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Fleet FAQ

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Q. What is a good utilization rate?

A. Fleet utilization can be measured in many ways. It is essential to understand how and when your vehicles are being used. The days of managing only an odometer value are behind us (unless that’s all we possibly have to work with). With a clear understanding of how vehicles are being used, you’ll have a clear understanding of whether there is potential to eliminate vehicles through initiatives such as pooling of vehicles or using a more cost-effective method (rather than owning an assigned vehicle). One you understand how they are used, you’ll know which vehicles are not-in-play, e.g. emergency response, trades vehicles, etc.

What can you count and manage?

  • Utilization rates (%) for each class of vehicle at each site
  • Utilization rates (# of trips) for each class of vehicle at each site
  • # of idle vehicles for each class of vehicle at each site
  • # of vehicles unavailable per day due to maintenance activity
  • Maximum vehicles out each day by class at each site

Tracking utilization for each class and each site is important. By understanding by class, rather than just the total utilization rate of your fleet, you are better able to change the class of vehicles you use over time. And, when you understand utilization by site, you can better shuffle vehicles across locations to meet demand where demand exists. Utilization is a big topic, so for more indepth information, download our ebook The Ultimate Guide to Fleet Utilization and Achieving a Right-Sized Fleet.

Expert Bio

Answered by : Ed Smith

President of Agile Fleet

Ed Smith is an expert in fleet right-sizing and vehicle sharing, with extensive program management and systems engineering experience in the fleet industry. Mr. Smith has been a featured speaker at numerous fleet industry events, and has been frequently quoted in Government Fleet Magazine and FleetSolutions Magazine on right-sizing and other topics. Along with NAFA Fleet Management Association, he is co-author of the popular e-book, the Ultimate Guide to Fleet Utilization and Achieving a Right-Sized Fleet.

Ed Smith is an expert in fleet right-sizing and vehicle sharing, with extensive program management and systems engineering experience in the fleet industry. Mr. Smith has been a featured speaker at numerous fleet industry events, and has been frequently quoted in Government Fleet Magazine and FleetSolutions Magazine on right-sizing and other topics. Along with NAFA Fleet Management Association, he is co-author of the popular e-book, the Ultimate Guide to Fleet Utilization and Achieving a Right-Sized Fleet.

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