In the great age of technology in the workplace, there’s an understandable degree of anxiety about AI and automation and what these things mean for job security in lots of industries – including fleet management.
But fleet professionals have very little to worry about. While it’s true that AI applications like the Internet of Things (IoT) and predictive analytics are already fundamentally transforming the transportation industry, that doesn’t mean that they’re going to replace human beings in the fleet workforce altogether.
On the contrary, many of these applications are being leveraged to make fleet work easier, more efficient, and safer. It may be time for your organisation to consider implementing a fleet management software system – especially one that integrates with your ERP.
Still unconvinced? We’ve got three strong points to persuade you otherwise.
Fleet management software optimises safety for everyone involved
When the right fleet management software (FMS) solution is applied, it has an overwhelmingly positive effect on the safety culture of an organisation. No matter what routes your organisation operates on – be it road, air, or water – implementing intelligent fleet management strategies is good for your vehicle operators, your assets, and the public.
There are two different types of maintenance:
- Corrective maintenance: usually unscheduled, performed reactively to an item failure or defect on a vehicle
- Preventive maintenance: this is more proactive, regular maintenance that is scheduled and performed to catch issues before they become more serious problems
We’ve spoken before about how essential preventive maintenance is to the health of your fleet. While it might feel like an unnecessary drag, PM measures improve the lifespan of your assets and protect your organisation’s budget from bigger expenses. Unplanned repairs, unscheduled downtime and even accidents have direct costs and also greatly disrupt your fleet operations leading to further, and often much higher, costs.
But, maintaining a PM schedule is a drag, no matter how important it is. The difficulty lies in getting the relevant teams to adhere to the PM schedule the way they are supposed to. Many fleets still use paperwork and spreadsheets to manage their PM. This system is famously inefficient, an unfortunate effect which also causes assets to miss routine maintenance appointments.
Before you know it, the entire PM schedule has been thrown off and things have fallen into chaos again. A touch of disorganisation is always to be expected in an industry like fleet management, but uncontrolled disorder leads to downtime and stress: two words that no fleet manager ever wants to hear.
The right fleet management software will make your PM schedule more organised and efficient, reducing a significant burden of stress on fleet supervisors. Ultimately, FMS will optimise PM workflows and promote a more proactive safety culture across the fleet.
With intelligent alerts and notifications, a key part of fleet management solutions, is that you are able to notify fleet managers in real-time about critical events, such as vehicle breakdowns, maintenance reminders, or driver safety violations. Timely alerts enable proactive intervention, further reducing the risk of unplanned downtime and costly repairs.
Keep track of all moving parts
At its core, effective fleet management entails keeping a close eye on lots of moving parts. Fleet managers need to know where something is and why at any given time. In legacy systems which often include paper trails and forms that need to be filled out by operators, this endeavour quickly becomes a merry chase. When operators have to turn in forms at odd hours, they are often incomplete, inaccurate, or simply never turn up at all.
By tracking this information in a centralised, cloud-based organisational tool, fleet managers have full oversight of where an asset is, why, and when it’s coming back without having to call operators into the office to get the full story. Keep in mind, though, that the right fleet management solution gives you eyes not just on the vehicles, but on their various components. For example horse and trailer, tyres, engine, and load capacity.
The right solution doesn’t just cater for the management of a specific vehicle, but the oversight of its parts as well. This way, equipment managers can take advantage of a centralised register of all the equipment pieces assigned to them. By breaking assets down into their individual components, you can comprehensively manage and track your equipment without stress.
This tracking information can for example also assist in route optimisation. Efficient route planning not only reduces fuel consumption but also minimises travel time and improves overall productivity. Integration with navigation systems can help drivers avoid traffic, construction, and other delays.
Fill out forms in just one click
Whether it’s for safety and compliance or keeping track of assets, paperwork is a fundamental part of fleet management. Fleet management cannot function effectively without a steady stream of data – the more accurate and timely, the better. This is why ditching paper forms for a centralised, digital reporting system is the best way to reduce administrative labour and improve the efficiency of your fleet management system.
For many commercial fleets, drivers are required to fill out Driver Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIR) as a part of the regular maintenance of their vehicles. It’s well known, however, that operators often rush through these reports for the sake of completion. At the end of a long shift, most employees are tired and keen to go home – which puts DVIRs at risk of human error.
eDVIRs (electronic driver vehicle inspection reports) are a solution to this problem. By leveraging mobile devices to complete this administrative task, fleet management software makes it easy for drivers to complete forms quickly and legibly. eDVIRs can be completed anywhere, at any time, and allow fleet supervisors to review the data on their own mobile devices in real time.
The ideal fleet management solution will optimise form-filling processes in other areas of your organisation, too. Fusion the Apps People’s Fleet Management for example helps you manage a range of rental contracts based on start and end dates. You can set up automatic alerts to track expiring contracts and send automated correspondence to keep customers informed. Furthermore, the handy quotation wizard provides users with sales or rental quotations on the spot – making sales and rental procedures quick and easy.
Run an optimised fleet with Fleet Management
The right fleet management solution is going to help your organisation with the following tasks:
- Set up and maintain PM schedules which run smoothly and ensure the safety of your organisation’s assets, operators, and budget
- Break down your fleet’s assets into their components, and allow you to keep careful track of these individual parts
- Lift the burden of paperwork from your fleet operators and ease the administrative burden of form-filling with a centralised, digitised process
As a fleet ERP solution built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, Fusion the Apps People’s Fleet Management is ideally suited to organisations who are seeking to extend their existing Dynamics functionality. Fleet Management is the all in one solution for all fleet sizes.
Ready to learn more about what Fleet Management can do for your business? Our team looks forward to hearing from you.
