Anyone who is involved in transportation knows that fleet management may just be the most important component of your business. In fact, even if the business is running smoothly, you may still find yourself yearning for a better way to approach fleet management. The good news is that this “downtime” offers a great opportunity to look up fleet management tips that can keep your business rolling effectively.
Six Tips To Keep Your Business Rolling Effectively
1. Practise Preventative Maintenance
When it comes to fleet controlling, there is one thing that you do not want to take any chances with, and that is the condition of your fleet. After all, a broken-down vehicle is not helping anyone. When it comes to fleet management, a little bit of preventative fleet maintenance can go a long way to ensure that your vehicles are ready for any trip that comes their way.
Preventive maintenance can include things like tire rotations and fluid changes, as well as checking tire pressure and brakes.
2. Invest in Education
When it comes to controlling your fleet, it’s not just about the vehicles involved. Your drivers are, above and beyond, the most important part of your fleet. So, it makes perfect sense to invest in them to help improve not only their well-being but the well-being of your operations.
The most successful fleets generally possess a safety education program for their drivers which shares information about driving best practices as well as the latest government regulations and laws concerning the transportation industry. This goes a long way to not only protect your drivers while they’re out on the road but also to boost your company’s reputation as a great place to work and do work with.
3. Choose the Proper Monitoring Solutions
If you’re not monitoring your fleet, it can be hard to have a clear picture of what kind of shape your company is sitting in. Fleet monitoring can take many forms, but most commonly it means tracking your drivers’ habits whether it concerns their driving speed, tailgating tendencies, or even the number of instances that they apply a heavy break.
There are many different types of software out there in these modern times, and some of them will even help you recover a vehicle in the unlikely event of theft. Paying for a monitoring service may have some associated costs, but in general, this will actually help save you money once properly implemented.
4. Use the Proper Equipment
This is perhaps the most obvious entry on this list. If you are taking a holistic look at your fleet, you need to take into consideration whether or not you have the proper equipment to enable you to operate at your best. Some of these may seem like small details, such as the inclusion of a first aid kit aboard every vehicle, but they can go a long way in ensuring that your operations don’t hit an unfortunate snag.
Other safety items that every vehicle should have onboard include flares, flashlights, a water supply, and a blanket. The presence of these safety items should be validated daily.
5. Consider Paperless Management
It’s okay to admit that you are still using a paper-based organization system this deep in the 21st century — you are far from the only one. Even in this day in age, it is still common for many transportation companies to still rely on old-fashion “tried and true” systems, including pen (or pencil!) to paper.
It may be scary to take a leap into the digital world, but switching to a paperless model means good things not only for the environment but also for your company. Not only does this make it easier to access your data remotely, but it also makes it so that vital information is less likely to get lost or mismanaged.
6. Embrace Technology
On this same note, there are many other ways in which modern technologies can help your business get on the right trajectory. Something as simple as a GPS tracker can help provide your business with valuable analytics, ensuring that your routes are always on time.
Fleet Management Services in Vancouver
Keeping up to date with your fleet is hard, but you don’t need to do it alone. Diesel Tech offers services for your fleet in Vancouver, including a 24-hour mobile repair service and full repair services of all kinds. Look no further the next time you are in need of fleet management service in Vancouver — we’re here to help.