Managing a fleet can be challenging regardless of how many commercial vehicles your company has. There is a lot to do, from purchasing and maintaining the vehicles to repairing and safety checks to ensure the vehicles are in good working condition. 

Studies show that fleet costs increase by 5% every year. With that in mind, there are ways you can make fleet management smoother, like having a car accident attorney from Ladah Law Firm on your contacts list to support in case of accidents. With a few changes in fleet management practices in your company, you can enjoy better productivity, fewer liabilities, and less downtime. 

Here are a few tips you can put to the test.

1. Train Drivers for Better Performance

Health and safety are one of the challenges faced in fleet management. Commercial vehicle accidents attract huge expenses in replacement, repairs, insurance, and claims. Training drivers can improve their performance and enhance safe driving. This will help overcome one of the challenges of fleet management.

You can track drivers’ habits behind the wheel and point out the ones that need training and the kind of training they require. In addition to saving costs, this will reduce poor behaviors like speeding, idling, and hard braking to enhance fleet safety.

You can also set safe driving rules linked to distracted driving and the usage of cell phones when driving.

2. Route Planning

Thanks to technology, you can automate route planning with applications like Route4Me and make the process more efficient. What would take your fleet management team hours will be done in minutes. Route planning will ensure your company vehicles use the most efficient routes that will save on gas and time. 

Note that efficient routing has some cost savings too. You will optimize fuel consumption and minimize wear and tear, extending your vehicle’s life.

3. Track Everything

Effective fleet management begins when you track everything. Collect data on your drivers, fuel, vehicles, repairs, and mechanics. 

Track fuel usage in terms of dates, fuel type, cost, and quantity. This will help with planning. You can identify the days of the month where most fuel is consumed. It can help you establish reasons for increased fuel consumption and identify ways to minimize it.

Other things to track include maintenance, utilization of the fleet, licensing of drivers, driver performance, and even the purchasing and leasing contracts of your fleet. Collecting data on these aspects of fleet management will help find avenues for optimization. 

4. Streamline the Purchasing Requirements

Purchasing is part of fleet management, and streamlining the process can have several benefits. For instance, having a dedicated fleet manager to handle the purchasing would help. This will ensure standardization in purchasing which would come with cost benefits, efficiency, ease of vehicle or part replacement, and tracking.

Conclusion

Fleet management can appear challenging, but it can be a breeze with the best strategies and practices. Tracking and data are critical aspects of fleet management. Use data to optimize fleet management. Route planning and training drivers for better performance will save costs, reduce maintenance fees, and increase productivity.