Effective fleet management is difficult, to say the least. But it doesn’t have to be.
Managing a fleet well is not an easy task and there are a lot of common productivity challenges that come up in the process. Fortunately, managing a fleet can become a lot easier as long as you take a strategic approach to it.
Fortunately, we’re here to help. Here are 5 fleet management tips you need to remember to become a successful fleet manager.
1. Keep Your Vehicles Well-Maintained
When managing a fleet, you need to make sure that you keep your vehicles well-maintained.
It’s best to have a regular preventative maintenance schedule to ensure that your vehicles keep working as they should. Each vehicle should be checked thoroughly on a regular basis. Generally, at least once a month or every 3,000 to 5,000 miles is best for maintaining a fleet vehicle.
Minor issues can turn into larger ones if left unchecked, so it’s best to spot them as soon as possible and deal with any issues accordingly.
2. Invest in Fleet Management Technology
One of the best things that you can do to manage your fleet effectively is to invest in great technology.
Using fleet technologies such as electronic logging devices (ELDs) can allow you to keep track of how a vehicle is being used and will help you ensure that your drivers are performing their jobs as they should. GPS tracking systems can also be helpful for ensuring that you’re tracking your drivers and your vehicles closely.
It’s a great idea to look for a comprehensive fleet management solution. You may want to check out this software solution if you’re looking for help managing your fleet.
3. Be Picky When Hiring Drivers
One of the important things to remember for better fleet management is that you need to take serious care in the hiring, training, and management of drivers.
Be sure that you screen drivers well by performing background checks, checking driver’s licenses, and testing their driving performance. You should also train drivers well and incentivize them to obey all regulations and safety procedures with rewards.
4. Rotate Your Vehicles
When managing a company fleet, it’s important to remember that you need to rotate your vehicles. Make sure that the use of vehicles is evened out and that you’re not using some vehicles significantly more than the others.
Being sure to rotate your vehicles will make it easier to perform regular maintenance and inspections and will help your entire fleet to last longer.
5. Keep the Right Number of Vehicles
It takes a lot of money and manpower to manage a large fleet, so make sure that you’re only using the number of vehicles that you actually need. Expand slowly and don’t go overboard before you’re ready.
Carefully plan your fleet so that you’ll have enough vehicles to get all work done but without becoming overwhelmed.
Making the Most of These Fleet Management Tips
If you want to manage your fleet well, be sure to use the fleet management tips listed above. Keep your vehicles well-maintained, screen your drivers well, and use fleet management technology if you want your fleet to be efficient and effective.
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