Costs for virtually everything are higher than ever, which means finding ways to increase efficiency and reduce consumption are at the top of every fleet manager’s list. The biggest variable expense of them all? Fuel. That means knowing how to manage fleet fuel costs is a skill that pays for itself on day one.
What does that look like in real life? Scott Thompson used GPS Trackit to make some changes to his routing and increased the number of clients his trucks could visit in a week by more than 20 percent—while spending less overall on fuel. Let’s dive into three tricks and tips that will show you how to manage fleet fuel costs in 2023.
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Route Optimization
Fleet management software like GPS Trackit gives you the power to overlay your vehicle routes onto an easy-to-understand map dashboard. You can immediately create more efficient assignments for each vehicle and reduce the overall miles your trucks travel in a given day or week. Thompson reduced his fuel consumption so much that savings alone paid for the use of the fleet management solution—and that was before taking into account the increased business he could service with more available vehicle and crew hours.
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Improved Driver Behavior
Wondering how to manage fuel costs on the front-line level? Curtailing aggressive driving alone improves fuel efficiency by 40 percent, and reducing idling time by 20 minutes per day can save more than $800 per year per vehicle. What gets measured gets done. Therefore, it’s essential to monitor driver behavior and provide training to drivers on fuel-efficient driving practices. You can also set up driver scorecards that track various metrics such as idling time, harsh acceleration, and driving speed, helping you identify the best and worst-performing drivers. This approach can help you identify trends, determine patterns, and both reward high-achievers and train lesser-performing drivers.
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Maintenance Planning
If driver behavior is the front line, maintenance is behind the scenes—but equally critical when determining how to manage fuel costs. GPS Trackit’s maintenance module connects to each vehicle’s diagnostic computer and gives fleet managers the ability to track a truck’s health. When fuel economy dips, it can often be a sign preventative maintenance is needed. With that information, you can plan for vehicle downtime instead of being stuck when a truck fails out in the field. Doing basic preventative maintenance can save up to 10 percent in fuel costs—and a better long-term maintenance plan can help you extract almost an extra year of effective vehicle life out of your trucks.
To learn more about how GPS Trackit’s fleet management solutions can help you save money, talk to a Fleet Advisor today for a customized quote.
