What You Need to Know About Fleet Management

A fleet management program is the best way to ensure employee safety while remaining efficient. Underestimating the value of fleet management can result in unexpected downtime and profit losses, so it's important to organize a system that works effectively.

Fleet management technology helps to plan for machine maintenance, keep track of logged hours on equipment and monitor the availability of your investments. Here's a look at some of what is involved in fleet management.

What Is the Purpose of Fleet Management?

Fleet management systems allow you to gather data about the machines your employees use daily. You can enter information about a machine's service history, fuel consumption rates, last date of use and other details. When you need to access that information later, you can find it all in one convenient place. The goal of a fleet management system is to help eliminate hurdles before, during and after a project.

Implementing fleet management strategies boosts employee productivity levels and keeps operational costs to a minimum. Additionally, monitoring company-owned equipment makes it easier to meet crucial compliance standards. The metrics below describe some of what is involved in a fleet management log.

1. Equipment Repairs and Diagnostics

Knowing when a machine was repaired or inspected last helps you rotate equipment out accordingly. Depending on the software, employees can report the number of hours logged on a machine daily. Determining when to change oil, coolant and parts involves zero guesswork when you use fleet management technology.

2. Fuel Management Data

Fleet management software encourages company-wide communication. If a piece of construction equipment is low on fuel or one of your workers refills the tank, crews can know ahead of time before moving to a site. Understanding the status of a machine before startup enables your employees to choose company equipment that best suits the demands of a given job.

3. Operator Notes

Fleet management tools are effective for sign-off purposes. Decision-makers can keep tabs on which employees have been operating specific machines if an issue occurs. Whether a machine breaks down or is damaged, fleet management tools give you the information you need to discover and solve a problem quickly and efficiently.

The Role of Fleet Management Software

Many businesses invest in subscription-based programs like Vision Link™ to access their equipment data from virtually anywhere in the world. With an effective fleet management program, you can:

• Improve employee safety: Implementing a fleet management program for your business allows in-cab video footage and performance analytics to determine if equipment is running efficiently and being properly operated.
• Track machines easily: Fleet management technology allows you to easily manage your equipment and investments--no matter how large the fleet--from virtually any location. From knowing the psychical location of every machine to planning more efficient routes, fleet management technology helps organize your company and job sites.
• Maintain industry compliance: A worker operating a machine for too long can be a danger to everyone on site. Online fleet management tools allow you to monitor employee work hours in real time to reduce the chances of an accident. Meeting the compliance standards of your industry will also help keep your crew safe and lower the likelihood of your company facing hefty fines.
• Reduce operational costs: Heavy equipment calls for routine maintenance. Scheduling inspections and repairs before a serious problem occurs is a proactive way to keep your fleet in top-performing condition. Managers can rely on fleet management software to stay on top of oil change intervals and other preventive maintenance tasks outlined by the manufacturer.

Avoiding Common Fleet Management Mistakes

A fleet management program must have trained experts behind it for success. Your business can avoid making mistakes by paying attention to the fine details involving your fleet and company operations. An ideal, well-developed fleet management program should:

• Encourage open communication: Always be transparent with your goals for a fleet management program. Arrange routine meetings with equipment operators to discuss progress and gather feedback about how day-to-day tasks are going.
• Focus on training: Make sure the employees involved with your fleet management program have the level of training necessary to do their job with confidence. See what you can do to enroll employees in ongoing training to stay up-to-date with the latest advancements of fleet management technology.
• Follow maintenance schedules: Machines in peak operating condition set you up for maximum uptime. Assign someone in your company the role of reviewing maintenance schedules for fewer equipment failures in the future.

Contact Cleveland Brothers for New and Used Heavy Equipment

Cleveland Brothers assists clients in parts of Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northern West Virginia with Cat^® equipment sales. Our team is here to help you find what you need for construction, landscaping, demolition tasks and beyond. We're also happy to explain your options for using Vision Link™ software to oversee your fleet.

Contact us online if you have any questions about new equipment listings or our inventory of used equipment.