SynX Blog

The annual Transport Manager Seminar, organised by the Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) will as usual host representatives from the logistics industry to share best practices on sustainable transport operations.

This year's edition is scheduled for 25 March 2020 at the Johnstown Estate Hotel in Enfield, County Meath, and will focus on the landmark European Green Deal, recently passed through the European Parliament.

During a one-day programme, the seminar will also include an update from Secretary General of the Department of Transport, Tourism &Sport, Graham Doyle, on the work the Department is undertaking to help industry transition to more sustainable operations. The event is sponsored by Brigade Electronics, Bridgestone, The Harris Group, Enprova and EMO Oil with Fleet Transport magazine is once again as official media partner.  

Bookings for the event are now open to both FTAI and non FTAI members. If you wish to learn more on the event, call 01 8447516, contact info@ftai.ie or check the website at http://ftai.ie/events/.

We have reached the end of the month for January 2020 and also the end of our fleet management glossary—the A to Z of fleet management.

With this post, we are simply making all the links available for everyone as a resource to continue to apply the best fleet management strategies or provide some food for thought for the year 2020. Hope you are going to enjoy it!

The A to Z of fleet management and driving for work: A is for Acceleration

B is for Breakdown: the most feared issue in the A-Z of fleet management

The A-Z of fleet management: C is for Compliance—how is it impacting on fleets?

D is for Drivers: an essential ingredient in the alphabet of Fleet Management

The A to Z of fleet management: what about E for Excess?

The A-Z series: F for fuel—the biggest expense in fleet management

A-Z series: G is for GPS vehicle tracking—how technology changed the fleet sector

The A-Z series: H for Health and Safety, essential or forgotten?

The A-Z of Fleet Management: I is for Idling and why it should never happen again in your fleet

The A-Z fleet management series: J for Journey planning

Fleet management Key Performance Indicators: chapter “K” in our A-Z series

The A-Z series of fleet management: L is for Logistics

A-Z series: M is for Maintenance—a key element of fleet management

N for No: why is disagreement the latest chapter in our A-Z of fleet management series?

The A-Z series of fleet management: O for Odometer—a key piece of the puzzle

The A-Z series: P for Planner—why Fleet Managers rock at the art of planning

The A-Z fleet management series: letter Q for Questions

The A-Z series: R is for Replacement—when is it the right time to replace a fleet vehicle?

The A-Z series: S is for Strategy—why do I really need strategic fleet planning?

The A-Z fleet management series: T for Technology—the best companion of fleets and vehicles?

The A-Z series: let’s talk about U for Uptime

The A-Z series: V for vehicle data, one of the most powerful resources for any fleet

The A-Z series: W is for Workforce—staff is your best asset

The A-Z series: X for X-ray—what do telematics and X-ray have in common?

The A-Z series: Y for You—only you are ultimately responsible for your GSE fleets

A-Z: letter Z is “the end”. How many “ends” do you see as a fleet manager?

And here we are; we have finally reached the letter Z signifies the end of our A-Z series of fleet management. “The end” is going to be our topic for today as Z is the last letter of the alphabet. What are the different “ends” that fleet managers experience in their activity, and how do they face them?

#1 - End of life of a vehicle. It is definitely something fleet managers have to face. It doesn’t mean a vehicle is completely unusable if it has come to the end of its life: for fleet managers it is actually a phase when the spend for a vehicle is no longer justifiable, whether that be because it is underused or because of excessive wear and tear and it is no longer convenient for the fleet to maintain nor justify the fuel consumption. Fleet data made available from tracking software is an invaluable resource if you are thinking of replacing a vehicle with a new one or reallocating it.

#2 - End of a working relationship. It can be with a vendor; but quite often lately due to the shortage of specialised staff or to a decrease in vocational workers, it has become hard to retain drivers as the positions available have become quite numerous. But despite what could be the end of a working relationship, you can actually get to know if there is something you should change in your relations with staff. Make a wise use of exit interviews and make sure you enjoy open communication with your workers.

#3 - End of ... pen and paper. If this is something you still haven’t experienced, you might actually be invested too heavily in the old fashion way of doing things or you might spend too much time on tasks that could potentially be done in a different and quicker way. Pen and paper is no longer the tool used to manage fleets and the same is valid for spreadsheets. If you still aren’t at the end of the line regarding the pen and paper era and might need some motivation to let go ... come and talk to us.

#4 - End of the day. Well, this might actually sound obvious: every day you come to the end of the day, and you probably feel relieved that all the tasks have been performed correctly. But there is no real ... end to the duties of a fleet manager, and vehicles need to be protected as well as drivers, who need to drive safely 24/7—we know one pair of eyes that can always be kept on your assets!

Are there any other “ends” in your daily life as a fleet manager that you would like to add to the list?

We are down to the very final articles in our A-Z series of fleet management and the penultimate letter—Y for You. If you operate a fleet—whether that be GSE or not—you may actually not be considering yourself when it comes to an honest assessment of what could be done to improve the performance of your fleet or you might be turning a blind eye to unsafe practices or stuck in a routine mode of operating that maybe isn’t in the best interests of your fleet.

Let’s discuss you as a potential issue for your fleet—‘you’ is something you cannot ignore!

#1 – You spend too much time on reports and paperwork. It is certainly one of the duties of fleet managers among the other numerous responsibilities including making sure customers are satisfied, drivers are motivated and vehicles are in good working order. But unfortunately fleet managers often spend too much time bogged down in this chore while they should be relying on reports and statistics that could reduce the amount of paperwork and free you up for tasks that contribute more to the commercial development of your business.

#2 – You never assess your maintenance schedules. It might be because you do not have the time, because you still work with manual methods or simply because you are under the misconception that things will always tick along one way or another. If you are actually in possession of fleet data via different platforms or sources, you will quickly come to the realisation that different circumstances can lead to different results and that you should analyse your results on a regular basis in order to stick with the same strategy or deviate from it.

#3 – You do not compare costs and operations. Although this is something apparently uncommon today, it can be that you are using the same vendors for the same type of service or the same drivers for trips. You might be surprised how analysing costs or activity can offer us useful material to digest and assess whether to switch to another vendor or whether one driver rather than another might be more suitable for a particular route—he might actually thank you for the change; and a degree of satisfaction can definitely improve performance.

#4 – Not using failure analysis. We know the work of the fleet manager is hard and that fleet managers are often asked, although only human, to behave like machines. But we also know mistakes happen. Now, mistakes can have within them the seeds of something positive, but only if we investigate how they happened in the first place and take corrective measures to ensure they don’t happen again. So, even if you are a proud perfectionist, put that attitude out of your mind when it comes to making the most of failure analysis—you might be surprised how this might actually work for you!

Time now for the letter X in our A-Z series, and you might actually be surprised by our choice of topic for this particular article, indeed it might look a little ‘forced’ as there are limited topics we might reasonably attach to the letter X. But if you look ‘beneath the surface’ you might actually agree with us and come to see that, in the end, fleet/GSE telematics and X-ray do share some features in common: let’s see which ones!

Revealing what’s wrong. X-rays were a radical technological innovation that for the first time in medical history enabled the accurate detection of abnormalities within the body. GSE telematics systems are similarly used, though this is not the only advantage they might bring to your company or team. Added visibility and the ability to peek ‘beneath the hood’ at any given time make these tools incredibly useful in your daily operation and a precious opportunity to boost your business potential.

A painless process. You don’t feel pain when you experience an X-ray scan, do you? However, getting started with GSE telematics might appear troublesome and a bit of a ‘pain’ at first, especially as some staff members invariably object to being “tracked”. But the truth is, just like X-ray scans, you need to make sure you rely on the right professionals to make the telematics process run smoothly. Taking the proper steps to equip your GSE fleet with telematics technology by experts like Transpoco can definitely make something so apparently daunting into a seamless transition.

Proper preparation. Following on from the previous point, when you have to go for a scan, you need to listen to the instructions provided and position yourself in the best way for the procedure to work best, and possibly take contrast liquid if needed. With telematics you might need to have specific types of preparation depending on the number of vehicles you have or the metrics you want to record, but getting the best tips from reliable providers will ensure everything is ready quickly and your company is improving and saving on costs straight away.

No risks. Unless you are experiencing a very specific health condition or suffering from an allergic reaction to contrast liquid, there are practically no risks involved in the use of an X-ray scan. When it comes to fleet technology and GSE telematics, benefits can be enjoyed quickly and potential risks should decrease, especially with regards to global safety or spend. Talk to us if you have any particular concerns—we can show you how managing GSE vehicles can be a game-changer and with no risks attached!

Time for the letter W in our A-Z of fleet management; and today we are focussing on Workforce, an element your ground support equipment (GSE) fleet operation simply cannot do without!

Without the right people to operate vehicles we would soon have redundant fleets. Having skilled and reliable employees is extremely important for both logistics companies and ground handlers, yet business managers can be guilty of watching their most important assets walk out the door every day. The truth is that despite the workforce being such a vital aspect of any enterprise, managers often realise this way too late and struggle to retain their staff or invest in them.

For the time being, workforce management is what people look into in order to provide good workplace schedules and optimize staff productivity. GSE telematics and fleet management tools can put you in touch with reliable data so that the right person can be in the right place at the right time, but another undoubted benefit they can provide is the means to constructively engage with your workforce.

So let’s have a look at the following tips if you want to keep your staff happy and not see them walk out the door!

1. Recognize the value of the team. If your GSE staff meet goals, and are able to adapt to innovation when it is introduced, you feel you can count on them, recognize their value and reward them in a way they will appreciate and they will feel more involved.
   
   
2. Develop workforce training which will not only make employees more productive but also happy to be part of the team. This strategy will also help you attract talent and retain skilled workers. Use technology to see if there are any patterns in their daily tasks that might suggest non-compliance or unsafe behaviours and plan for courses accordingly.
3. Define goals for your workforce. Provide clear instructions and objectives by communicating company direction on a regular basis and provide an empowering work environment that will motivate employees and make them more eager to come to work every day.
   
   
4. Review the progress made by your workforce. Use your digital tools to track performance or time their progress on the ramp and let everyone know when they are doing a fantastic job, this ensures the development of the whole team.
   
   

We may be approaching the very end of the line in our alphabet series of fleet management, but we will never run out of content—today we turn our attention to the letter V for Vehicle data.

Why is vehicle data so important? We are under the impression that data is very important, and this is the case across a good many industries. We might be vaguely aware of this, but as technology progresses and is becoming essential to our daily life and jobs, there is a great deal of it we can use to maximise efficiency in what we do. Today, we have extremely rapid access to potentially any type of information simply by touching the screen of our phone; and we have the power to use that information to our benefit.

If we consider the information our vehicles produce, there are plenty of things we can use to understand how to improve our processes, protect our drivers, minimise our carbon footprint or increase the lifespan of our vehicles. Using data we obtain from vehicles is crucial to having them operate efficiently and performing at their best, as is making sense of all the data available. Having data available—or the right data available—can be an invaluable tool to unlocking a competitive advantage and making a business progress quicker than expected, at least if some important points are accepted.

The right data. If you can access original vehicle data in real time, you can select what data is more relevant for you or your business. While some sets of data work as general KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for any fleet (journeys carried out, mileage per gallon, fuel consumption and so on), some data might be especially relevant for your company or sector. You might not know in advance what data set is particularly applicable to you operation, but rather after you are able to assess the actual vehicle data available. What’s more, having such reliable information at your disposal can help you set up new KPIs.

A great deal of personalisation. Following from the first point, obtaining fresh vehicle data is a far more reliable option than making assumptions. Accessing our own streams of recorded data allows us to choose what is most important to our business; this is preferable to blindly relying on the accepted standards of the sector—which is not wrong, but might prove to be unreliable.

Understanding the data. With so much data available, it is very easy to get confused. Getting data into a user-friendly format, so as to fully appreciate the data on offer, is another essential part of the process. Streams of information obtained from vehicles can be overwhelming, but accessing them in a suitable format can help you grasp the whole picture and convert insights into meaningful events to then use to your advantage.

If you want to know more about the power of vehicle data, get in touch and see how our fleet management system works.

Leading telematics and fleet management software provider, Transpoco, has announced that it has enabled Iberia to achieve significant operational savings by implementing its advanced fleet management solution on its ground support equipment in numerous airports across the airline’s Spanish network.

Following a rigorous tender process, Transpoco was selected for a proof of concept in Madrid and Barcelona on up to 200 motorised assets. As a result of proven savings and return on investment Iberia will roll out the technology on up to 1400 motorised assets across further stations throughout Spain.

The Transpoco solution will help Iberia Airport Services to manage its fleet more efficiently and reduce any misuse from daily operations.

Iberia will benefit from Transpoco’s product functionality that includes tracking and controlling motorised equipment at the various airport ramps. The system also has the potential to integrate with many other platforms within the organisation including sharing data with airport authorities to update them with live location of the Iberia fleet.

Ángel Marcos, Iberia Chief Airport Services Officer, commented, “At Iberia we are constantly striving to find new ways of innovation, maximising efficiency and providing a punctual, safe and reliable service to our customers. By integrating the Transpoco fleet management software across multiple stations in Spain we have helped to achieve this”. Ángel Marcos added, “The solution from Transpoco allows us to increase safety and performance on the ramp, being more environmentally friendly while reducing operational costs. The Transpoco system and team have been very flexible and agile in reaching the business specifications of our requirements”.

Andrew Fleury, Transpoco CEO, commented, “We are delighted to be working with a world class airline in Iberia as we have been developing our system for many years with clients now in over 60 different countries. Our specialism in the aviation industry has been recognised internationally by some of the largest companies in the world and we continue to make internal investment to expand our international client base”.

Iberia Airport Services roster of more than 170 airline clients at 29 airports in Spain. In 2018 the handling unit attended some 350.000 aircraft and more than 96 million passengers. Iberia Airport Services is distinguished by its versatility in serving all types of airlines in all types of operations, and its human and material capacity for resolving every kind of contingency.

Some 40% of Iberia’s handing unit’s ground vehicles are now 100% electric and thus emissions-free, and the substitution of older vehicles continues. The unit is certified by Spain’s AENOR standards bureau for its quality assurance and environmental protection systems, under ISO 9,001 and ISO 14,001 standards.