Fleet Success: Resource Efficiency

Defining Resource Efficiency

As perhaps the most straightforward of the Four Pillars of Fleet Success, we define Resource Efficiency as “Making the best use of your two most finite resources – time and money.”

While we would all love an unlimited supply of time and money, we all have budgets, and we all are limited by the same amount of time each day. Because of this, it’s essential to make the most out of the time and money we do have.

Why Does Resource Efficiency Matter?

The most important resource at your fleet operation is your staff. If your team is not productive and is not using its time wisely, you will not be able to make your fleet operation more efficient.

Ways To Increase Productivity

How efficient are the processes your staff follows? The way your team works could be costing you valuable time – and money.

One way to determine this is to track your technicians’ time. How much time are they spending on specific jobs? And how does this compare to standard repair times for that job? If your technicians are way over the industry standard, then you can identify training needs.

You can also watch how your team works. How often are your techs running to the parts room? How much time do they spend waiting for others to return tools? Are they walking out of their way to get the air hose? By watching – and even diagramming – how your team works you can identify efficiencies to cut their time on jobs. Simply moving items around the shop, or creating a process where they gather all parts before starting the job, can make them more efficient.

Other Areas To Improve

As you know, there are countless areas to add efficiencies to at your fleet operation. Some other areas where you can identify inefficiencies may include:

• Your parts room: Is your parts room organized? Can technicians easily find parts? Is it easy to identify what is in-stock and what needs to be re-ordered? Organizing your parts room can resolve a lot of wasted time and money.
• Your fuel usage: As we all know, fuel can be extremely expensive. Because of that, any wasted fuel can quickly impact your budget. To reduce wasted fuel, monitor each vehicle’s usage, and track how often drivers are refueling – and where. This can help identify bad driving behaviors (like idling), and can reveal if drivers are using vehicles for personal use.
• Your technology: Using technology like a telematics solution or fleet management software can help your fleet operation flag inefficiencies. This will help you take action and make the needed changes.