It’s been roughly seven months since our nation has been severely affected by COVID-19. Perhaps none of us thought we’d still be wearing masks, still have restrictions on social gatherings, that none of our concerts would be rescheduled, or that every major event of the year would be postponed to 2021. The words “novel,” “unprecedented,” and “uncertain” have been thrown around so quickly, and at this point, aren’t we all tired?
No matter how tired we get, COVID-19 exists; it’s a harsh reality that we have to face each day. How has your fleet coped with the pandemic? Are you surviving, thriving, or just getting by? If you’re still struggling with the new reality, this is for you. We spoke with Ryan Driscoll, vice president of marketing at GPS Insight, about ways fleets can cope with the pandemic in multiple areas of business.
MWS: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACED BY FLEET MANAGERS IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19?
DRISCOLL: Reducing operating costs. There is extreme pressure on fleet managers to reduce operating costs such as fuel, labor/overtime, and maintenance costs. Once an organization has pulled all the levers they can to reduce costs in those areas, there is one other factor that can help reduce costs. That is right sizing the fleet and reducing the number of vehicles/trailers/heavy equipment they manage. These fleet operating costs are directly associated with how many vehicles or assets managed. Fleet managers can use fleet management technology to help them understand usage and the cost to operate each of their assets. They can then make decisions on what to keep and what to sell.
Arguably the most important is keeping the mobile workforce and customers safe. The ultimate goal is to ensure that mobile workers come home every day—and that they come home healthy. So how do they do that during this pandemic? There is a lot of information online on this topic, and here are the top three that I feel have the most impact:
- If employees need to enter someone’s home or backyard, call ahead to make sure no one is sick. Additionally, using gloves, masks, shoe coverings, etc. and changing them out at each customer location goes a long way in keeping employees and customers safe.
- Use disinfectant spray or wipes to constantly clean exterior door handles and interior of the vehicle.
- Ensure mobile workers avoid accepting food or drink hospitality at stops/customer sites.
MWS: WHAT ARE WAYS FLEETS CAN IDENTIFY COST INEFFICIENCIES DURING A TIME LIKE THIS?
DRISCOLL: Unless they are power users of GPS tracking or fleet management technology, there are likely some areas that could use some improved efficiencies to reduce costs. Step 1: Audit all processes around the major categories of fleet operating costs, which are fuel, maintenance, labor, and asset overhead. Step 2: Identify if there is a better way to do the process or control it. Step 3: Use technology to aggregate the insights to measure the decrease month over month.
Below are some of the specifics for each category.
- Fuel Costs: While the cost of fuel is currently low, fleets can leverage management technology to reduce those costs even more. Fleets can monitor vehicle idle times, which will reduce fuel and maintenance costs. Optimizing and monitoring the routes taken by drivers will also reduce fuel costs. Monitoring driving behaviors allows fleets to reduce speeding, which is a key way to use less fuel. With limited resources, the COVID-19 situation could lead to employees feeling desperate. This increases the risk of fuel card fraud. Integrating fuel cards with GPS data can detect possible instances of fuel card fraud by tracking vehicle information as well as the amount of fuel purchased. For example, if more gallons are pumped than the vehicle can hold, someone may be using a fuel card to fuel non-company vehicles.
- Maintenance Costs: By creating an electronic maintenance schedule with automatic reminders, fleets can ensure that preventive maintenance is never forgotten or overlooked with limited fleet staff at headquarters or the yard. Using a driver vehicle inspection reporting process, fleets can ensure that drivers share vehicle defects with maintenance teams immediately. If fleets receive diagnostics on vehicles, monitoring Diagnostic Trouble Codes can ensure that vehicles don’t break down on the road. Getting a vehicle into maintenance in a timely fashion can limit downtime. Fleet managers no longer need to rely on drivers to notify them when their vehicles need service. This can significantly reduce maintenance costs and keep vehicles safe to operate.
- Labor/Overtime Costs: Using GPS data to compare timecards to actual time worked will allow fleets to be more efficient with a technician’s schedule by understanding when they remotely start their days and confirming when they make it back safely. Managers will be able to see their routes and the amount of time spent on jobs. Containing these labor costs could have a significant impact on a fleet’s ability to meet the challenges presented by the coronavirus situation.
MWS: WHAT OTHER PREPARATIONS CAN A FLEET MANAGER MAKE TO PREPARE FOR EMERGENCIES IN THE ECONOMY AND IN SOCIETY?
DRISCOLL: Speaking from my marketing background, these companies need to change the way they market business during this pandemic. Businesses should let customers know what they are doing to ensure employees and customers stay safe. To help build the brand—even if it doesn’t directly correlate to sales in the short term—creating content around what people can do at home in lieu of services, such as quick “how to” videos, can go a long way in building a company as a trusted brand by its customers. It helps to keep the business top of mind when potential customers need those services once the pandemic ends.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Find out more, visit www.gpsinsight.com.
