ebook best practices Managing Fuel Costs with Networkfleet

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1 ebook best practices Managing Fuel Costs with Networkfleet

2 The Networkfleet Advantage With all indications pointing to persistent higher future fuel prices, a telematics solution that helps you better manage your fuel expenses has never been more necessary. When combined with your internal business policies and goals, Networkfleet is a powerful ally in the fight against high fuel costs. Networkfleet offers a host of functionality tailored towards helping businesses manage their fleet s fuel consumption and better control fuel costs. When Networkfleet is used in combination with your internal policies and oversight, you should expect at 10%-25% decrease in fuel usage from your fleet and the better you manage the program, the bigger the gain. The gains come from: Better driver behavior A change in culture encouraging greater care about fuel usage Improved vehicle maintenance & readiness Fleet MPG increases and total miles traveled decrease giving you the fuel savings you need A Proven Implementation Approach Our customers have found that when Networkfleet is successfully integrated with their own internal business policies and guidelines concerning fuel usage and driver expectations, fuel costs not only decreased but overall fleet fuel efficiency rose accordingly. This was accomplished with the following methodology: Communicate that Networkfleet has been installed and is being used Company newsletter notifications Window stickers on vehicles Communicate and reinforce expectations Company policies towards vehicle usage Idling guidelines Rules governing speeding Implement a reward system Provide incentives to drivers to improve driving behavior Convey to drivers the metrics by which their performance will be evaluated Manage and provide feedback Review results Reward drivers that have demonstrated improvement in key metrics Coach drivers that continue to demonstrate undesired results Publish trends and make it a company initiative Circulate performance metrics to employees and drivers Demonstrate and share periodic results to show improvement and trends The following section on Networkfleet s Six Best Practices will explain in more detail how Networkfleet can help your fleet better control fuel expenses. ebook BEST PRACTICES 2

3 1 Networkfleet s Six Best Practices to Control Fuel Expenses Minimize Idle Time Idling has a significant impact on miles-per-gallon (MPG), because the engine is burning fuel when the vehicle is not moving. Research shows that fuel usage may be reduced up to 15% if idling is significantly reduced. Heavy duty vehicles consume 0.82 gallons of fuel for every hour of idle-time, while light duty vehicles consume up to.5 gallons per hour. Networkfleet offers several methods to help you minimize overall fleet Idle Time. These include real-time alert notifications and reports. Together these can be used to better understand Idling behavior within your fleet, compare month over month progress as well as serve as a powerful tool to coach drivers to better align behavior with business objectives. Idle Time Real-Time Alerts With Networkfleet, you can create real-time notifications when any vehicle in your fleet idles over a designated period of time Notifications can be sent via or SMS text message to one or more recipients. Idle Time Alert Reports In addition to real-time notifications an Idle Time Alert report can be generated. This report will provide a concise summary of all idle time alerts that were triggered over a given time period. The report can be scheduled for automated delivery on a daily, weekly or monthly basis by vehicle or group of vehicles. Managing idle time means managing high idle events. Reduce high idle events, and your MPG will increase. This report will help you track and manage high idle events. ebook BEST PRACTICES 3

4 Idle Time Report Unlike the Idle Time Alert Report which shows instances of excessive idling, the Idle Time Report will show the total amount of idle time for a given period of time. This report will allow you to monitor trends in idle time relative to overall drive time for your fleet. Reducing high idle events using the Idle Time Alerts Report should result in a reduction in total idle time percentage shown on this report. Similar to the Idle Time Alert Report, this report can be scheduled for automated delivery on a daily, weekly or monthly basis by vehicle or groups of vehicles. 2 Reduce Excessive Speeding Aggressive driving can lower highway fuel mileage 33% and city mileage by 5% percent and reducing excessive speeding can save your fleet money immediately. Similar to Idle Time, Networkfleet offers tools to help you reduce excessive speeding occurrences in the form of real time alerts and reports. As with Idle Time, these can be used to monitor trends within your fleet as well as an aid to ensure driver behavior is in harmony with your fleet s policies. Real-Time Speeding Alerts With Networkfleet, you can create real-time notifications when any vehicle in your fleet exceeds a given speed. In fact, different alerts can be sent based on various speeding thresholds that you specify. Notifications can be sent via or SMS text message to one or more recipients. ebook BEST PRACTICES 4

5 Speed Reports Networkfleet offers comprehensive speed reporting with several options and parameters to choose from. Consider setting up the following: Threshold Speed Report for violations over 80 MPH (or whatever threshold makes sense for your operations) to coach drivers on an individual basis. Posted Speed Violation Summary Report to coach drivers on the number of violations over posted speed limit rather than individual violations. Results can be compared month-to-month in order to determine improvement and compliance with business objectives. These reports can be scheduled for automated delivery on a daily, weekly or monthly basis by vehicle or groups of vehicles. ebook BEST PRACTICES 5

6 3 Prevent Unauthorized Vehicle Use Many companies allow their workers to take vehicles home at night, but have policies against using company vehicles for personal driving. Even businesses where the vehicle does not go home at night can have problems with employees using vehicles in an unauthorized fashion during business hours. Any unauthorized or unnecessary vehicle use leads to greater fuel consumption and higher costs. Similar to Speeding and Idle Time, Networkfleet offers a means to help you guard against unauthorized vehicle usage. Geofences With Networkfleet, you can create geofences which are geographic areas that you designate that have a special meaning such as work sites, school zones or operational boundaries. Geofences will help you monitor unauthorized use not only during work hours but after hours as well. Geofence Violation Report The Geofence Violation Report will let you know which vehicles either entered or exited an unauthorized area. This report will allow you to consult with drivers and remind them of operational policies regarding the use of fleet vehicles. As with other reports, this report can be scheduled for automated delivery. ebook BEST PRACTICES 6

7 Begin-End of Day Report To determine if vehicles are where they should be at the start and end of the work day, Networkfleet allows you to run a Begin-End of Day Report. This report will show you the starting and ending location of your vehicles for a given date and time range. It allows you to consult with drivers and remind them of operational policies regarding the use of fleet vehicles. As with other reports, this report can be scheduled for automated delivery. Real-Time Odd Hours Use & Geofence Alerts Odd Hours alerts can be created to alert you the instant a vehicle is used during a prohibited time frame. Similarly, a geofence violation alert can be established to make you aware of any vehicle traveling into a designated area or to a given location. Notifications can be sent via or SMS text message to one or more recipients. 4 Improved & More Efficient Routing For many businesses, each day brings new challenges. Work orders change, new priorities arise, field personnel finish early or fall behind, while high value customers call wanting immediate service. Knowing where your fleet is at any given moment is crucial to addressing those business issues that arise during the workday. Improving routing, even if only by a small percentage, can have a significant positive impact on fuel usage. Two ways to accomplish this with Networkfleet are shown below. Closest Vehicle & Garmin Routing Networkfleet can automatically determine the closest vehicle to a given job site or any location on the map. Based on this, the system will provide turn by turn directions to the selected destination. Further, Networkfleet offers it s CONNECT Garmin integration extending routing a driving directions directly to the driver in the vehicle. ebook BEST PRACTICES 7

8 Jobs Management & Dispatch CONNECT functionality also offers a Jobs management and Dispatch capability allowing you to schedule and organize job assignments for maximum efficiency. Jobs can be queued in advance for the current day or any day in the future. 5 Leverage Engine Diagnostics to Cut Costs Vehicles with maintenance and engine related issues tend to experience lower MPG. Networkfleet s diagnostic tools can help you proactively maintain your vehicles, increase vehicle performance as well as reduce fuel and repair costs. Detailed Engine Diagnostic Data By evaluating engine diagnostic information, you can ensure that your vehicles are operating within manufacturer tolerances. Should your vehicle be experiencing a mechanical issue, the diagnostic data will serve as a valuable resource for identifying likely causes reducing the down-time of the vehicle. ebook BEST PRACTICES 8

9 6 Verify Fuel Expenditures The use of fuel cards and fleet management systems allows for more control and accuracy in calculating operational expenses. Networkfleet s Fuel Guard Report can help! It compares the location and time the fuel was purchased with the vehicle location and time to expose fraud. Fuel Transactions & Fuel Guard Reporting The Fuel Card Transactions Report shows all fuel transactions undertaken for a definable time period as well as details regarding those transactions, including location, gallons, and total cost. The Fuel Guard Report provides information for fleet managers to compare the location and time the fuel was purchased with the vehicle location and time to determine if the proper vehicle was being fueled or if there was a potential fraud event. Testing the Results Thus far we have outlined several ways Networkfleet can assist you in reducing wasted fuel use and controlling fuel costs. The last step is the ability to test if your implementation strategy and leveraging the capabilities of Networkfleet are working and having an impact. Among others, there are two ways this can be measured. Fuel Usage & MPG Report With a successful implementation of company policies in conjunction with Networkfleet, we would expect to see fuel usage decline and the average MPG increase over time. This report will allow you to track the trends and the effect of the program over time. ebook BEST PRACTICES 9

10 Fleet Utilization Networkfleet offers a Fleet Utilization Report which tracks miles driven and trips conducted. One or both of the following can happen when a fleet starts to more keenly manage their drivers by implementing the best practices described above: The number of trips will increase indicating that more work is being done. Miles driven can decrease indicating more efficient usage and less unauthorized use. Ideally, we would want to see fuel usage reduced as productivity increases. This means that more work is being done with less fuel being consumed. The Fleet Utilization report is a powerful tool to monitor trends over time and to determine the incremental increases in productivity your implementation strategy is having on your business. conclusion Reducing fuel costs and improving overall fuel efficiency within your business requires a combination of clear policies and guidelines as well as the technology to help monitor and report on their progress and effectiveness. When used in conjunction with your internal procedures, Networkfleet is a potent weapon in the fight against excessive fuel expenses. With Networkfleet you will not only be able to better manage fuel consumption but also work towards maximizing overall fuel efficiency across your entire fleet. For more information on how Networkfleet can help your business, call ebook BEST PRACTICES 10