Fleet Management System
What do I need to know about a Fleet Management System
Fleet Management System
Any organization relying on commercial vehicles to function engages in some form of fleet operations and fleet management. The purpose of fleet management is to oversee all fleet performance and fleet maintenance in order to increase productivity and help a business run as smoothly as possible. Fleet management is often divided into the following categories:
- Fleet maintenance
- Procurement, leasing contracts
- Vehicle tracking
- Driver behavior
- Route planning
A Fleet Management System, such as WorkMirror, can help fleet managers gain real-time visibility into their operations while increasing driver satisfaction and decreasing fuel usage through predictive analytics and accurate reporting. That is why 75% of fleet managers rely on fleet management software or vehicle telematics to help support their day-to-day operations.
Fleet managers are in charge of fleet operations and might be tasked with responsibilities that include vehicle maintenance, overseeing fuel consumption and fuel costs, driver management, asset utilization, route planning, and the implementation of any programs that increase company productivity and decrease instances of waste. To be able to complete all these tasks a fleet management system is usually required.
1. Fleet maintenance
Fleet maintenance is the management of policies and processes designed to keep company vehicles in a safe and reliable operating condition and protect the drivers and the residual value of the assets involved.
- Vehicle maintenance
Schedule maintenance including notifications before maintenance
A log of maintenance history. - Fuel Management
Fleet managers are responsible for managing fuel types including gasoline, natural gas and electric energy as well as the repair and related compliance procedures associated with them. - Collision and damage
Crash detection generating alarms.
Providing and collecting collision reports. - Stolen vehicle equipment
Location tracking for missing or stolen vehicles or equipment. - CAN bus connection
To collect detailed vehicle information an CAN bus connection can be used.
2. Procurement, leasing and contracts
Negotiating contracts for new vehicles and equipment, vehicle replacement forecasting, disposing of out-of-service vehicles and equipment, and managing fleet contracts for parts, service and fuel are central to the practice of fleet management.
- Vehicle procurement: This is the process of organizing fleet assets through purchasing or leasing to meet a fleet’s specific needs. Fleet managers need to create procurement plans that align with their current fleet operations and overall company goals.
In order to effectively manage a fleet, a fleet manager needs to forecast how many and what type of vehicles a fleet will need in order to operate efficiently. It might seem straightforward to purchase new vehicles when the need arises, but correctly understanding and forecasting fleet vehicle utilization is paramount in correctly determining a purchase strategy. Employee eligibility for a vehicle class, vehicle lifecycle, and even market timing are all significant factors that contribute to a sound vehicle acquisition strategy. - Addressing vehicle usage: This is the process of understanding where your fleet vehicles are, what they are doing, who is driving them, when they are in use, why they are being used and how to better manage their operations. There is constant pressure to reduce the total cost of ownership.
- Vehicle contract and document handling.
3. Vehicle tracking
Fleet maintenance is the management of policies and processes designed to keep company vehicles in a safe and reliable operating condition and protect the drivers and the residual value of the assets involved.
- Vehicle maintenance
Schedule maintenance including notifications before maintenance
A log of maintenance history. - Fuel Management
Fleet managers are responsible for managing fuel types including gasoline, natural gas and electric energy as well as the repair and related compliance procedures associated with them. - Collision and damage
Crash detection generating alarms.
Providing and collecting collision reports. - Stolen vehicle equipment
Location tracking for missing or stolen vehicles or equipment. - CAN bus connection
To collect detailed vehicle information an CAN bus connection can be used.
4. Driving behavior
Driver shortages are a growing issue in the trucking industry. Stabilizing and increasing driver retention is something fleet managers need to always aim for. By creating mentorship programs, improving workplace conditions, or simply building stronger trust between driver and manager, fleet managers look to different approaches to ensure drivers are happy at work.
A major challenge for fleet companies or any fleet manager is keeping drivers safe. Ensuring safe driver behavior can be difficult, particularly when fleet managers are hundreds of miles away from the moving vehicle. There are helpful tools fleet managers can use — like dash cams or vehicle tracking systems — that bring real-time visibility into an otherwise remote vehicle and provide evidence or materials to implement driver training.
Managing driver behavior: Fleet operations can only be successful if drivers are on board with the rules outlined by your organization. By engaging drivers through coaching, incentives, performance metrics and feedback, your fleet can become more productive.
- Driver behavior
Monitor driver behavior on the road to reduce risk and optimize safety procedures. - Speed violation
Make sure the driver keeps the speed limits. - Driving out of hours
- Driving breaks – Electronic Logging Device (ELD) compliance (USA)
The ELD mandate in the USA is a congressional mandate that went into effect December 2017 that requires commercial vehicle operators to record Hours of Service (HOS) electronically. The mandate intends to replace paper logging and reduce instances of dangerous driving caused by fatigued drivers. For fleets that are subject to the mandate, fleet managers must implement ELD compliant systems to ensure they have an accurate recording of drive time. - Driving out of area (Geo fence)
- Monitor driver with Camera front road/interior driver
- Driver license reviews
- Compliance reporting and driver instruction in adherence with local, regional or national compliance standards.
5. Route planning and optimization
Route planning and optimization involves tightening routes to boost fleet productivity, designing routes and allocating vehicles, building custom zones, assessing missed or out-of-order stops, comparing planned versus actual arrival times and stop duration and viewing travel time and time spent in defined zones. Route planning is normally not integrated in a fleet management system.
What Is Fleet Management System?
Fleet management system is an essential central database that helps fleet managers control, organize, and coordinate vehicles. It also allows managers a full view into their fleet and its operations.
The Fleet management software can be integrated with third-party tools, such as maintenance providers, fuel cards, accounting, and beyond. When connected to sensors, GPS tracking and telematics devices, the software keeps track of information related to vehicle diagnostics, driver behaviors, maintenance needs, fuel spend, and more.
What are the benefits of a Fleet Management System?
Managing a fleet of vehicles can be challenging, no matter the fleet size. That’s why over 75% of fleet managers rely on fleet management software or vehicle telematics to help support day-to-day operations in at least some of their vehicles, according to data from Government Fleet’s annual benchmarking survey.
Fleet management software can help fleet managers gain real-time visibility into their operations while increasing driver satisfaction and decreasing fuel usage through predictive analytics and accurate reporting.
WorkMirror is a system that helps businesses improve efficiency, safety, and quality of their fleet operations with internet-connected sensors and software. From transportation and logistics to food production and construction, WorkMirror’s fleet management system can help you stay compliant and streamline your fleet operations. Reach out to us for a demo and free trial today.
This is how it works
Important to keep in mind when choosing a Fleet Management System
Do you plan on investing in electronic milage logs? There is money to be saved and you can ensure the correct tax is paid. Here is a list of things to think about prior to choosing a supplier.
- Simplicity. What are you going to use the milage log for? Is it to fulfil HMRC’s requirements on documentation or do you want to use it to manage your business? Many suppliers offer a variety of different functions within their products that reduces user-friendliness. Choose a supplier that offers a simple user interface and that doesn’t charge for superfluous functions that you do not have any need for.
- The price. Some vendors in the market have been around for many years and have incorporated unnecessary functionality leading to inflated prices. As technology has advanced the opportunities have opened up for more cost-efficient solutions. Today the prices range between 79kr/month up to over 250 kr/month per unit. This expenditure can quickly add up, particularly if you have a large fleet of vehicles. It is worth carefully comparing supplier prices, and keeping an eye out for concealed start-up costs and long contracts.
- Devices. Make sure that the company you are buying from offer different types of devices so that you have the opportunity to change device in the future if a need would arise. The world is changing faster and new rules and clauses are emerging with the insurance companies that affect warranties and such. Choose a company that offers devices for your needs. If the company has a need for driver identification, make sure to choose a supplier for both RFDI-reader and GPS-device in one, so that you can avoid installing two devices in each vehicle. WorkMirror offers four different types of devices for different needs. OBD-unit that is placed in the vehicles diagnostic socket.
- Battery mounted device that is placed directly on the car battery. 12V-device that is placed in the car’s cigarette lighter power socket and a RFID-device that supports driver identification.
Common questions and answers
At the present time you do not have to, but HMRC state that they recommend all businesses to utilise an electronic mileage log for accuracy.
According to HMRC, the documentation needs to be saved for a minimium of 5 years after the yearly submission date.
There are mainly two areas where the potential costs savings are great. Partly because the proportion of private journeys usually decreases upon introduction of an electronic mileage log system. 2) And also, through optimisation of the vehicle fleet. By seeing how the vehicles are used you can more easily adjust the number of vehicles based on reality. The savings vary from case to case but it is not unusual to find cost savings of between 10-15% when you introduce an electronic mileage log. Besides this you will most likely save money just by switching to WorkMirror. We offer significantly lower prices (79kr/month) than most competitors in the market (149-249kr/month)
It all depends on the needs of your business. Read more about our devices here.
ADVANTAGES
With WorkMirror Fleet Management you will get
Automatic Mileage Log
With WorkMirror you will get the easiest to use and most cost-effective electronic mileage log. You get a clear picture over your vehicle fleet, how many vehicles have been driven and how they have been used.
HMRC-export
We meet HMRC's requirements for documentation for mileage logs.
Driver identification
Full support for driver identification with RFID. Also integrated together with the GPS-unit, so you still only need one device.
Quick start up
We offer a simple installation where you connect the device in the vehicle in just a few seconds. With our smart import functions, you will get going quickly.
Reduced costs
Our strategy is to is to keep prices significantly lower than our competitors. In many cases you can half your costs for both devices and mileage log by choosing WorkMirror.
Good overview
Smart map views where you can view all your vehicles at a glance. Where they are and if they are driving. With the possibility of filtering on vehicles for a quick follow up.