One of the most important (and one of the most overlooked) aspects of any fleet-operating business is said business’ vehicle maintenance program. Keeping your fleet in prime condition is essential, as breakdowns and other symptoms of poor maintenance can wreak havoc on your company’s operations. Instituting a regular maintenance schedule for each vehicle can reduce your fleet’s operating costs, improve driver safety, and increase your fleet’s productivity.
In the commercial vehicle fleet industry, compliance with DOT regulations isn’t just a good idea—it’s the law. To avoid time-consuming audits and expensive penalties, it’s important that you and your drivers follow all mandates and regulations issued by the DOT this year. Make an effort to make DOT compliance a goal that your whole fleet works towards. To help, we’ve created the following 2017 DOT compliance checklist for commercial vehicle fleets:
Typical fleet manager responsibilities usually involve establishing a vehicle maintenance program, managing drivers, supervising the fleet’s financial activities, and ensuring overall efficiency. While all of these responsibilities can easily overwhelm some ill-prepared fleet managers, there are many who rise to the occasion and find great ways to optimize their fleets. The following are five things successful fleet managers do to promote fleet efficiency and ensure the safety of the workforce.
When your business depends on long haul vehicles—whether a handful or several convoys—you need a way to keep track of them. From drivers and maintenance to safety and efficiency, any number of factors can impact your outfit’s bottom line, so it’s important to know where your fleet stands.
Since employee morale has a direct impact on the success of a company, owners and fleet managers must keep a close eye. As a fleet manager, you can enlist creative ways to help your drivers celebrate the holidays and give them a morale boost. Check out these simple tactics for helping truck drivers celebrate the holidays while they are on the job.
In a companies that rely on a fleet of vehicles and drivers, fleet managers play a pivotal role. A fleet manager is typically responsible for acquiring and maintaining the fleet, managing vehicle maintenance schedules, and overseeing their employer’s mobile workforce. In any company with a variety of high-value mobile assets, the fleet manager’s role is a crucial one.
As technology has advanced, the role and duties of a fleet manager have changed dramatically. GPS tracking for construction has streamlined the process of tracking vehicles, dispatching drivers to jobs, and fleet management.
We’ve heard a lot about the benefits of adopting electronic logging technology, especially now that the ELD mandate is in effect. What we haven’t heard much about, however, is the potential backlash which could come as a result of this legislation. It is important that fleet managers understand both sides of the narrative so that they can make the best decisions for their fleet.
There are many commercial drivers who aren’t willing to take regular breaks. While this is probably because their to-do list is packed with tasks and they are too busy to make time for a short break, skipping a break to stay productive is no longer a choice for many drivers. With the FMCSA’s 30-minute mandatory break regulation in place, taking short breaks while driving is now required by law. Find out how this affects your fleet.
Female drivers are entering the trucking and transportation industry in record numbers and have more opportunities than ever to work as long-haul drivers. Although male drivers currently dominate the driver pool in the trucking industry, many operations have gradually started attracting more female truck drivers. Is it time for more female drivers to consider truck driving as a career option?