Measuring a fleet’s performance is a vital part of a fleet manager’s job. They use key performance indicators (KPIs) that show when fleets are efficient, productive, and cost-effective to measure their fleet’s success. Setting KPIs is all about setting realistic goals and communicating them clearly with the team. It’s also crucial to track fleet metrics to know when the fleet meets its goals. Fleet management software is critical in this endeavor since it allows fleet managers to streamline operations and track data from all aspects of their fleet’s performance. What specific fleet management metrics should fleets track, and how do they benefit the business?
Budget Adherence
Tracking expenses is crucial to understanding how much the fleet is truly spending and maximizing profitability. Running a fleet is an expensive feat, so being accurate is vital to ensuring nothing goes to waste. This necessity is why fleet management software is so essential. It helps managers track all expenses all in one place, in real-time. Information is available at a glance, or in specific detail, whatever you need for the question at hand. Managers can even calculate their true total cost of ownership (TCO) or see any data they may need with custom reports.
There are many different metrics that managers can track to monitor their spending, such as:
- Parts/Labor Costs
- Taxes/Registration
- Total Cost per Mile
- Fuel Expenses
- Optimal Vehicle Replacement
Tracking these benchmarks gives a firm understanding of where money is going in the fleet and helps the business better manage its spending.
Vehicle Replacement
Replacing vehicles is one of the most significant challenges that fleet managers face. Keeping up with maintenance and ensuring drivers engage in positive driving behaviors can lengthen a vehicle’s life significantly. Still, if a vehicle’s operational cost exceeds its market cost, it can become a burden on the business and cause trouble down the line. Tracking metrics like service history, odometer readings, and TCO can make vehicle replacement a simple task. With these metrics, managers can find the perfect window to replace their vehicles without a financial loss.
Safety
Safety is the name of the game for any fleet manager, and telematics can measure it as well. It is crucial to ensure that a business’s drivers and everyone else on the road are safe by ensuring fleet drivers are exhibiting only proper driving behaviors. Managers can monitor driver safety by creating fleet management KPIs that track how many safety incidents occur each month or quarter. As mentioned, telematics is another way. Tracking the instances of certain behaviors such as hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeding, and more can help find unsafe drivers, target them for coaching, and encourage a culture of safety for the fleet.
Inspection Results
Daily inspections are necessary to comply with federal regulations and keep fleets safe on the road. Drive Vehicle Inspection Reports (DVIRs) can be created by drivers and tracked by fleet management software to keep managers up to date on their vehicles’ health. Tracking these reports helps find patterns in vehicle issues so that managers can be proactive with maintenance and limit a vehicle’s downtime, even lessening the risk of a breakdown or accident!
Maintenance Information
Keeping up with vehicle maintenance is crucial in ensuring that drivers are safe, vehicles last a long time, and fleets are productive. As mentioned previously, regular maintenance limits downtime and lessens the risk of accidents. Managers should track issues that arise in every vehicle to pinpoint recurring problems and see what trends arise in many of their vehicles. They may find issues with their maintenance process or even their drivers’ behaviors. Setting and tracking maintenance data helps keep vehicles on the road longer.
Diagnostic Trouble Codes
It’s obviously concerning to managers whenever vehicles face issues, but it isn’t always a metric that managers think to track. However, tracking diagnostic trouble codes can help determine patterns and common mistakes in the fleet that can be easily resolved to prevent downtime and additional maintenance. It can also alert managers to vehicles that may be experiencing particular issues to look at more in-depth. Overall, tracking diagnostic trouble codes helps employ better maintenance strategies to keep vehicles efficient and productive.
Conclusion
Tracking metrics should be a significant part of a fleet manager’s job. It helps with every aspect of management, from promoting safety to optimizing operations. To stay on top of tracking these metrics, every fleet manager needs good fleet management software. Azuga offers one of the best fleet management software options around. If you’re ready to start setting KPIs today, try out a demo on our website!
