A Google search will tell you that optimisation means “the action of making the best or most effective use of a resource or a situation”. Fleet optimisation therefore is making the most effective use of your fleet and can be associated with the layman’s terms best practice and cost cutting. Essentially, fleet optimisation is all about maximising productivity.
How can I measure fleet optimisation? How do I know if I am succeeding?
Like most concepts, fleet optimisation can be measured using certain types of metrics, these metrics however should be SMART goals, which is an acronym for:
- Specific, the metric must be easily understood, with no room for interpretation.
- Measurable, the metric must be quantifiable (this means that you can count it). An example of this would be how many kilometres were travelled per litres of fuel. It is important to avoid yes/no metrics, a simple “yes, the shipment was delivered to the right location” is not enough to measure success.
- Attainable, goals cannot be set on unrealistic expectations, you cannot expect a shipment from Auckland to be taken by truck to Wellington in an hour.
- Realistic, your goals must be within the fleets constraints. You can deliver livestock from Peria to Pauanui but not to Pluto.
- Timely, metrics should be achievable in a time frame, for example having all loads to drop-off locations in the same city delivered on the same day.
How asset tracking drives efficiency and costs
Any piece of equipment sitting idle costs a business money. Often, contractors lease or buy extra equipment because they’re unaware of underutilised machines. Asset tracking for heavy equipment management lets a company see if equipment is available for relocation and saved one customer more than $1 million within a year. In many cases, the equipment it needed was parked up on other job sites throughout the state. Asset tracking also lets fleet managers identify lost time. If noise ordinances exist between the hours of 7:00 and 4:00, companies under a tight deadline can’t afford to start operating equipment at 7:30 and end at 3:30.
Asset tracking also provides insight into cycle times, or how quickly on-site assets are completing their job or moving goods. If trucks are often idling, it may indicate there are too many being used, or that another excavator is needed to speed up load time.
See our Asset Tracking Solution »
Where can I find and track SMART metrics?
Fleet managers can use Teletrac Navman’s DIRECTOR software to measure metrics of success for their fleets.
How can I use Teletrac Navman’s metrics to optimise my fleet?
- Timesheets: With Teletrac Navman, fleet managers no longer have to rely on driver’s inaccurate time sheets. By using Teletrac Navman, driver’s productivity is now quantifiable by the hours they have worked. For example, John Smith delivered three shipments across Auckland in suburbs Mt Roskill, Onehunga and Dannemora in three hours.
- Geofencing: With geofencing, fleet managers can asses the time that drivers are spending on each job site to ensure that the right jobs are receiving the right amount of attention. Geofencing also tells fleet managers the exact location of each job site, when the vehicle arrives on the job site and the vehicle’s behaviour on the job site, this means that the vehicles movements are being tracked onsite. From this information fleet managers can discern if company assets are being misused.
- Driver scorecard and behaviour monitoring: Teletrac Navman allows fleet managers to compare individual vehicles with one another on issues such as fuel usage, driving behaviours, and how often company assets need repairs and services
What other Teletrac Navman features can I use to optimise my fleet?
GPS monitoring can help drivers to better plan their routes, providing them with the most straight-forward and safest routes to their destination. Such obstacles that DIRECTOR can point out include traffic congestion and school zones. Another important feature that helps you optimise your fleet is driver fatigue management and rest breaking alerts, these features protect your drivers from causing accidents due to fatigue, and ensures they are adhering to company policies and the law. The safest driver is an alert driver.
Another feature that Teletrac Navman’s DIRECTOR delivers is a pop-out window, this widget allows fleet managers to send messages directly to the driver, replay vehicle activity that may be inefficient and view other data such as maintenance needs for individual vehicles. Teletrac Navman allows fleet managers to have a macro and micro view of how efficient their fleet is running.