Shop around for the best fleet management deal
April 8th 2010 In the boom years the answer to keeping the warehouse ticking over at a high rate of knots often lay in buying more trucks. Buy now, pay later, get the shipment out.
Post-boom there is arguably an over-supply of trucks in the market, and most warehouse and fleet managers are keen to optimise and utilise what they have before buying more.
With careful handling, trucks can sometimes well exceed what would have been expected to be a reasonable lifetime a few years ago. Fleet management tools, by providing information to managers on the performance of trucks, and allowing managers to set policies to operate them better, can be useful in extending the life of vehicles.
This is something many lift truck manufacturers, and a number of specialist firms, are investing in, so it pays to shop around for the best deal for your company, if this is a road you decide to go down.
Fleet management tools are a relatively simple idea. On-truck sensors relay information wirelessly to a server and managers can view this information on a console before making decisions about how the truck is used.
Such systems can educate managers on accident hot spots, ensure trucks do not stray into unauthorised zones, ensure only authorised personnel start trucks up and that they carry out appropriate safety checks before being allowed to start work.
Cleverly some technologies can also allow the manager to ‘talk’ directly to the truck from the PC, imposing speed limits, setting automatic shut-downs after a certain duration of idle time etc.
However, these tools are not simple technology fixes and require the investment of time on the part of management to be understood and wielded effectively.
But if they ‘do what they say on the tin’, these tools can boost truck lifetime, enhance health and safety, conserve fuel, and cut repair costs among other benefits.
The tools are being marketed at all fleet sizes, although I believe benefits grow with larger fleet sizes. Arguably warehouse owner occupiers with only one or two trucks will have already enjoy good intuitive grasp of how their trucks perform and will have relatively little to gain in terms of cost savings.
A well implemented fleet management tool will help you make the most of what you have. This is a mantra the whole nation is getting to grips with at the moment and it is a wise response to budget constraint. But it is still important to prioritise key areas. In our news section, we report on some serious accidents that have occurred in the warehouse and it is vital that companies set the time and money aside to do all they can to avoid these incidents. The consequences of not doing so can be dire, not just in human terms, but also for the bottom line.
Simon Duddy, Editor
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