WHAT IS FLEET MANAGEMENT?

Fleet management, also known as fleet maintenance, is a standard of procedure, with a goal to keep a company or agency’s multiple vehicles and their operators in top-running condition. One of the highest costs of doing business is labor, followed closely by mobile assets including cars, vans, trucks, even boats and airplanes. Fleet management also covers large, moveable equipment related to the operation of the organization.

The primary objective of fleet management is twofold:

• Establish close monitoring by home base of drivers in the field, for the most efficient and effective delivery of goods and services.
• Control the costs of operating and maintaining vehicles and equipment, to retain their values and extend their useful lives.

Fleet management is about establishing the best possible level of control over an inconsistent environment, where factors such as weather, traffic, breakdown, customer demand and availability of manpower and equipment can change from day to day or hour to hour.

How GPS Tracking Helps Fleet Management

GPS tracking is the preferred and most up-to-date method of fleet management. GPS tracking systems, which use U.S. Department of Defense satellites for location and navigation, are accurate and reliable and greatly reduce incidents of human error.

By a mathematical formula called triangulation, the GPS tracking receiver will find its location, usually within a few feet of accuracy. Incremental position updates are made every few seconds or minutes.

The data collected includes:

• Day and time
• Directional heading
• Latitude and longitude (or street address)
• Duration of stops
• Speed of the vehicle
• Miles logged

With a passive GPS vehicle tracking device, the raw data is recorded inside the unit and downloaded at a later time. Custom-designed software translates the raw data into a travel history that is easy to read and analyze.

Real-time vehicle tracking devices collect locating data in the same manner, and then transmit the GPS tracking information from the vehicle to a server on the Internet for “live” viewing on remote computer. Cellular data communications is the most common and cost-effective method of data transmission.

From a computer at home base, a dispatcher or manager can view every unit in a fleet at the same time, or isolate on just one driver. GPS tracking reduces the need to have close verbal contact with the driver by cell phone or by two-way radio.

GPS tracking systems are quite cost-effective and can gain a quick return on investment when used for fleet management.

Benefits of Fleet Management

A fleet management program saves companies money by making them work “leaner.” It focuses not only on vehicle operation, but the personnel and equipment that support them.

GPS tracking can:

• Enlighten management about wasted time, wasted fuel, overlapping routes and unnecessary trips.
• Assist payroll, bookkeeping and billing because it gives an accurate accounting of hours logged , addresses of stops and miles driven.
• Help schedule routine maintenance, control breakdowns and extend the life of vehicles.
• Curb unwanted driver behavior: personal errands, excessive idling, speeding or other erratic driving.
• Increase safety, reduce accidents, and possibly lower vehicle insurance rates.

If using GPS tracking in real-time, companies have additional advantages of:

• Schedule flexibility for the unexpected call, to add or remove a stop from the schedule, navigate around traffic tie-ups and substitute one driver for another.
• Security and theft recovery.
• Geo-fencing: Receive a text message or email alert when a vehicle travels outside a predetermined geographic zone.
• More accurate Estimated Time of Arrival for customers.

Who Can Benefit From Fleet Management?

A few of the businesses or organizations that benefit from fleet management programs include:

• Localized material transport: cartage, catering, messenger service, parts delivery.
• “People movers”: Bus and taxi services or car rental agencies.
• Public service organizations: police, rescue, snow plowing, environmental and forestry services.
• Companies that specialize in time- and temperature-sensitive, classified or hazardous materials.
• Long-haul trucking

 The Goals of Fleet Management

Fleet management is a tool that effectively fine-tunes a company’s schedule, its vehicles and its drivers.

Many organizations discover an unanticipated benefit of GPS fleet management: as they cycle and replace aging vehicles and equipment, they can reduce the size of their fleets, due to the more efficient use of individual units.

And with better service comes increased customer satisfaction, leading to repeat business and referrals.