Fleet managers: Tips to minimise the impact of the recession on fleet costs

As a fleet manager, you’re likely always looking for strategies to cut costs and improve efficiency. However, with the current cost-of-living crisis across the UK, these concerns have likely become even more urgent.

In tough economic times, businesses need to be especially mindful of their expenses and find ways to minimise costs wherever possible. So here at CheckedSafe, we’ve got our heads together and compiled the following five tips to help you reduce your costs and keep some change in your pockets.

1. Plan your routes

When it comes to saving fuel, taking the most direct route is usually the most sensible option. By planning routes carefully, fleet managers can reduce fuel consumption, vehicle wear and tear, and driver fatigue.

However, it’s important to be aware of obstacles such as low bridges that can lead to costly fines, vehicle damage, and accidents. Therefore, it’s essential for fleet managers to also take into account the height of their vehicles and any potential cargo they may be carrying when planning routes.

GPS navigation systems are a great way to plan routes effectively, as they typically take into consideration factors such as traffic congestion, road closures and other delays. By using a GPS navigation system – fleet managers should be able to reduce the amount of time vehicles spend on the road, reducing fuel consumption.

2. Hypermiling

Hypermiling is another strategy that can be used to reduce fuel consumption in large fleets. It is the art of maintaining movement by looking ahead at the road conditions to reduce the need for excessive acceleration or sharp breaking.

If you’ve got a fleet of drivers that tend to accelerate excessively past red lights or make sudden and sharp brakes, let them know that they’re putting additional strain on the vehicle and using excessive fuel consumption.

Common hypermiling techniques include reducing speed, avoiding sudden acceleration and harsh braking, and maintaining a safe following distance. It goes without saying that drivers should always prioritise safety and follow traffic laws whilst using hypermiling techniques -but it’s certainly something to have a conversation about.

3. Carry out regular vehicle checks

Another great way to minimise fleet management costs is to ensure that your drivers are carrying our frequent and consistent vehicle checks. Little things, such as having under-inflated tyres, will cause the vehicle’s rolling resistance to be increased. Therefore, using more fuel and energy.

Proper planning is also important when it comes to managing your fleet. Taking into account potential obstacles like bridges and overpasses before starting a journey is critical. Checking your vehicles height before hitting the road can help prevent costly accidents and delays.

In addition, regular vehicle checks give you the opportunity to identify any potential issues before they become more significant problems, reducing the likelihood of having to pay for costly repairs or breakdowns.

4. Implement Preventative Maintenance

Preventative Maintenance is another key strategy for minimising your fleet costs. By proactively maintaining vehicles, as a fleet manager, you can reduce the likelihood of breakdowns and extend the lifespan of your vehicles. This can help to reduce repair costs and downtime, as well as improve the reliability of your fleet.

The best way to implement preventative maintenance? A comprehensive maintenance schedule, ideally managed digitally. We happen to know a pretty good platform for this ourselves, actually… *ahem*

5. Employing good drivers

This one might sound obvious, but ensuring you’re hiring a great fleet is key to keeping your fleet management costs as low as possible. A great driver will typically already be planning their routes, driving efficiently, and carrying out regular vehicle checks.

A great way to ensure your driver is up to scratch? Carrying out regular Driving Licence Checks. As fleet managers, it’s crucial to be aware of any previous driver offences that could put your business in jeopardy, check the number of points on their licence, and ensure they have the correct licence for their role (i.e. full, copy, HGV or professional).

You’re likely to spend much more money in the long run if you have to find out the hard way that your new recruit has a chequered licence.

CheckedSafe Fleet Management

To conclude, if you’re feeling the pinch this year – you’re certainly not alone. It’s a challenging time for many businesses and fleet managers across the UK.

But if you’ve been looking for ways to do things differently in your fleet – now might be the right time for you to take advantage of the CheckedSafe 30-Day Free trial.

Our innovative technology allows your drivers to carry out customisable checks on their vehicles, manage Preventative Maintenance Inspections (PMI), issue job cards, store documents, verify driving licences and push messages to your fleet and workforce.

Sound good to you? Give us a call on 01282 908429 or drop us a message here! We’d love to chat all things fleet management and vehicle compliance!