How fleet managers lead in safety and sustainability

Fleet managers are constantly striving to gain more knowledge and improve their skills so they can apply them in their company. They exist in nearly every industry, and though the details of their roles may vary by organization, their impact consistently extends beyond their own department—from customer satisfaction to total operational productivity. They oversee daily operations and take responsibility for processes running as efficiently and smoothly as possible. 

And, one of their main responsibilities is to maintain the safety of the company’s employees, equipment and vehicles. This makes them the true leaders when it comes to achieving a safe and sustainable fleet-based company.

Fleet managers are safety leaders

Fleet safety is paramount. That ranges from maintaining vehicles to choosing safer routes, avoiding construction, bypassing traffic jams and promoting an overall safe driving culture throughout the entire organization. 

Fleet managers work hard to prioritize the safety of their team, and advanced fleet management technology can help them achieve the necessary high levels of safety. Let’s look at how fleet management technology can benefit them: 

1. Enhancing fleet safety during daily operations: GPS and telematics technology allow businesses to prioritize their team’s safety. You can track your fleet in near real-time and obtain valuable data on driver behavior and vehicle performance, which means that if there is an emergency, you can take quick action and get help.

Reduced accident and insurance costs demonstrate that fleet managers are using technology to make progress on their safety goals. According to the Fleet Technology Trends Report, fleets using GPS tracking saw a substantial decrease in accident-related expenses.

2. Establishing a safe driving culture: Driver behavior on the road is directly linked to the risk of accidents and the safety of drivers and vehicles. To develop a strong safety culture, everyone must feel responsible for safety and make it an integral part of daily operations. 

GPS fleet tracking and integrated video solutions help engage drivers in creating a safety culture by making them aware of their own driving behaviors and providing tools to help improve. According to the Fleet Technology Trends Report, a majority of respondents cited tracking technology as a critical asset for driver safety, while video has become a primary tool for reaching safety goals.¹ Download the full report to see the specific success rates and data behind these safety initiatives.

3. Planning your routes to help reduce risk: Data-based route planning can help decrease the risk of accidents. Choosing safe routes and not covering more miles than necessary should be one of the KPIs of your daily operations and long-term strategy. And, improved routing can mean employees are achieving more throughout the day, which can lead to faster service and more satisfied customers.

Efficient route planning not only benefits the customer, who is more likely to promptly receive their product or service, but also your bottom line. It can help reduce the cost of resources such as fuel, time and vehicle maintenance. 

4. Assisting with vehicle maintenance scheduling: Insights obtained from GPS fleet tracking help fleets identify maintenance intervals and stay on top of maintenance scheduling. Fleet managers can use this technology to combine preventive and predictive vehicle maintenance and help keep your fleet in good condition so that the vehicles can be used safely by the team. 

This means less downtime and less lost productivity overall—ultimately leading to a reduction in costs. Fleets using GPS fleet tracking reported a substantial average decrease in maintenance costs.

Fleet managers as green leaders, sustainability leaders

Consumers and governments are demanding that companies commit to making their fleets greener, so they have less impact on the environment. And that means fleet managers are the new sustainability leaders—because making a company greener can start with its fleet.

As electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more common across the U.S., fleets are increasingly leveraging GPS tracking to meet their sustainability goals. The report highlights how organizations are using this technology to pinpoint the specific routes and applications best suited for EV transition.¹

For those transitioning to EVs, fleet technology can help fleets identify internal combustion engine (ICE) candidates for replacement, create a charging plan, track and compare total cost of ownership (TCO) and determine the true EV range. 

Let’s see how fleet management can help fleet managers become green fleet leaders: 

1. Cutting down on unnecessary idling:  Excessive idling drives up fuel consumption and accelerates vehicle wear and tear. According to the report, fleets using GPS tracking technology achieved a substantial reduction in idling time and a significant decrease in average fuel costs.¹

2. Increasing fuel efficiency: Coaching your drivers in eco-driving techniques and monitoring their behavior behind the wheel can make all the difference to your whole business. In fact, the most important and immediate benefit is cost savings. Reduced fuel and maintenance costs indicate vehicles are burning less fuel and operating more efficiently, which in turn reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  

3. Promoting a green top-notch vehicle maintenance program: The main objective of vehicle maintenance is ensuring that the equipment is safe to use. This needs to be complemented with a vision that combines safety, sustainability and respect for the environment. Here are some of the core benefits fleets saw using GPS fleet tracking: 

• Optimized Asset Utilization: Better management of how and where vehicles are being deployed.
• Risk Mitigation: Meaningful reductions in unauthorized vehicle use and theft.
• Operational Continuity: Lowered expenses related to vehicle downtime and replacement costs.¹

Download the full report to see the specific percentage of fleets that achieved these improvements.

Advance your fleet to the next level of safety, sustainability and excellence

By working with vehicles daily, fleet managers learn how to improve the most strategic areas of the company so they can continue to advance and not stagnate. Talking specifically about the areas of safety and sustainability, basic daily actions can include:

• Monitoring the team’s driving behavior and taking action to prevent risky driving practices
• Analyzing planned routes (which ones are safer, where have accidents occurred, which are susceptible to traffic jams, etc.)
• Knowing precisely which vehicles require more maintenance (due to mileage, type of use, etc.)
• Knowing each fleet vehicle’s carbon footprint
• Monitoring gas emissions and the direct relationship with fuel consumption

All these actions are part of the daily life of these mobility professionals, and having the most innovative fleet management technologies can provide a significant competitive advantage. Advanced platforms that collect real-time information on safety or sustainability, and that allow the data to be easily interpreted, can make such a difference to a company and its safety and sustainability journey.

Learn how companies have improved safety, sustainability and many strategic areas in their business after implementing an advanced fleet management solution. Visit verizonconnect.com or call 866.844.2235 to schedule a free online demo. 

Sources:

¹Fleet Technology Trends Report