Usually, managers tend to be more reactive than they are proactive. This is not the proper way to manage a fleet. Instead, for one to run a successful fleet, it takes a lot of proactive planning. There are a lot of adjustments and continual improvements that a manager needs to make on a regular basis to maintain the fleet in good shape.
What is Proactive Planning?
Proactive fleet planning to take tasks head-on instead of reacting to situations around you. This will insulate you and your business from a lot of market influences as well. It can be difficult to run a business when there is chaos all around you. That is where proactive planning comes into play. It involves addressing tasks way before they turn into problems. You want a proactive plan that enables you to accommodate market fluctuations without being backed into a corner.
You Run a Reliable Fleet
Imagine the amount of money you lose when a single truck from your fleet breaks down. There is a lot of money lost in repairs and in missed opportunities. At the end of the day, your business will be less productive, and you will have to deal with:
● Repair costs
● Drivers sitting around with no work
● Decline in productivity
If you maintain your fleet properly, you won’t have to deal with a lot of mechanical issues. This is why you need to stay on top of your vehicle maintenance requirements, as this is an essential part of fleet management. It will help you ensure that more vehicles stay on the road.
Lower Maintenance Costs
You may not fully understand how proactive fleet planning can lead to lower maintenance costs. However, if you think about it, whenever you take preventative measures, you save a lot of money. Maintenance is generally cheaper than repair because, in most instances, when things are broken, you’ll end up needing to replace a lot of parts. For instance, an oil change is less costly than having your engine damaged because of low oil levels. Apart from that, delaying an oil change can lead to a lot of shorter vehicle engine lifespans. At the end of the day, you will be faced with changing out worn-out pistons or cleaning out clogged engines.
Lower Fuel Costs
When you take time to plan things ahead and attend to all your maintenance requirements, you will find that a lot of money will be saved in fuel costs. For instance, changing filters and making oil changes on time can help you boost your miles per gallon.
Another essential factor that contributes to saving fuel is wheel and tire maintenance. In fact, properly maintaining your wheels and tires has been shown to result in a 40% boost in fuel economy. This can be highly beneficial to commercial fleets. When you save on fuel, your operations will be way more profitable.
Fleet Safety
Another reason why proactive fleet planning is important is that it enables you to maintain fleet safety. There are a lot of things that should be maintained, and ignoring them is just asking for trouble. For instance, you need to constantly check if you need to replace or fix things like tires, coupling devices, and brakes. Research shows that many accidents usually occur because of problems with the truck’s brake. Accidents that occur because of this are way more than those caused by driver fatigue.
Proactive fleet planning is all about thinking ahead. You don’t need to do certain tasks just because you have been backed up in a corner. Things like brake failure can be avoided if you take time to plan things and attend to maintenance tasks before they turn into real costly problems.