Fleet management: 5 tips to improve management maturity

To meet all of a transport company's goals, fleet management should involve as few mistakes as possible.

Starting today, you will be able to apply new knowledge to your management and begin implementing some new processes to improve some of your fleet management activities.

However, it is important to keep this in mind:

Before starting anything, you need a strategic plan that defines the need for the new action being taken (including an analysis of why it is necessary), a vision of the results you expect and the steps to complete implementation.

Now, explore the tips for putting your plan into practice:

1 – Pay attention to hiring people and offering training

Hiring people without the necessary qualifications to pay less for labor is something to avoid. Drivers, for example, play a crucial role in preserving vehicles and reducing fleet costs.

Of course, you can bring in less experienced employees and train them to perform well, but make sure they are all ready to face road traffic — after all, they also represent the company's image.

On the other hand, you can focus on hiring the most experienced, highly recommended people in the world and still need to invest in training. Although their experience outside your company is a benefit, they also need to adapt to the fleet's working model.

They should therefore go through a period of adjustment to the methods used in the fleet and receive training just as any other employee would.

In fact, while a beginner driver does not have a veteran's know-how, a driver with 30 years on the road can also make mistakes a newcomer would not.

Training should be for everyone, regardless of whether they have achieved the best results. There is no such thing as too much learning and/or refreshing your knowledge.

2 – Have a way to control processes and manage the fleet

By failing to control processes, you miss out on important knowledge about your fleet — which can generate savings and increase operational efficiency and productivity.

Take a daily vehicle inspection process that takes a driver up to 3 minutes to complete. Knowing this allows you to understand how many inspections you can schedule in a single day, how many inspectors are needed to check all vehicles in the operation, among other things.

Having this kind of control is essential for strategic planning that sets informed and truly achievable goals.

3 – Communicate with other parts of the supply chain

The parts of this supply chain range from the supplier through warehousing, transport itself, the retailer, etc. It depends somewhat on the type of goods, but in any situation all parts need clear and direct communication.

In fact, each stage has a manager, and they are the ones who should stay in contact. It is a matter of aligning tasks, setting deadlines and avoiding issues that may affect the end consumer — leading to a loss of trust from the company hiring the transport service.

It is indeed a complex system. That is why technological support is often used: fleet management software and supply chain systems, ERPs and TMSs can all help in some way.

To find the best alternative, you first need to understand how your company and its connections work — which brings us back to mistake #2: control your processes to analyze what is really necessary!

4 – Apply different maintenance types in the fleet's routine

It is true that corrective maintenance is the most common, but it should not be the most frequently performed in a fleet, as it is more expensive and less efficient than the others.

The preventive maintenance schedule includes vehicle inspection for potential issues — such as the need to change engine oil, fix leaks and so on.

When you skip this step and wait for something to happen before taking the vehicle in for corrective maintenance, you affect the entire transport operation, causing delivery delays, higher costs and increased vehicle idle time.

Know what is even worse?

Having a faulty truck in the middle of a trip. The costs of getting the vehicle back on its route will be higher because it is an emergency, and roadside repair shops and tire shops are not always the most trustworthy.

That also assumes a mechanic and all the parts needed for the repair are available.

This is why the departure checklist is so important. A general vehicle inspection to confirm it is roadworthy should be part of the fleet's routine.

5 – Inspect the tires

There is a degree of difference between maintaining vehicles and tires. During vehicle inspection, tires should only be examined superficially — is there any noticeable wear on any tire?

Meanwhile, tire inspection takes the analysis further. A specific tire measuring device is used at this stage to collect information on the tread depth and pressure of each tire on the vehicle.

These data indicate the need for tire calibration, as well as replacement or refurbishment of each item.

Did you know tires directly influence fuel consumption? As the items in direct contact with the ground, they affect the entire vehicle. So, with each issue they develop, you will see the results in a higher incidence of vehicle issues and/or increased fuel consumption.

You should plan a specific schedule for this inspection — in addition to preventive maintenance.
Can you see the next steps for your management? To better understand how it works and how to manage a fleet more efficiently, download our free e-book! (in Portuguese).