The COVID-19 pandemic is changing fleet safety protocols as revealed in my recent survey of commercial fleet managers that identified the top safety challenges currently facing their fleets.
Mobile connectivity, machine learning, and the sharing economy have put tools in the fleet manager’s toolbox that can provide new insights to engage diverse stakeholders within their businesses to drive change across the enterprise.
Each fleet has a DNA of sorts, which is comprised of the procedures and regulations that are codified in its corporate fleet policy. It is these policies that determine the type of fleet that is operated and its characteristics.
Automotive Fleet spoke to the president of two delivery fleets to talk about how this pandemic has affected his daily operations and the challenges he's facing.
Every company has a corporate culture and if you drill down the corporate strata, every department likewise has its own culture that embodies the management philosophy of the department manager.
A great fleet manager constantly conceptualizes new initiatives, is creative in problem-solving, motivates staff and suppliers to excel, and is willing to experiment by implementing new technology-based fleet solutions.
One under-discussed topic is when a fleet vehicle is impounded because it is part of a crime scene and declared by the police to be physical evidence in a criminal investigation.
Running a well-managed fleet is a complex task that requires supervision by someone with deep subject-matter expertise. As a result, a fleet manager’s capabilities and expertise can be easily overlooked by executive management not versed in the intricacies of fleet management.
While there never seems to be enough money to go around, one of the less talked about aspects of fleet management is the amount of budget dollars that are wasted every year.
Many times employees who have an “entitlement mentality” do not have a sense of responsibility to take care of the company asset as if it was their own. This impacts fleet costs. A company vehicle in poor condition because of driver abuse or neglect will result in lost resale value or incur unnecessary reconditioning expense at auction.