What is Fleet Management?
Fleet management or motor vehicles management is an odd job to tackle. From one point of view, every manager has a hard job of organizing stuff, but when it comes to motor based vehicles, everything looks different. Fleet management allows all companies—small or big—to minimize the cost and hazards of maintaining heavy or light machineries by using specific fleet management softwares. It may be interesting to mention that there are even companies offering fleet management services. These services consist of: Financing, health and safety management, driver management, telematics and last but not least maintenance. As a matter of fact, there are even companies that offer fuel maintenance as a fleet management service which alone is a tough pill to swallow. So by definition, when you become in charge of fleet management, there is a lot on your shoulders; Responsibilities that will be discussed in the next part.
Responsibilities of a Fleet Manager
As we talked before, as a fleet manager you really need to work on tight schedules so deadlines are really important in your work experience. VTS or vehicle tracking system is the first thing you need to get familiar with. These systems work on a GPS software and to be fair, most of the work is automatic. Every device is tracked by GPS and you will have to check the speed, direction and location of the vehicles to guide all the fleet perfectly. Fleet management tracking is the most important thing you are going to handle as an expert in the industry, so make sure you are up to the task.
Mechanical diagnostics or telematics is another thing you are going to master on your way to the top. Companies that provide these services can connect to the system guiding a vehicle, and then send coordinations based on the driver’s behavior. As an agent of fleet management services, you will also provide analysis on the collected data via the fleet management software and then fill a form on every person in charge of a vehicle. Then, a profile will be created based on the data and each driver will have an average speed, detour frequency, gear choices and so on in your management system. Then you will be able to mark obvious behaviors that are not seen by the naked eye. A driver who has not slept in 14 hours won’t be able to start the engine, unless a certain amount of time is passed. If you really think about what you are doing, then you can translate it to saving lives.
Fleet Management Software
As mentioned above, you won’t be alone on your journey. The fleet management software will be there all the time. With the use of satellites and tracking communications, a GLONASS based software, is capable of sending data from roads and seas via GPRS to main servers, where most of the work is being handled and that’s not even the gist of it. As a manager, you will have to purchase or dispose fleets on a regular basis. A fleet management software will help you track all your sales and purchases with a mathematical look on KPIs. So you will be able to track your companies money spent on human resources, fuel or vehicles on a daily basis.
OTA or over the air will be another essential tool that a fleet management software can provide for you. OTA is a security measure that allows companies to look after their vehicles when they are stopped. This acts both as an Anti-theft system and, as a drivers’ security program to boost your overall security regarding fleet management. A fleet management software is super necessary when you are controlling ships instead of on road vehicles. The job’s nomenclature will be the same, but most companies tend to deliver the responsibilities to a fleet management company specializing in ship controls. Services will be provided as an onboard process and aspects like maintenance, crewing and daily check will be outsourced to naval companies.
Benefits of ّFeet Management
Fleet management is the next step each company has to take when they start in this business. A fleet management company has to hire a fleet maneger (or several, based on the traffic of the company). A fleet manager has to use a software to time all the necessary inputs of every single day. If everything is done properly, then the number of on road accidents by drunk or tired drivers will be minimized. A 100 person crew on a ship will be well fed during a one month expedition with no worries, not to mention the optimization resulting in a huge reduction in fuel costs for the company. Heavy machineries will meet proper care and no driver will ever get stuck on a 24 hour transit. If you really think about it, the number of lives and money you are going to save in your job position is beyond measure. If you ever became a fleet manager, do a Noble thing and do your job right. You won’t believe how important what you do is.
obligation for driving and resting times. However, security means process security with the automated processing of orders and a lower risk of accidents with a preventative driving style.
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Increase productivity
This system motivated and trained drivers to drive better and choose better paths, costumes become more satisfied with order processing and it can provide transparency of locations and tour progress
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Optimize procedures
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Error-free communication
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Transmission of geo-encoded addresses
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Monitoring of driving times and rest periods
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Compliance with all legal obligations to document and archive data
We can say this system helps management in 3 fields
DRIVER MANAGEMENT
One thing is clear: the race for economic viability will be won on the road. This is where your drivers come into play. Fleet board Driver Management enables you to communicate more easily with your drivers. It also helps your drivers to adopt a more efficient driving style, allowing you to reduce fuel consumption by up to 15 %. A preventative driving style also means fewer accidents and fines.
Your drivers are not only responsible for getting things smoothly from A to B, but they also play a crucial role in the continuous optimization of logistics processes. Drivers can have a positive influence on the cost-effectiveness of your company by:
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Consumption-optimized driving style
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communicating with dispatchers
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adhering to legal requirements
FLEET MANAGEMENT
Your vehicles should be on the road. This is a vital part of your business and critical part of operating a fleet. With board Management; you can count on improved vehicle availability. Gain insights into maintenance planning and view detailed trip records. This helps you avoid unnecessary idle times or detours and, thus, increase the efficiency of your business. Trailer Data and Trailer ID provide improved planning for your fleet by bringing together all information past, and current.
ORDER MANAGEMENT
The essence of Order Management is to ensure maximal utilization of drivers and vehicles. Efficient transport planning and order processing leads to satisfied customers and, over the long-term, a competitive edge. Last but not least, the automation of logistics processes and the use of intelligent hardware help to prevent errors and reduce costs.
So, how does it work? What is a telematics system?
Fleet Board uses state-of-the-art technologies to provide its services. The position of each vehicle can be identified via satellite at any time. Data will be transmitted from and to the vehicle using the latest mobile radio technology. The advantage is that wherever you have a mobile network you will also have a connection to the vehicle.
High-performance computers in Data Center assure the secure and accurate processing of data. The data will be provided password protected to the dispatcher via the Internet.
In the vehicle, the driver is supported by easy to handle technology and a convenient Navigation.
The specially developed vehicle devices can be updated by a remote update via the mobile network, without the vehicle having to be taken to the garage
Telematics systems comprise data storage and processing machines as well as (usually partly wireless) network technology to exchange information between them.
This system usually consists of a GPS receiver, a GSM modem, an onboard computer ad an interface to the vehicle electronics. Data is collected from the vehicle systems and then sent back to the central fleet board server via mobile radio commutations (GSM/GPRS).
Fleet Board’s products and services are offered to customers through a communication platform supported by telematics hardware installed in vehicles. This platform is composed of three fundamental parts for collecting, processing and sending data, where the first part constitutes all vehicles from customers, the second one is the Fleet Board Service Centre (FBSC) and the last one is the custom software interface. Additionally, these three points contain a well-defined workflow that allows them to interchange data one to another.
This system uses both software and hardware technologies, software part provides a better connection with drivers and process on data, gives necessary analyzes for managers to manage their business professionally, services like time recording, messaging, mapping data and too many other services.