The main duties of fleet managers include choosing the right vehicles, recording fleet data, managing drivers, optimizing efficiency, and many more.
Fleet management would not be possible without a hard-working and dedicated manager. Fleet managers are in charge of holding a fleet together. They oversee every aspect of a business’s fleet and fleet services. Everything from vehicle maintenance and service schedule, to hiring and training new workers is within the scope of a fleet manager’s job.
With modern-day technology, it would be very difficult for fleet managers to complete their jobs by hand. Instead, fleet management software plays a large role in overseeing a fleet and analyzing its capabilities. Managers make use of such software and incorporate data analysis into business planning and goal setting.
A good fleet manager has many duties. As a result, managers need great multitasking and quick decision-making skills. Read on to find out the main duties of fleet managers.
A fleet is made up of many individual vehicles, larger fleets will generally have different models for different purposes. A big part of fleet management is choosing the right vehicles for the business.
A fleet manager must decide on the number of vehicles to invest in based on the amount of starting capital, as well as the size of the team. The manager will also settle on the type of vehicle, or select different models for different purposes. Aspects like mileage and load capacity are important here and depend on the company’s plans.
Good fleet management starts with the manager knowing his fleet properly. This means staying updated on the track records of every vehicle and employee, and logging history and important details into a database.
For example, a manager should easily be able to find the last dates of a specific vehicle’s oil change, or the number of days a given employee worked last month. Keeping information in a central database will ensure that it can be accessed from anywhere. Not only that, but it also prevents loss and damage, and is generally a lot easier to manage.
An important aspect of fleet management is deciding whether the business is ready to own vehicles, or if leasing is more appropriate. Managers consider their current budget, planned income in the coming periods, and also the duration of the business and vehicle usage.
If a business has serious growth plans, then purchasing might be a better choice. On the other hand, if financial circumstances are uncertain and only a small number of vehicles are required, it may be a better fleet management decision to lease.
Fleet management serves many purposes, but the main goal will always be operating the fleet at maximum efficiency. That means staying within budget, reaching as many clients as possible, maintaining vehicles through fleet management strategies, aiming to reach KPIs, and many more aspects.
Managers will need to track driver and vehicle records to keep on track with maintenance. Luckily, fleet management programs allow managers to track all the different aspects of their fleet easily. This makes sure that drivers are safe and vehicles can deliver products and services on time.
Even the most carefully managed fleet will run into problems. That is where a structured protocol will come in handy. Managers must consider the potential scenarios that drivers and vehicles can run into, for example, things like:
By having plans of action for every possible situation, even the most complicated problems can be solved effectively. Drivers need to be clear on handling certain situations, including calling for mobile truck repair in the case of a roadside breakdown or dealing with sudden changes in a given route.
There are many more duties that a fleet manager must face. So much that we probably wouldn’t be able to list them all here. The main point is that effective fleet management starts and ends with the hard work of a dedicated manager. A manager who pays attention to details, thrives under pressure, isn’t afraid of sudden changes, and can handle multiple streams of information at once, is sure to succeed in bettering his or her fleet.
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