Don’t juggle: focus on one facet

Managing each element is similar to attempting to juggle, with rather more serious outcomes if the fleet manager drops a ball. However, by focusing on performing one facet well, it is likely that decision-makers will be positively influencing the others.

The three main issues relating to fleet management, which could be called the ‘fleet management triple bottom line’, are:

Financial impact (eg fuel costs, company car tax, insurance)

Environmental impact (eg carbon dioxide emissions; local air quality)

Social impact (eg driver safety, fleet risk profile)

Each of these elements has an impact on the others, which is illustrated in the graph. The first trend line to look at is value and safety, with vehicle value depreciating during its life on the fleet, around 30% is lost within the fi rst year of use. Safety will follow this decline; such that the older a vehicle gets the less safe it is, compared to a similar new vehicle.

Joined

The other lines that can be joined together are operating costs and environmental impact, both of which will increase over time.

The unfortunate fact is that all vehicles incur costs, from Vehicle Excise Duty and company car tax to accident damage and maintenance.

In most cases these are set – once a vehicle is purchased there is little that can be done about the incurred costs.

However, both of these trend lines are exacerbated by what can be classed as ‘driver errors’, eg accidents through improper driving, increased fuel consumption and poor basic maintenance.

Tracking and understanding these relationships is the job of asset and performance management.

Asset management is all about getting the right vehicles on the fleet and ensuring they are used by the right people, for the right task.

At the vehicle purchase point, fleet decisionmakers can start to look at safety features, such as electronic stability control, as well as environmental considerations. These in combination with wholelife costs will enable the most appropriate vehicle for the fleet operation to be chosen.

Performance

Once the vehicle is on the fleet, it is time for performance management to take over, ie ensuring that drivers are using the vehicles effi ciently and are not at an increased risk due to their driving task. This level of management includes the gathering of data on fuel use and mileage travelled as well as driver licence checking and risk profiling and can be carried out either through some of the more sophisticated fl eet management software packages or via simpler excel spreadsheets.

The data collected through these performance management systems will allow managers to highlight those drivers who may be at increased risk and those who may be driving inefficiently.

Similarly the system will allow the pinpointing of those drivers who are performing well.

However, where is the starting point?

In the first instance, managers should focus their attentions on the element of the fleet operation the business wants most control over. If it is driver safety, then there is little point spending time trying to ‘green’ the fleet.

However, once the foundations have been set for driver safety, a start can be made on infl uencing the ‘green’ aspects of the operation.

At this point, through using asset and performance management, fleet operators will find that as some control has been exerted over the mileage clocked up by drivers there will also have been a reduction in the fuel consumption and therefore carbon emissions of the fleet. This in turn will have reduced the costs associated with running the fleet, through reduced fuel purchase and vehicle wear and tear.

As can be seen, there is a firm relationship between the elements of the ‘fleet management triple bottom line’. By focusing on doing one well, managers will positively influence the others.

<< Back to contents page

• < previous article
• |
• next article >