Fleet Management Meaning

Fleet management is the process of caring for a fleet of vehicles and machinery for public and private businesses. This is useful for monitoring, tracking, and optimizing assets in real-time with the goal of increasing productivity and lowering costs.

Regardless of the size of the fleet, fleet management handles vehicle maintenance, regulation, and optimization, fuel management, driver safety, and route optimization.

In further detail, let’s review fleet management: meaning, benefits and services.

Definition of fleet management

Fleet management services are necessary for companies to control and optimize the use of their vehicles. This is especially true for businesses looking to expand operations.

Implementing a centralized system benefits management looking to use data to inform future decision-making, and workers as fleet management services help to streamline communication between equipment operators and businesses.

What industries use fleet management services?

Fleet management is incredibly useful for many industries, especially construction. From machinery to small fleets, fleet management is essential for a smooth-running operation.

Other industries that use fleet management services include transportation, public transit, and government.

Fleet management services are most useful for construction companies looking to improve their project timelines, monitor the use of equipment and machinery, and reduce operational costs. With real-time updates and notifications, construction companies can have a grasp on where their machines are and how they are being used.

Types of fleet management

Different fleet management services can monitor a variety of different vehicles and machinery, including cars, trucks, planes, trains, and off-road construction vehicles. Services support different functions, including delivery, service, emergencies, construction, and more.

Fleet management services broadly focus on the following services:

• Vehicle monitoring and maintenance
• Asset management and acquisition
• Supply chain management
• Safety compliance
• Fuel management
• Regulatory compliance
• Real-time updates and notifications

Why is fleet management important?

Construction companies and rental equipment depots have several pieces of equipment to keep track of. For many types of construction vehicles and large-scale operations, fleet management is essential to smooth business operations. Without effective management, it can be difficult to keep track of each vehicle and ensure all assets are running optimally.

Not only does fleet management track the vehicles in real time, but it provides service updates, reduces idle time, adheres to a maintenance schedule, and can communicate with operators at the time of an incident. It is also important for monitoring compliance with safety and operations regulations.

For example, a McKinsey report found that fleets connected to telematics-like systems can produce up to 25 gigabytes of data per hour. That is a lot of information being transferred from the job site to the fleet manager.

The focus on fleet management is productivity and cost-saving. It is the project manager that never stops working and can provide an endless stream of data to make better decisions in the future.

What does fleet management service entail?

Fleet management, particularly for construction companies, is typically responsible for the following services:

Increasing productivity and managing downtime

Fleet managers track the use of all vehicles to ensure the completion of services and monitor compliance.

Because construction companies contract so much of their work, management may face challenges with a deregulated system that results in time wasted, reduced productivity and increased costs.

Fleet management offers a solution. The software helps track vehicles, machinery, and equipment in real-time, offering a solution that includes communicating with drivers or optimizing the route.

By creating a centralized system, construction companies can monitor the location, mileage, fuel use, and driver statistics immediately. This insight is beneficial for addressing problems when they occur and reducing the impact on any stakeholders involved.

Manages fleet maintenance

Fleet managers make sure all vehicles comply with regulatory and safety measures. They perform updates and maintenance that protect the vehicle, drivers, and company values.

This is especially helpful for construction companies that use a variety of vehicles, equipment, and machinery. With highly specialized knowledge, fleet management can provide updates on when the fleet needs servicing.

Route planning

Fleet managers plan routes that increase productivity and reduce idle time. In real time, they can communicate new route updates to drivers or changes to the initial delivery of goods and services.

Fuel management

With the use of management software, fleet managers can easily monitor the use of oil, gas, and natural gas for daily function and regulation compliance.

Data collection and analytics

Fleet managers collect data on usage, drivers, routes, fuel, and job compilation.

Artificial intelligence and software can analyze data to make recommendations on how to best forward ‌ for the business. Based on the data, fleet management may recommend changes to route planning and vehicle maintenance to increase productivity and reduce idle time.

Make operational decisions

Fleet management services allow construction companies to optimize fleet performance and enhance customer experience. Real-time monitoring helps fleet managers track machines and vehicles, to ensure ideal performance and reduce idle time.

The notification feature helps to keep all relevant stakeholders aware of any updates to locations, maintenance remainders, delays, and damages. This approach both reduces the risk of time and property theft and increases performance in the business.

Real-time updates also support real-time maintenance. Businesses can say goodbye to

mismanaged maintenance schedules and ill-functioning equipment. Instead, notifications will make sure the correct person is aware of the work that needs to be done at the time it needs to be completed.

Managing the fleet

Fleet management enables both fleet managers and businesses to make informed decisions about the fleet size for optimal operational use. Not only will it provide construction companies with the data to resize or add to their fleet, but it will also provide information on what machines or equipment are being underutilized.

An analysis of machine usage will help executives make decisions on where to direct the future of the business or what equipment to invest in next. This level of data is useful for making decisions that save costs, improve asset utilization, and create a fleet that is useful for projects and clients.

Final Thoughts

Fleet management is essential for construction companies looking to optimize their daily operations and services. With real-time data at the fingertips, there is a tremendous amount of opportunity to increase productivity, and lowers costs and idle time.

Companies will know the ability to optimize maintenance schedules and prioritize worker safety. Plus, real-time data enables a business to prevent unauthorized access, receive notifications, remotely diagnose machines, and address problems when they happen.

Fleet management software is an investment that will save construction companies money and will increase productivity.