Five Must-Do Best Practices for Contractor Truck Fleet Management
When you’re running a contractor business that uses lots of fleet vehicles, having a solid, knowledgeable manager to oversee operations is an absolute must. Thankfully, with the increase in technology that streamlines fleet management, managers are given more tools to do their jobs than ever before. The industry is beginning to see changes that will fully change the way business is done, so it’s key that your company is aware of how these changes are shaking up the industry.
However, some companies still fail to realize how they can revolutionize their business practices using common sense and new technologies. To keep fleet managers optimized, here are five must-do practices for contractor truck fleet management your company should be implementing:
1. Use Mobile Work Orders to Boost Workflow
Mobile work orders provide an excellent way to avoid downtime that affects business profits and helps you cut down on how often repairs are needed on vehicles. Preventive maintenance schedules are one of the best tools your company has in ensuring you maximize the lifespan of your assets while keeping your ROI impressive. Keeping your managers’ list of responsibilities shorter by using mobile work orders will do wonders for giving them time to make your business practices that much more efficient. After all, keeping up with the competitors in your area is best done by continually revolutionizing the way you keep your fleet vehicles running day after day.
2. Use Clear, Precise Driver Guidelines and Checklists
Clarity is king when it comes to running a tight ship. If your managers are not providing precise, clearly-written guidelines and checklists to your drivers, the chance of accidents and costly oversights becomes significantly increased. Every few months you should be sitting down and revising checklists and guidelines based on data you’re getting from using truck fleet management applications and software. Doing so will keep your drivers more aware of their current practices, and keep operating costs down, allowing you to be positioned for major profits as a result. Asking your employees to submit suggestions or concerns regarding driver guidelines and checklists is highly recommended as well, as it will mix with data you’re collecting to optimize your guidelines and checklists.
3. Keep Extra-Close Attention to Tracking Your Fleet Vehicles’ Data
The amount of data you’ll be able to farm with fleet management software and applications is difficult to overstate. The hours your vehicles are on the road, the driving habits of your employees, the effectiveness of your vehicle’s scheduled routes, and much more will be easily accessible after you’ve digitized this aspect of your business. This data will help you determine which vehicles are being used most optimally within your business practices as well. To keep up with the competition, this becomes simply a must-have tool in today’s fleet vehicle landscape. The way software for fleet management is being used these days is already seeing the businesses renting out fleet vehicles in a great position for making massive profits.
4. Telematics Tools Can Increase Driver Accountability
Communicating with your team regarding productivity and safety can be difficult to do in real-time. After all, you do not want your fleet drivers to be talking while on the road, as this leads to decreased safety and more opportunities for accidents that will affect profit and your business’s reputation. By using GPS-infused telematics tools, you can drive how safely and effectively your drivers are operating. With the right fleet management software, you can provide fleet managers with a comprehensive, highly digitized way of keeping drivers accountable. Telematics can help you market your contracting business in a more streamlined, effective fashion. Real-time data you’ll get from these apps will also prove profitable, as they will help you streamline other aspects of your business operations. Speaking of that…
5. Streamline Fleet Inspections
Frequent fleet inspections are crucial to keeping your business running in a profitable, safe manner. Understanding the health of your assets, and making sure your workers are following the guidelines needed to keep inspections successful are key. Outdated management methods such as spreadsheets and paper systems are simply not recommended in today’s faster, more complex business environment. Having an app that can be used on-the-go and which can keep inspections more frequent and targeted than ever will be sure to revolutionize your management employees’ workflow.
Staying Focused on Constant Business Practice Improvements is Key
Without a keen drive to constantly shake up and revitalize your business practices, you’ll begin to see a massive amount of obstacles arising between your company’s efforts and actual profits. Additionally, this data and these business practices can help you attract more qualified employees and potential fleet managers.
With these five tips, you’ll be better armed to take on the competitive industry in a way that makes you stand out, and which keeps your fleet running in an optimal fashion. Here’s to a year of profit, revolution and increased worker happiness at your contractor company (and to the talented managers who keep it running year after year).
