing you have to prove this information is anecdotal evidence or, maybe if you’re lucky, a hobbled-together spreadsheet.

The truth is that a solid fleet vehicle management software solution will track all of this data, and more. It will ensure that the records can be parsed and searched and that you, as the fleet manager, will be able to draw conclusions and make decisions based on what that data is telling you.

Getting the most out of your fleet should be the top priority for every fleet manager. And, in the face of shrinking budgets and maximized output, these tips can certainly help. However, the most important factor in maximizing your fleet’s output may very well be the software that manages your fleet operation.