Author: Jimmy Song

Types of GPS tracking

Types of GPS Tracking and How They Work

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Here is a quick trivia question to test your knowledge: How many types of GPS tracking are there?

 

  1. A) One
  2. B) Two
  3. C) Three
  4. D) Four or more

 

The correct answer is D! There are more than four types of GPS tracking. For instance, some trackers are used to monitor vehicles while other trackers are used to monitor people!

 

Let’s go over the 5 main types of GPS tracking and how they work.

 

Personal trackers

 

Personal trackers monitor people or even pets. Usually, they work through a personal device like a pocket chip or bracelet. The devices are then activated. After activation, users can remotely locate and follow the device.

 

Use Case:

 

Lots of families are choosing to track their dogs. GPS tracking devices for dogs are quite common, especially for curious four-legged pooches! In the past, when a dog goes missing, owners would have to rely on “Lost Dog” posters or ID collars. Now, dog owners can order GPS-equipped collars. These collars provide peace of mind because owners can constantly track and locate their dogs in real time.

 

dog

 

Asset Trackers

 

Similar to personal trackers, asset trackers can be used for non-vehicular items. Asset trackers can be anything from a small radio chip to large satellite tags.

 

Use case

 

Several grocery stores have been utilizing asset trackers to track stolen items. What is a commonly stolen item at the grocery store? One would assume candies or expensive food? Actually, you would be surprised to learn that shopping carts are the most commonly stolen item at a grocery store.

 

In order to prevent theft, grocery stores use anything from cart retrieving services to cart blocking barriers. However, a new and more efficient solution is using asset trackers.

 

Grocery stores that use asset trackers have seen a significant decrease in cart thefts. Grocery stores that use asset trackers can also increase revenue by identifying items in a cart, matching it to the customer’s loyalty card and also share that data with the advertising team!

 

 

Cell-based GPS vehicle tracking

 

Vehicle tracking, with either cellular or satellite networks, is probably one of the most common types of GPS tracking.

 

Cell-based vehicle tracking is more common than satellite tracking. This system uses a device to capture data from the vehicle and then reports the data by using cell towers. Compared to satellite tracking, cell-based vehicle tracking costs less and reports faster.

 

Use case

 

Delivery companies typically use GPS tracking to simplify their customer service workflow. Before GPS tracking, Office staff needed to call their drivers and ask for their location in order to update their customers. With GPS tracking, business and customers can track their orders in real time.

 

Satellite-based GPS vehicle tracking

 

Sometimes, cell-based vehicle tracking will not work because cell towers are unavailable in the area. Satellite tracking offers a solution to this problem. Through satellite networks, businesses can get updates from even the most remote locations!

 

Use case

 

An Alaskan trucking company often covers remote areas. Their biggest GPS tracking challenge is getting updates on their truck’s location, which is required even when cell towers may not be available. Because of this challenge, they implemented satellite tracking. Satellite trackers successfully provide constant updates on the truck’s location and can also be used by  drivers to call for help when their cellphones are not in a service area.

 

satellite tracking

Cellular-based tracking

 

The last example is cellular tracking. Currently, some businesses use cellphones as a GPS tracker. The process is quite simple – after installing a phone app, the phone uses Internet data to record and report its location.


Use case

 

Let’s re-explore the delivery business example. Some startups do not have their own fleet and rely on contractors with their own vehicles. Understandably, drivers might not want trackers on their personal car.

Cellular tracking is a good compromise. The app is installed and activated during business hours. As a result, these companies were able to track contractors without having to install an in-vehicle tracking device.

 

Explore a list of different types of GPS tracking for businesses here!

Fuel Card Integration Reduces Fuel Card Fraud

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John’s company uses fuel cards. Fuel cards are convenient because employees like John can buy fuel with company money. However, more importantly for John, he occasionally uses his company card to buy fuel for his personal car. In other words, John is committing a rather common offense called fuel card fraud.

Fuel Card Fraud Costs Big Money

fuel card frauds

John might point out that he’s only taking a few dollars here and there.

That being mentioned, businesses lose tons of money because of people like John. In particular, there are two big costs.

Fuel slippage. Firstly, fuel theft leads to higher fuel costs. Businesses might employ several “Johns”. Altogether, fuel theft losses add up.

Accounting resources. Secondly, fuel card fraud has hidden accounting costs. A lot of businesses try fighting against fuel card fraud by auditing fuel purchases. However, in order to audit purchases, businesses spend time and money.

Using Fuel Card Integration to Reduce Fraud

Nowadays, many businesses are avoiding fuel card fraud by automating fuel purchase auditing. One of those companies is Entergy, a publicly listed energy company.

Entergy uses a process called “fuel card integration”. Fuel card integration combines purchasing data with vehicle forensic evidence such as vehicle location and fuel engine levels.

Fuel card integration eliminates fuel card fraud by flagging suspicious transactions. For instance, consider the following 3 measures.

reduce fuel fraud

Location & Log

Location and log measures a company vehicle’s location and driving hours. Fuel card integration triggers an alert if there is a fuel card purchase but the company vehicle is not in the area.

This is an extremely useful alert because it targets the most common fuel card fraud where drivers fuel a personal car instead of a company car.

Fuel Level

Fuel level corresponds to changes in a company vehicle’s fuel tank during fuel purchases. There is an alert if an employee uses a fuel card but their company vehicle’s fuel level doesn’t change.

Fuel level alerts provide an additional protection layer because it detects thieves who use fuel cards on an empty jerry can.

Match

Lastly, fuel cards look at match measures. In other words, fuel card integration checks if fuel goes into the correct vehicle.

This is useful for cutting down on company policy violations where employees use fuel cards for a coworker’s vehicle.

Fuel card integration is only one of several fuel card best practices. Click here to read an article on other best practices. 

What is ADAS & What is ADAS Used For?

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ADAS, or Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, help drivers stay safe on the road. In fact, in a recent fleet management survey, ADAS are one of the biggest industry trends because of their accident prevention capability.

In this post, we will explore a few items including what is ADAS, what is ADAS used for, and how successful are ADAS.

What is ADAS?

what is ADAS

To illustrate, think about ADAS like Batman thinks of his Batmobile – a vehicle enhancer! Although ADAS does not shoot out webs, they have sensors that detect impending collisions and warn drivers.

An example of a ADAS is Mobileye. Ricardo Ruffino, Regional Sales Manager at Mobileye explains their popularity. “According to studies, human error causes 94% of collisions”, said Ruffino. “That’s a huge number and part of our job at Mobileye is to prevent those accidents and make our roads safer.”

What is ADAS Used For?

Another good question is what is ADAS used for. There are different use cases but we’ll start with Mobileye’s sensors.

Some examples of sensors include Forward Collision Warning, Headway Monitoring & Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Pedestrian & Cyclist Collision Warning.

Forward Collision Warning

Forward Collision Warning

Perhaps the first sensor that comes to people’s minds are Forward Collision Warning sensors. These sensors detect when a vehicle is about to hit another vehicle ahead of them. When a collision is imminent, it make an audible sound for the driver to stop.

Distracted driving is a good example. A bussing company used Mobileye, and as a result, directly prevented an accident. A distracted bus driver did not notice that the vehicle ahead braked. However, because the Mobileye sounded, the driver braked the bus before it hit the other vehicle.

Headway Monitoring & Warning

Comparatively to Forward Collision Warnings, Headway Monitoring & Warning provide preventative warning ahead of collisions. Mobileye’s sensor uses an algorithm to compare vehicle speed and objects ahead. If a driver follows the leading vehicle too closely, the Mobileye will warn the driver to create more room.

Lane Departure Warning

Another useful sensor is the Lane Departure Warning. Lane departures are an important driving event because 60% of fatal collisions involve a vehicle that leaves its lane. If a driver is veering off the road, Mobileye will warn them to stay in their lane.

Pedestrian & Cycling Warning

Pedestrian & Cycling Warning

Lastly, Mobileye detects and warns drivers if they are about to hit a pedestrian and cyclist. This is especially relevant because of recent traffic trends. For instance, even though the City of Toronto designed an initiative called “Vision Zero” to eliminate fatal pedestrian and cyclist collisions, pedestrian deaths are still rising.

How effective are ADAS?

Finally, some people might be wondering what is ADAS’s success rate or how to sell it to a boss. “In summary, we have several success stories,” said Ruffino. “For instance, we had a pilot with a Dutch safety board. We installed Mobileye in 2000 vehicles and recorded no collisions during the pilot. In contrast, a non-Mobileye test group of 500 vehicles had 5 collisions during that time.”

How are Fleets Handling 2018 Trucking Industry Challenges?

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The American Transportation Research Institute recently published its top 2018 trucking industry challenges. 2018 trucking industry challenges include Driver Shortages, Stringent HOS Rules, Driver Retention, ELD Mandate Concerns, and Trucking Parking Shortages.

In this post, we’ll discuss each of the five trucking industry challenges and examine how fleets are handling them.

1.Driver Shortages

Driver Shortages in trucking industry

Driver shortages plagued the trucking industry for the past few years. In fact, last year, I wrote an article about driver shortage. Experts predicted that there will be a shortage of 200,000 drivers by 2020 because of aging drivers and declining youth interest.

If younger people are not going into trucking and older drivers are retiring, does this mean truck drivers are endangered? Not necessarily. A recent trucking trend is an increase in immigrant drivers. Hence, a lot of fleets are recruiting immigrant drivers for handling driver shortage.

A good case study is trucking giant Day & Ross. Day & Ross are using innovative training tools to attract immigrant drivers. For example, Day & Ross added driving simulators to traditional training to break down communication barriers between drivers and trainers.

2.Stringent HOS Rules

Another trucking industry challenge is stringent HOS rules. Many drivers and organizations are lobbying the FMCSA to loosen rules. According to some people, HOS rules are not reflective of real life situations.

For instance, as we’ll discuss later in this article, a common concern is when drivers can’t find parking lots. Drivers are still on the clock when they can’t find parking and will be fined for a HOS violation if caught.

For now, the FMCSA recommends fleets and drivers to adapt to current laws while the agency reviews possible changes.

3.Driver Retention

drivers retention

Driver retention is similar to the driver shortage issue. Since drivers are in high demand, trucking companies compete against each other for drivers. Hence, a lot of fleets are working on driver retention. How are fleets improving driver intention?

The biggest trucking industry change is that a lot of fleets are hiring HR professionals. For many years, fleets promoted ex-drivers into recruiting and retention. Although ex-drivers are well-respected, fleets are finding a lot of success in hiring experienced HR professionals.

HR staff have significant experience in employee engagement and retention. For instance, Elise Leeson is the VP of HR at Averitte Express. Leeson’s company is in the Top 100 list of largest for-hire carriers. Some of her successful retention strategies include creating a driver-friendly company culture and improving driver benefits.

4.ELD Mandate Concerns

The ELD Mandate is still a trucking industry challenge even though it’s been a year after its enactment.

Some trucking firms are struggling with underperforming vendors. For instance, one trucking company owner commented that his vendor did not update their ELD program after the FMCSA introduced new exemptions.

In addition, other truck fleets are transitioning from AOBRDs to ELDs. The FMCSA granted a two-year grandfather clause for AOBRD users. However, as of December 2019, AOBRD fleets need to research and upgrade to an ELD provider.

5.Truck Parking Shortage

Truck Parking Shortage

Speaking of the ELD mandate, some truckers are blaming the mandate for parking lot shortages. However, Darrin Roth, the VP of Highway Policy at the American Trucking Association disagrees.

Roth claims that there are more spare parking lots than demanded. The biggest issue is that drivers are not finding open parking spots. A lot of drivers use phone apps for locating empty parking spots. Unfortunately, a lot of parking lot apps have outdated information. Hence, truckers are recommended to use apps that reserve parking spots.

What other trucking industry challenges are affecting the community? Let us know in the comments.

Links
PR Newswire: Driver Shortage Once Again Ranked As Trucking Industry’s Top Concern
Transport Topics: Fleets Hunt for Strategies to Lower Driver Turnover
FreightWaves: How real is the parking problem?

Inventions & Innovations: RFID Asset Tracking to Asset Sensors

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People commonly use the words “inventions” and “innovations”. Most of the times, however, people misuse them. The biggest difference is inventions are new ideas whereas innovations are improvements. Since learning those terms in business school, I saw real-life examples by working in technology. To illustrate, let’s discuss RFID asset tracking and asset sensors.

RFID Asset Tracking – An Invention

RFID asset tracking was an exciting invention. A lot of people don’t know about or appreciate RFID tags because they are extremely small chips. However, many businesses use RFID asset tracking for saving cost or even saving lives.

For example, many hospitals use RFID asset tracking on medical equipment. After hospitals and other organizations experienced success with RFIDs for asset tracking, people started using RFIDs for asset scanning.

RFID Asset Tracking

For example, think about key fobs. I moved apartments when I was younger and one of the biggest differences was the entrance door. Before the move, I used keys to unlock the lobby door. However, after the move, I used key fobs to scan in. At that time, I thought key fobs were as magical as Harry Potter gadgets.

Nowadays, RFIDs are still popular. Nonetheless, a new business trend is Big Data. In other words, businesses want to collect more data to make better decisions. Hence, for some businesses, RFIDs are not enough because they only collect location data. What’s the next big thing?

Asset Sensors – Innovating RFIDs

An emerging technology are asset beacons. Similarly to RFIDs, asset sensors are small sensors. However, the biggest difference is asset sensors collect much more data. To illustrate, consider a recent magazine article on wineries.

Pehlam Estate Winery Plans Better Wines

rfid tracking system

Picture from Crush Summer 2018 & retrieved from www.issuu.com.

Who loves wine? Tasty wine requires careful preparation. For example, consider Pehlam Estate Winery, a multi-generation winery in Ontario. According to their experience, -10°C is the best icewine grape harvesting temperature. Hence, the winery invested in asset sensors for temperature alerts.

After a while, the winery discovered that they can do even more with asset sensors. Matthew Speck, the winery’s Operation Manager, started using climate analytics for predicting growth patterns and for producing better quality wine.

Summary

Inventions and innovations will always happen. Forward-thinking businesses invested in new technology such as RFID asset tags and asset sensors and found new ways of conducting business as a result.

Links
Issuu: Crush Summer 2018 Magazine. Sensing Change.

It’s Easy and Effective to Make Digital Forms

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What do logging into websites, buying stuff online, and completing surveys have in common? All of these actions involve customers filling in online forms. Nowadays, there are hundreds of online forms and there are tons of free tools to help people make digital forms.

Is it hard to build forms?

make a digital forms

Not at all! One of the great things about digital forms is that it’s easy to learn how to make digital forms. For example, when I was in school, a lot of my classmates learned and used SurveyMonkey.

SurveyMonkey is a free online tool where users make and share surveys. It was a great tool for school (and even work!) because it was easy to build a form and it was valuable for collecting research data.

How do you make a killer form?

Tools like SurveyMonkey are just the beginning. Although it’s not hard to make digital forms, it’s important to learn how to do them properly. After all, great forms lead to great results!

building a killer form

The Best Practices of a Killer Form include Organization, Multimedia, and Mobile-Friendliness.

Organization

Forms must be organized. For example, consider Tax Forms. Taxpayers usually confirm their name, address, and other personal info on the first page of their Tax Form because it makes sense to keep similar data together.

Hence, before people start making forms, they should create a form outline. This involves brainstorming data collection objectives and grouping those objectives in a logical order.

Multimedia

Another best practice is including multimedia. Particularly, people are getting away from text-only forms. Most forms in the 2000s era consist of text boxes and checkboxes. In contrast, modern forms include file uploads.

To illustrate, think about driver maintenance forms. In the 2000s, drivers would need to describe vehicle problems in words. However, in modern forms, drivers can take a video with their phone and upload that video onto the form. After all, pictures are worth 1000 words!

Mobile Friendliness

Lastly, forms must be mobile friendly. Mobile friendliness is much more than downsizing a form to fit a phone screen. Instead, mobile friendliness is about taking advantage of phones. For example, a lot of digital phones use e-signatures. Customers can directly sign on a phone rather than signing on paper.

Case Example: AAA

Many businesses choose to make digital forms because it’s an effective way to improve processes. One of those businesses is AAA, one of the largest emergency road services.

Before starting digital forms, drivers manually completed forms. “Manual forms are a lot of work for drivers and for administrators,” commented a driver. “Sometimes, drivers had to turn in damaged forms because it was raining.”

Then, AAA decided to go digital. Digital forms were much more effective. In fact, on average, drivers got to their next jobs 3 minutes quicker. As a whole, this means AAA saved 750 hours every month!

Click here to learn more about making digital forms with ProntoForms. 

GPS Tracking for Small Businesses: What’s Different? What’s Important?

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GPS tracking for small businesses can be very different than GPS tracking for larger companies. Why?

Small businesses operate differently than larger companies. As a result, small business owners experience different challenges than larger companies.

Small businesses vs. large companies – key differences

Small businesses are smaller (duh!). What does that really mean? In the case of GPS tracking for small businesses, smaller business environments lead to different use cases. For instance, small businesses experience tighter employee connections, higher customer service emphasis, and more staff responsibility.

Tighter Employee Environment

Small businesses have smaller team members. In fact, many small businesses employ family members. In turn, staff members are more likely to be aligned towards a team goal. Hence, small businesses usually experience less time theft than bigger companies.

Use case

GPS tracking for small businesses with close employees are more about protecting business than about monitoring staff members. For instance, a business owner who employs family members are less likely to have to watch their team.

However, business owners might use GPS tracking to protect their bottom line. A great example is in the snow plowing business. These businesses use GPS tracking to keep a record of all of their jobs. As a result, if there is ever a dispute, small businesses can use tangible historical data rather than relying on hiring expensive legal staff.

Customers are THAT Much More Important

gps fleet tracking small business

Small businesses naturally have fewer customers than large businesses. In addition, they don’t have as much advertising resources. Hence, small businesses will do everything in their power to delight their current customer base and to spread positive word of mouth.

Use case

Small businesses use GPS tracking to improve customer service. For instance, our client PoppaCorn uses real-time tracking to provide delivery updates to their customers. Real time tracking increases estimate accuracy which in turn increases customer satisfaction.

Employees Wear Many Hats

Small business employees wear multiple hats

Last but not least, small business employees wear many hats. For instance, a small business employee might be responsible for sales, marketing, and customer service. In contrast, larger companies separate those functions into 3 different roles. Hence, small businesses employees are always looking for better time management tools.

Use Case

GPS tracking for small businesses are also used to save time. Many tracking tools provide data and functions that eliminate manual admin work.

A good example is filing fuel tax forms. Normally, a business staff has to keep a record of fuel receipts and odometer readings. On the other hand, vehicle trackers automatically collect that data and generate reports. Hence, employees can spend their time on more important tasks than data entry and reporting.

Conclusion

Vehicle tracking is helpful in small and large businesses. The difference, however, in the nature of business leads to different use cases.

Climate Targets May Result in More Sustainable Fleet Management

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Sustainable fleet management is a forefront industry item because many businesses around the world are going greener. In fact, recently in October 2018, a climate study group advocated that humans need to be greener.

The IPCC & the 1.5 Degree Target

Global warming is a controversial topic. Some people believe that natural cycles caused recent climate change. However, a lot of scientists tend to disagree.

One group of scientists, the IPCC, issued a stark warning about global warming at a UN conference. They explained that humans need to act quickly to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees in the next few decades.

Otherwise, if temperatures continue to climb over 1.5 degrees, scientists warn that there will be irreversible effects. For instance, rising water levels will leave some areas uninhabitable and deadly weather will become more common.

CO2 emissions cut by 45%

In particular, the IPCC noted that governments should aim to cut CO2 emission by 45%. Consequently, a 45% goal can significantly impact heavy fuel users- such as business fleets.

The Case for Sustainable Fleet Management

Nonetheless, many fleets are moving towards sustainable fleet management even without a carbon target. One explanation is taking environmental leadership. However, another reason is reducing business costs.

Multiple studies show that sustainable fleet management leads to business savings. For instance, fleets save directly on fuel costs and indirectly from tax credits.

How do you Implement Sustainable Fleet Management?

After deciding to go green, the next question is often, “How do you do it?”.

Fleets need to work on every area of their operation including purchasing assets, planning operations, and conserving fuel.

Asset Purchasing

The first area is purchasing equipment. Fleets are moving towards fuel efficient ideas such as electric vehicles and solar appliances.

Asset Purchasing

Electric vehicles continue to be a fleet management trend in 2019. The technology is more feasible than ever, and as a result, a lot of fleets are testing the idea to cut fuel costs.

Another alternative is switching to solar appliances. For example, some fleets equip solar panels to power vehicle appliances. According to a study, solar power cuts 3% of fuel during drives and 16% of fuel during idling.

Route Planning

Yet another idea is route planning. Many fleets are combining internal functions into single routes rather than spreading out their trips.

route planning

To illustrate, consider the medical industry. Medical organizations might use vehicles to collect supplies and deliver medical test samples. Rather than sending out two vehicles, businesses are now combining tasks into a single route.

Fuel Conservation

Lastly, fleets are always looking for ways to reduce fuel usage. Some of the traditional ways of reducing fuel include implementing a no-idling policy and monitoring fuel mileage.

In 2018, however, fleets tried new ideas. For example, if you look at trucks on the road, you might notice that some trucks travel in a line. This is on purpose and is called “platooning”. Researchers found that platooned trucks can save up to 10% of fuel, which is a small step towards a 45% target.

Many fleets are adopting sustainable fleet management ideas. It’s a good move for moving green and for saving costs!

Links
United Nations Environment Programme: Rapid and unprecedented action required to stay within 1.5ºC says UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Sustainable Roadmap: Environmental Considerations for Fleet Management

Part 3: Common Useful Reports – Driver Safety Reports

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One of our biggest client request is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, safety managers use driver safety reports to monitor driver safety and train drivers on best practices.

Driver Safety Reports

Safety is a top priority for many fleets because even a single accident can be disastrous. For instance, think about the BP oil spill a few years ago. In this case, an oil rig leaked and caused wide damage. The company paid billions of dollars in fines and saw a consumer backlash in sales.

Similarly, fleet businesses invest heavily into driver safety to prevent accidents. Some of the most common driver safety reports measure include seatbelt violations, Top 5 Speeding Violators, and Top 5 Aggressive Drivers.

Seatbelt Violators

Many people were taught from an early age to wear their seatbelts. Although most people wear seatbelts, there are still a few folks who don’t.

This problem also impacts fleets. Businesses are partly liable for workplace safety so most fleets have seatbelt policies. Fortunately, a lot of these fleets get visibility on seatbelt compliance by using vehicle monitoring tools.

Seatbelt Violators

To illustrate, Geotab uses a Top 5 Seatbelt Violation report to monitor seatbelt compliance. In our example report, the biggest concern is Vehicle 4. As a result of this data, the supervisor knows to follow up with Vehicle 4’s driver on their seatbelt usage.

Top 5 Speeding Report

Another common safety metric is speeding. Speeding is extremely common. For instance, think about the last time you were on the road. How many speeders did you see? Most drivers will answer, “almost everyone on the road!”

Speeding, however, is especially concerning for commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles are much bigger and heavier than private vehicles. Therefore, commercial vehicle accidents are usually more serious than non-commercial vehicle accidents.

top 5 speeding violations

In response, supervisors use driver safety reports such as Top Speeding Violators. In our sample report, Alex leads the fleet in speeding incidents. As a result, his manager has the data to say something like, “Alex, I noticed that you sped a company-leading 144 times. I expect you to decrease that to X speeding incidents next month.”

Top 5 Aggressive Driving

Is speeding the only aggressive driving habit? No. There are tons of other aggressive driving habits. For instance, in Ontario driving tests, assessors watch aggressive habits such as braking harshly, accelerating harshly, and cutting other drivers.

Harsh braking is a particularly common KPI in modern fleets. Managers found a strong correlation between harsh braking incidents and distracted and fatigued driving incidents.

harh braking driving behaviour

In response, a lot of supervisors are now collecting video driving safety reports. Fleet cameras detect aggressive driving habits and show a footage of the event. As a result, managers can check if the driver was distracted or fatigued.

Did you enjoy our mini-series on useful fleet reports? Click here to watch a video on other common driver safety reports. 

Part 2: Common Useful Reports – Maintenance & Fuel Reports

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One of our biggest client requests is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, fleet managers use maintenance & fuel reports to minimize fleet downtime and fleet fuel expenses.

Maintenance & Fuel Reports

Two of the biggest fleet cost drivers are maintenance and fuel. Maintenance cost includes repair and replacement costs, as well as lost productivity. Fuel costs, on the other hand, are predictable operational costs.

Some of the key maintenance & fuel reports include Engine Light Warnings, Fuel Trends, and Idling.

Engine Light Warning

Engine lights are a vehicle’s first indicator for trouble. For instance, engine lights might indicate that a mechanic needs to inspect a vehicle’s engine or air flow. If left unattended, vehicles can encounter major issues and stop working.

However, the issue with many fleets is that some drivers do not report issues. Fleet vehicles ultimately belong to the business and unfortunately, some drivers ignore engine light warnings because it isn’t their personal vehicle.

engine light warning

A useful report in this case is % Days with Engine Light On. This report measures engine light warnings during a given time period. Therefore, even when drivers are not reporting issues, mechanics will still know which vehicles need further checkup.

Fuel Last 3 Months

Another budget controlling initiative outside of controlling maintenance expenses is reducing fuel expense. Fleet managers are responsible for optimizing fuel costs. As a result, many fleet managers plan and implement strategies such as no-idling rules, driver contests, or fuel replacement.

All of those ideas are great. Nonetheless, the key question for many fleet managers and their performance evaluations is, “are my ideas working?”. This is why fleet managers measure and monitor trend reports. These reports are useful because they paint a long term picture of a fleet.

fleet fuel reports

For instance, here is a fuel report for the last 3 months. Overall, the fleet is experiencing lower fuel costs. However, over the past month, there was a slight increase in fuel expense. This is useful information for the fleet manager. Is there an increase because there is more business? Or, should the policies be re-evaluated?

Idling

Speaking of fuel policies, one of the most common and effective ideas is reducing idling. Unfortunately for many fleets, idling is a major concern. For instance, on my way to work, I noticed at least 3 idling vehicles.

In response, a lot of fleet managers create and monitor a zero idling policy. Idling Reports are a great tool for this objective. To illustrate, view the Idling Report above. Fleet managers can use this report to identify idling patterns and follow up with driver coaching.

Enjoyed our blog on maintenance & fuel reports? Check back with us for our next report set – driver safety!