Figuring out your fleet

As you look to grow your business, you may be evaluating several tools and strategies to help accomplish your goals. With increasing pressures such as rising fuel costs and narrowing margins, business owners always are looking for new ways to generate operational efficiency without increasing costs. If you don't already use fleet management software, it should be on your horizon for 2014.

Drive down fuel costs

Fuel always will be an unavoidable expense for a business that relies on a fleet. And as a roofing contractor, you probably have a heightened interest in keeping your fuel costs as low as possible. Not only do you have multiple vehicles that rely on gasoline to service customers, but you also have the responsibility of ensuring drivers are making the most efficient use of the vehicles.

Driving habits can seriously affect fuel usage. Speeding can be dangerous not only for those on the road, but also for business costs. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), fuel economy rapidly decreases at speeds above 50 mph. You can assume each 5 mph driven above 50 mph is equivalent to paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas. It may seem insignificant, but this wasted fuel can add up and become a big financial drain with no return.

Rapid acceleration and harsh braking also contribute to reduced fuel economy. Fleet management technology can provide the necessary information to make changes about the way fleet vehicles are operated. Many solutions offer driver scoring to identify which employees are the most aggressive on the road. Once it's identified where fuel is slipping through the cracks, steps can be taken to ensure fuel isn't being wasted.

Vehicle idling is perhaps the most notable cause of wasted fuel. DOE says idling can use anywhere from one-fourth to one-half of a gallon of gas per hour. One of my company's customers, M.L. Wismer Distributing, Baytown, Texas, notes it saves 4 1/2 gallons of gas per week, per vehicle by lowering idle times and driving smarter. The company is able to save $2,835 per month on fuel alone within its 60-vehicle fleet.

Fleet management also can improve routing practices. The technology, for example, can allow a fleet manager to contact a driver if a route or job site has changed. Many states now have a ban on using hand-held devices while operating a vehicle. Regardless of state law, allowing drivers to look up directions while driving is dangerous for those on the road and for the driver. A dispatcher can call a driver and provide a route if necessary via a hands-free phone.

By cutting costs as a result of unnecessary fuel usage, a company can allocate those saved funds to other areas of the business while planning for growth and boosting the bottom line.

Controlling payroll processes

Payroll can be a mess for a company's administrative department when there are numerous workers and overtime hours being logged. A quality fleet management solution can simplify the process. In addition to decreasing manual paperwork for administrative staff, time sheets that are automatically created based on engine-on and engine-off times can be more accurate.

Without vehicle reporting, many businesses rely on staff to manually track hours worked, which can be time-consuming and lead to all kinds of clerical errors. High-end fleet management software provides reporting for actual start and finish times, hours worked, days worked, average daily hours and weekly totals. This kind of report can be emailed to the fleet manager for approval daily or weekly, depending on preference.

Beyond streamlining payroll processes, employees also become more productive when they are routed better and save more time on the road. This leads to less overtime payout.

Abe Moore, service manager for Lane Plumbing and Heating in Alamogordo, N.M., was able to use fleet management to cut back on overtime pay.

"We have reduced overtime hours because my drivers are more productive throughout the day," Moore says. "We've saved at least 20 hours per week on payroll, which will save us more than $20,000 this year."

Gain valuable intelligence

Many business owners who already have a fleet-tracking solution will tell you they simply can't imagine managing a fleet without it. Of all the features and benefits it boasts, the business intelligence gained is the most valuable.

A useful fleet management solution will allow you to see a snapshot of your fleet upon login in a dashboard format. This dashboard screen can provide you with updated information about drivers, vehicles and other factors that can help shape a fleet manager's daily workload. Productivity and overall efficiency can increase when this information is readily available in real time.

It also is important to choose a fleet-tracking solution that offers a vast array of reporting options suitable for your business. For example, a roofing contractor would be interested in a report that can show how much time was spent at a certain job site. Fleet management software will allow you to save customer site information; when reviewing reports, it is easy to see when a driver arrived at "Joe Smith's Building," how much time was spent there and when the driver departed for the day.

Additionally, reporting can show whether a driver is making unauthorized stops before and after assigned work hours.

Reports can be accessed via a cloud-based website, so a fleet manager can access vehicle information anywhere on a mobile device.

Fleet management also offers automatic, preset alerts that will let you know immediately when something is amiss within the fleet. Alerts can be sent to a mobile phone via text or email and are saved in the cloud so you have a record of them. An idling alert can let you know when a vehicle has surpassed a preset idling threshold. Another useful feature would be an alert that shows when a vehicle is going over a posted speed.

Jerry Ladner, fleet manager for Advanced Roofing Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Fla., uses fleet management technology to track his fleet to ensure his team is working efficiently in the field.

"I want to know when drivers get to and leave jobs, how long they are idling and whether they are speeding," Ladner says. "All this is monitored by fleet management technology. I can set the reports and alerts to specifically focus on those key points."

An alert that identifies when a vehicle is being used outside of a specific time frame can inform you of unauthorized use.

According to October 2013 data from consulting firm FreightWatch, Austin, Texas, cargo and commercial vehicle theft activity is increasing and the average cost per incident is $154,866.

This type of tracking can help stop the use of company vehicles for side jobs and increase the chance of recovery in the event of a theft. With a fleet-tracking alert, you will find out immediately when a vehicle is taken off the premises and be able to see where it stopped along the way.

Improving customer service

As online communities grow, a customer's experience with any company is under more scrutiny than ever before. A bad service experience can be instantaneously broadcast via social media, putting a company's brand at risk of serious damage. When researching options for roofing services, a homeowner or building owner most likely will turn to online reviews when making a decision. Keeping up with customer expectations is important not only for current customers, but also for future business.

With an effective fleet management strategy, you can spend less time calling employees for status updates because you easily can see where everyone is and how long they've been there. In the event of traffic or construction, a fleet manager can call ahead to a customer to let him or her know the driver is delayed. More accurate estimated time arrivals can help create a better experience for customers while improving customer relationships.

Vehicle tracking technology also provides historical proof of service. A customer always will appreciate working with a business that keeps accurate records and is accountable.

Reduce maintenance

Any mechanic can tell you vehicles that receive regular care and maintenance operate more efficiently and with better fuel economy than neglected vehicles. In a service industry such as roofing where vehicles are constantly on the go, there is a greater likelihood of serious wear and tear on fleet vehicles and the chances of a vehicle breakdown increase.

Fleet management technology can help keep track of vehicle maintenance, increasing the life expectancy of fleet vehicles. A fleet manager can set individual alerts per vehicle based on calendar time, engine-on time or mileage depending on the service.

A properly maintained fleet can help save you money by keeping healthy vehicles on the job.

A beneficial tool

For the minimal cost required to get a fleet management system (about $40 per vehicle per month) running in your fleet, the benefits far outweigh the expense. The technology helps companies of all sizes to significantly increase mobile workforce and fleet productivity, safety and security while decreasing costs related to fuel consumption, unauthorized use, payroll discrepancies and more. Fleet intelligence will empower you with the knowledge and tools necessary to keep customers satisfied, outpace competitors and put more money in your pocket.

Todd Ewing is director of product marketing for Fleetmatics, co-headquartered in Waltham, Mass., and Dublin, Ireland.