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In the latest chapter of our A-Z series of fleet management we dealt with ‘K’ for Key Performance Indicators that are typical in fleet management. With this follow-up article we want to focus once again on KPIs by adding some more into the mix that are not directly connected to financial aspects but do have an impact on your fleet budget.

#1 – Productivity. Any utility that provides insight into how much a vehicle is used is clearly valuable, but it is definitely essential for those who manage a fleet to also gain insight into actual productivity. There are a number of parameters you can apply in order to measure the productivity of your fleet, some examples include journeys and job completion, time spent on site and the activity of your vehicles in general. If you are able to track these metrics you can see whether it is possible to squeeze more out of your fleet, minimise waste and even improve on deadlines and deliveries.

#2 – Safety. Thanks to technology today it is possible to collect different metrics that can be used to improve the safety profile of drivers, the overall safety of the fleet as well as use the safety alerts to adequately train and advise drivers on ecodriving and safe practices. Fleet managers can generally have access in real time to this type of data so that it can be addressed quickly with scope for rapid improvements.

Some of the KPIs related to fleet safety that can usually be tracked by fleet management systems are speeding, rapid acceleration, harsh braking and harsh cornering. These appear to be not only the unsafest driving behaviours but also those that consume more fuel. When talking about driver behaviour there is another metric, idling, that is also generally measurable and really avoidable just by sensitising drivers to the costs of this habit.

#3 – Incidents frequency. Something that is associated with safety—the more accidents the company has, the greater the expense and the lower (most likely) the level of safety. Why accidents? Why not just the costs related to them? This isn’t to say the latter should be ignored. There are costs related to accidents that go far beyond just the cost of repair or the net loss when a vehicle is totalled. However, using this metric is simple, and provides a bigger picture of how efficient, for example, a fleet safety program is.

#4 – Fuel economy. Fleets cannot simply skip over the tracking of fuel economy as it is probably the top expense that motivates fleet directors into constantly seeking out reductions, which is also essential to minimise environmental impact. Also related to fuel economy—you can look at the consumption of your vehicles in either mpg or l/100km, double-check purchases carried out by drivers and establish targets in order to gradually lower consumption so long as your drivers avoid certain driving styles.

In the latest chapter in our A-Z of fleet management, we’re looking at “K” for Key Performance Indicators or KPIs.

What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

KPIs are measurable values that demonstrate how effectively a company is in achieving key business objectives. Organizations use KPIs at multiple levels to track performance measures.

Why establish KPIs?

If we start to measure KPIs, not only in fleets but in any type of business, we have a very good idea as to how well our business is faring and whether there is scope for corrections or improvements. The important thing is to establish KPIs that are measurable, actionable and obviously meaningful for our business sector. When it comes to fleets and vehicles, we may well be privileging KPIs that are irrelevant for other types of businesses.

What KPIs are specific to fleet management?

When dealing with fleets, the KPIs will have to tell us how well your fleet and vehicles are performing. We often tend to imagine KPIs as something merely related to strictly financial aspects of a fleet—for example, we think about costs—when we should regard a fleet holistically and consider how all aspects ultimately contribute to a successful operation. When it comes down to it, there is so much you can do to improve your fleet operation—not just purely to do with cost cutting—that might not be explicitly evident in financial KPIs. In this blog post we will cover some of them.

Meaningful fleet management KPIs

As we mentioned previously, there are KPIs that impact on the bottom line of your fleet and company but are not overtly classified as costs. Let’s look at two of them.

• Utilization: this key performance indicator provides information on the amount of time your vehicles are actively being used. Apart from tracking vehicles—surely the optimum way to check how much a vehicle is utilized—you can make a random calculation by taking the yearly working hours and comparing them with the hours a particular vehicle is actively working to check if it is overused, underused and if it is worth holding on to or selling. The over or underutilization can depend on a number of factors such as your workforce and its possible downtime, a vehicle that is only used for a particular purpose, ongoing maintenance that might make a vehicle unavailable or unclear workflow within your organisation.
  
  
• Vehicle inspection completion: addressing maintenance issues in a swift way is essential for any fleet; and complying with preventative checks before your vehicles’ journeys is not only a way to potentially eliminate downtime and increase utilization, but is a legal requirement itself. If you have a process that actively promotes and implements vehicle checks, measuring their actual accomplishment, you will see whether there is scope to improve your processes and therefore realise the benefits.

It seems, on the calendar at least, that spring 2019 will soon be here. And, as often happens, the longer the days become, the more prone we feel to change, to renew habits and to get started with the annual ritual of spring-cleaning.

It might seem to you that this task is just a household tradition with origins in a long forgotten religious custom, but the general idea can still be applied to fleet management. With this post we want you to consider spring cleaning from the fleet manager’s perspective and we’d also like to offer you a few ideas along those lines—this is the perfect opportunity to tackle aspects of your fleet that might require a bit of sprucing-up...

#1 – Spring-cleaning (literally). You probably have a process already in place whereby you have your vehicles washed and cleaned on a regular basis, though in winter they are more likely to suffer from the weather. A clean vehicle runs better, is treated better, and represents your company image better. If you haven’t done so, organize a plan to get all of your vehicles thoroughly cleaned with the help of your team. Have them check also that nothing unnecessary is stored inside the vehicle as it does not just demonstrate untidiness, but can become a hazard when the vehicle is driven.

#2 – Tidying up. Take advantage of the spring-cleaning spirit to tackle any small repair that might be needed. If there is any small thing that needs to be tidied up in the depot or in your workshop or office, then now is the time to address it. You might even find some Marie Kondo-like inspiration is good for your business in general. We don’t want to be too obsessive, but when you have a tidy, clean space, your mind functions better. When we say small repair... we are not actually referring to your vehicles, as you should already have some sort of process for regular checks that shouldn’t ignore a defect, even if minimal, for the purposes of safety and compliance.

#3 – Paperwork and spring-cleaning. This is slightly off the general theme but still related to spring-cleaning. If you are among those who rely on paper-based vehicle checks, we are not about to tell you to throw them away—you should always keep records safe for compliance purposes—but why not have a look at different methods than those which simply attract dust or use up too much physical space? If you are stuck with an ever-growing pile of paperwork, then the time has probably come to consider digital walk-around checks, and you are more than welcome to give our trial program a go.

#4 – The spring-cleaning attitude. There is nothing as dangerous as claiming that just because you have always done things in a certain way, you should continue to do so. If you want to expand your business, you should welcome innovation and outside-the-box thinking. If you are looking into new ways of doing things but have never been brave enough, or told yourself you never had the time to look into alternative methods, why not take this opportunity to tap into the very spirit of spring-cleaning by clearing out some of the stale old practices holding your business back. And if you need any pointers, we are more than happy to help.

With the clock ticking remorsefully toward the 29th of March, experts start to figure out the consequences of a no-deal Brexit for the transport and logistics sector in both the UK and Ireland and also the remaining EU member states. The pressing concerns of the eventual withdrawal have prompted intense discussions, and hypotheses have been proffered by experts as to the possible areas of pain for the transport and logistics sector in the forthcoming weeks.

Looking at it from the Irish point of view, the most recent Transport Manager event held on March 5^th of last year and traditionally organised by the FTAI in Enfield was dominated by Brexit. After greeting various operators, the FTAI general manager, Aidan Flynn, began the event by advising them to keep planning for a no-deal eventuality, to work with their peers and customers and enhance collaborative relationships, as there are still so many unknowns and unpredictable outcomes.

Two main concerns, as the deadline looms ever closer, are the possible delays and the possible consequences deriving from them, such as road blockages or tailbacks. When it comes to border delays under the current arrangement, transporting goods is relatively straightforward, but once Brexit kicks in, deliveries that were taking from one to three days could take from four to five. According to data shared by the FTAI, custom documents could soar from the current average of 1.7 million per year to the astounding figure of 20 million. Revenue officers might not be in significant force during the first few weeks following the 29^th, and it will be very difficult for those in the haulage industry to be ready and compliant with this aspect. Helen McEntee TD., Minister for EU Affairs, who intervened at the event, offered some comforting words to assure operators that the Irish Government is working around the clock in preparation of the consequences and ensuring that the relevant information is readily available.

With regards to possible delays, Flynn has also called upon the government to provide more details of plans for facilities and parking that might serve drivers caught up in tailbacks generated by Brexit and argued that, because the UK is a distribution centre for food and retail in Ireland, if checks are reinforced in anticipation of the ‘third country’ border arrangements that will inevitably happen between Ireland and the UK, there will be serious difficulties and congestion. There is no rapid solution.

Meanwhile, in the UK new research published last week has suggested that the UK’s logistic sector itself will suffer a £6.7 billion reduction in economic output (around 7.8 billion euros).

Planning the journeys your drivers have to carry out is part of daily life for a fleet manager, especially if your drivers have to undertake multiple journeys because their work is comprised of deliveries or customers visits scheduled during working time. It definitely makes sense then to include J for Journey planning in our A-Z series of fleet management.

Optimizing routes and devoting time to journey planning (but not nearly as much as you think if relying on great fleet management software) has a lot of benefits that fall outside of the mere increased efficiency of drivers and routes. Here we would like to cover some of the benefits you can attain thanks to accurate journey planning:

1. Customer success. By planning the journeys your vehicles are going to take, you will be able to meet customer deadlines and deliveries, and communicate a more precise time range for them, all contributing to customer satisfaction.
   
   
2. Minimised spend. If you carefully plan your drivers’ journey, you will make sure time will not be wasted and designated routes will be followed closely without meandering into pointless diversions that can be a distraction and/or increase fuel expenditure.
   
   
3. Safe reach. Planning the routes of your drivers means a safer journey, as usually the clearest, most trouble free and efficient routes are preferable.
   
   
4. Driver hours compliance. If you carefully plan the journey for your drivers, you will be able to predict when the necessary breaks have to be taken and provide a realistic schedule for your team, preventing fatigue and meeting the legal requirements regarding driving hours.
   
   
5. Avoid risks. If you are able to plan for the journeys of your driver and assign routes, you can check if there might be potential problems (traffic, weather, particular road hazards) and find an alternative plan or a solution in advance.
   
   

It doesn’t have to be difficult to get proper journey planning and the benefits are undeniable in terms of safety and keeping your fleet budget on target. If you need some help, don’t hesitate to get in touch and talk with us.

Vehicle defect reporting is key to fleets being able to tackle issues in a timely manner — i.e., before a minor issue turns into a major one. Even the smallest looking flaws can soon develop into something that can cause a vehicle to breakdown, become not compliant, affect fuel consumption efficiency or reduce its lifespan.

In a well-managed fleet, vehicle damages should be reported as quickly as possible, so that the possibility of breakdown is minimised, the vehicles are kept in a roadworthy condition and maintenance expense is kept to the minimum necessary. But according to a survey recently published by Venson, a provider of compliance and fleet services, there is still quite a high number of company car drivers who are still failing to report damages—not only in a timely fashion, but who are actually not reporting them at all.

According to the study carried out by Venson, around 33% of the company car drivers interviewed would not bother reporting minor damage to their employer. What is especially alarming about this figure is that the same question was put to company car drivers in 2017 and the figure was 17% of those interviewed, so the statistic has doubled in a year or so.

The survey published by Venson a few days ago also yielded other disappointing results as it seems drivers feel uninvolved in, or not responsible for, the maintenance and condition of the vehicles they drive. Over half (57%) of the interviewed view servicing as the sole responsibility of their employer, when drivers should in fact be doing simple maintenance checks and flagging issues. It is actually part of the legal obligations of fleet managers to have a system able to record and rectify vehicle defects or carry out servicing to keep vehicles safe as they are considered workplaces, and that inevitably involves the honest cooperation of their drivers. The mistaken habit of company drivers shrugging off their responsibilities, even though they are putting themselves at risk, was highlighted by the large percentage who admitted this in the 2015 Venson survey.

Moreover, 24% of the company car drivers interviewed admit they ignore dashboard warning lights and 43% of the participants do not top up water coolants: this attitude can compromise safety and lead to breakdowns which are a source of higher maintenance costs in the long run that could have easily been prevented if these types of issues were dealt with in good time.

It seems to be vital for companies to keep sensitising their drivers about the importance of vehicle checks and inspections. The risks to safety are extremely high, but an irresponsible attitude can also result in maintenance bills rocketing or vehicles being stopped on the roadside and not being allowed to continue their journey for being non-compliant.

Having a system that is simplifying the process of regular vehicle checks would go a long way to solving the issue; an issue that it is probably not just down to a lack of responsibility on behalf of the drivers, but also caused by the absence of a sound process for defect reporting, or one that is inefficient and time consuming. Call us if you want to get started with a fast and errorless vehicle defect reporting system—or get a free trial now.

As happens with other notable celebrations or holidays such as Christmas or Black Friday, Valentine’s Day is a special event on the calendar that requires thorough preparation in order to meet the logistical challenges. While some fleet requirements are consistent all year long, days such as February 14^th create unusual demands—and we are not just talking about buying chocolate and roses for a significant other … or are we?

Let’s have a look at the four challenges that might make the hearts of fleet managers beat a little faster, but not for the reasons you might immediately think!

#1 – To hire or not to hire. Holidays boost sales for both online shops as well as brick and mortar retailers. Chocolates and roses are just the tip of the iceberg, as nowadays on celebratory days people shop more than they used to, and not specifically for their Valentine—the increased availability of discounts or offers available at these times might encourage people to go out and shop for parents, family, friends, or even themselves. This translates into a higher demand and the need for fleets to cope with the surge in shopping activity. In some cases getting new hires can be seen as a no-brainer, in others it might not be the most appropriate solution. What if you could just rearrange your routes and schedules, or what if you just needed new vehicles instead?

#2 – Some things come and go. And presents are no exception. With the opportunities we have nowadays with online shopping to just return unwanted items or the offer from traditional shops to change our gift for something we prefer, it stands to reason, simply by the laws of mathematics, that the more retail activity the greater the number of returns or gift swaps. This inevitably creates more work at any level of the logistics chain—vehicles included.

#3 - Warm, but cold. The issues connected with the winter season, the slower traffic you might encounter on some roads due to inclement weather conditions and the darker driving hours might be an extra complication if you have to get to your destination on this special day or get your product there on time.

#4 – Anywhere, at any time. As fleets have to deal with increased business or extended delivery zones on this particular date, this might constitute a challenge (though, perhaps, also an opportunity) for those who need to manage fleets. Locating drivers, assigning them tasks and making sure this is done efficiently in terms of driving time or proximity to a location and making quick decisions all add to the pressure for drivers and fleet managers. But if this is done in the correct way, with the help of GPS and fleet management technologies, it can actually become a new business opportunity.

If you feel you can relate to either one or more of these challenges, talk to us: together we can reach the heart of your customers on Valentine’s Day—and all year long for that matter.

With the clock ticking inexorably toward the March 29 deadline, the question everywhere seems to concern the future of the UK and Europe with regards to Brexit. Almost two years have passed since the June 2016 referendum in which 16,788,672 leave votes secured a small majority and technically cleared the way for the UK to leave the European Union, but since then the actual outcome is anything but clear.

The possibility of a no-deal Brexit seems at the time of writing the most likely outcome as the UK and the EU have so far been unable to reach an agreement, and everyone is starting to imagine some of the possible post-Brexit scenarios as the eleventh hour approaches. What would be the consequences of a no-deal Brexit for the transport, logistics and hauliers sector?

Back in the beginning of January, some influential transport and logistics trade associations such as the FTA and the FTAI have urged companies and hauliers to start preparing for the no-deal eventuality. The FTAI in particular has advised hauliers to take immediate action and advance their preparations, or expect delays, red tape and costs after March 29.

The General Manager of FTAI, Aidan Flynn, has stated that "Whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations—deal or no deal—it will have a seismic impact on the UK's trading environment and in turn, the freight distribution and logistics sector on both sides of the Irish Sea. By leaving the Customs Union and the Single Market, the UK will trigger notable friction in the supply chain. There will inevitably be multi-agency checks at ports and the administrative burden placed on the logistics industry—particularly road haulage—will hinder business development and, in some cases, cripple the small to medium enterprise sector.”

If a no-deal Brexit is reached, the island of Ireland will be particularly impacted by the reinstatement of a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland—the Irish land border would become a frontier of the EU and there would be pressure to enforce similar customs and immigration controls to those that exist between the EU and any non-EU country.

Trade and immigration are two other major influences on the transport and logistics sectors. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the UK would have to revert to World Trade Organisation rules on trade; it wouldn’t be bound by EU rules but would be subject to the EU’s external tariffs. The price of goods in shops for Britons could rise sharply as businesses would have to have to pass on the cost of tariffs on goods imported from the EU. With regards to free movement, the UK would be free to set its own controls on immigration from EU countries. However, the EU could respond in kind for Britons and this could lead to delays at borders not only for expats but the situation for workers in the logistics and transport sector is also unclear.

The Loadstar, an online news resource for the logistics industry, makes two uncomfortable observations on what could happen after a no-deal Brexit: the time EU trucks spend in the UK on average is 1.9 days; a timescale that would inevitably change in the event of a no-deal Brexit. This could force hauliers to look for business opportunities outside of the UK when it becomes a much less efficient, more expensive and time-consuming country with which to trade. Another potential problem, is the massive presence of EU vehicles on the Dover-Calais route—it has been estimated that 85% of the trucks there are from the EU, posing considerable logistical challenges for both exporters and importers.

The anxiety concerning potentially huge delays at the border has already been considered by many businesses, but let’s focus on the healthcare sector for a moment: in the news just a few days ago, was a pharmaceutical company that saw fit to stockpile vital emergency equipment as the more stringent custom checks possible after a no-deal Brexit could potentially delay the delivery to patients in emergency situations. The head of NHS England, Simon Stevens, has admitted that getting logistics right is crucial to guaranteeing the flow of medical supplies.

While telematics has largely been recognized as an advantage for companies running fleet operations the world over, and the fact that insurance companies have started to both promote and incentivise the usage of dash cams for end-users, a survey published towards the end of last year still reveals some lingering doubts amongst a sizable percentage of drivers, especially in the UK, as to whether telematics really do make their life easier and their driving much safer.

According to the survey, carried out by Redtail Telematics in cooperation with YouGov, around 30% of the UK drivers interviewed still feel sceptical about telematics really being useful and delivering any benefits to drivers. In those claiming that telematics does provide advantages for drivers, it is quite significant to see that the top two reasons for getting the technology is the reduction in car insurance premiums and the potential help telematics will provide in locating the vehicle if stolen. According to the same research, less quoted reasons for getting telematics would be the invaluable evidence that could be provided in the case of an accident, the incentive to switch to a safer driving style and the higher self-awareness, for a driver, of their own driving style.

From the survey it seems clear that adopting telematics is still seen in general as advantageous for British motorists; but it is still associated with prohibitive costs that, in the minds of some, outweigh the opportunity to assess and change driving habits with technological assistance. The help the technology might provide in drawing attention to the way we drive is much more constructive than simply claiming a discount on an insurance premium, the importance of which still eludes those fixated on the more obvious ways to cut costs.

A recent research conducted by The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) on the number of telematics policies active in the UK reports that the total number of active telematics based policies recorded in 2017 was 975,000 (almost one million). The number also showed an increase of about 30% on the figures made public in 2016. With this trend continuing, and if we only had greater awareness of how telematics could improve safety for all participants, chances are that the number of global road traffic incidents would definitely decrease, thus providing a powerful ethical incentive to acquire telematics-based insurance policies.

Updated 20th February 2019

When it comes to hiring a new driver for your fleet, you might think that finding somebody with the necessary certifications and driving licence, with extensive experience and an extremely positive safety and accident record, ready to start when it best suits you, actually means “problem solved”. But that’s really only part of the job, especially if we think about what still happens in most companies - they do not have a precise training process for new hires or contractors.

Even when you have a starting date agreed and a contract signed, you still have not started training your new hire. Having a proper and efficient induction process is something all types of companies need to look into – and fleets are not exceptions – to make sure that the effort, resources and energy spent during the hiring process find a positive outcome and that employees feel comfortable in the new role, ready for their new tasks, involved in the new company and motivated to work in the new environment.

Having a good employee induction process can really pave the way for an extremely positive employee-employer relationship and helps your employees becoming productive as soon as possible, providing great advantages in terms of savings and when it comes to getting more business for your company. But that’s not the only benefit: if it is true that it is not always good to judge a book by its cover, it is also true that first impressions do matter...

 According to data shared by Digicast, companies that lack an efficient induction system or do not manage induction risks have a higher chance of losing their new hires, as around 25% of the new workforce decides to leave their new workplace within the first week of work. According to Aberdeen, a provider of marketing and sales solutions, 54% per cent of the organisations with an onboarding process in place can enjoy greater new hire productivity and 50% of them can benefit from greater new hire retention. Recruitment Solutions, which research has been quoted in the Digicast whitepaper “Optimising induction training”, states that, on average, companies experienced 47% of new employee turnover after 90 days, with the same companies admitting that induction was a priority area of investment. With driver shortage being one of the most challenging issues of the transportation and fleet sector, it is clear that the onboarding process your company has plays a very important role in keeping your staff happy and minimise turnover.

With the time constraints everyone has and the fact that new hires’ training often does not correspond to a person in charge of it or has to be arranged between different employees, creating a sound induction process is surely not a piece of cake. But thanks to the presence of technology we can quickly get access to valuable online tools that make your life easier (and your company happier!).

Let’s have a look at some of their features!

#1 – Having an online onboarding process is a great starting point.

The staff working in a fleet can actually be hired via a contract or work as a freelance contractor, but there should definitely be no difference in performance efficiency, level of expertise and compliance guaranteed. Contractor manager software like Initiafy, a platform hosting online induction training videos, can make a huge work to have all of your staff on the same page and quickly get all of them used to the processes of your business in an effortless way.

#2 – Digital walk-around checks app.

Any driver working for a fleet (and this applies both to employees and contractors) needs to adhere to the paperwork needed for compliance purposes. The British and Irish legislations place a huge imperative on the vehicle checks that need to be done before vehicles start their working day, known as walk-around checks. Walk-around checks should definitely be an integral part of the training for new hires, and today you have the opportunity to move from the old-fashioned and not practical paper version to our extremely user-friendly SynX Driver app, which makes the full process faster and paperless while still 100% compliant. Make sure you include it in your training sessions and when drivers do familiarise with the vehicles they will have to drive.

#3 – Driver identification.

Another important tool that helps with drivers’ whitelisting (for both employees and contractors/subcontractors) is Driver ID. Thanks to the combination of our software and a unique keyfob+reader system installed on the vehicle dashboard, you can make sure only authorised drivers are allowed to use fleet vehicles, preventing misuse and increasing security. You can then monitor their driving style, automate timesheets and gain precious insights about vehicle activity. Make sure drivers test how it works during their training.

#4 – Driver documentation and policies.

Signing fleet policies and checking on certification and licenses is key during onboarding. The SynX feature Driver Documentation and Initiafy’s traffic light feature respectively help managers and supervisors to store driver documentation in a digital format in a safe place and to and see if any worker's qualification cards or certifications are about to expire or are already expired.