The global fleet management market is growing at an exponential rate. However, many people are unfamiliar with what fleet management encompasses.
What do fleet-management companies do? A fleet management software company in the construction industry, like Trackunit, offers a unified platform for infrastructure and data orchestration to connect processes, people, and assets for downtime elimination and higher productivity.
Here’s a detailed overview of what this means.
What is fleet management?
A ”fleet’ is a group of vehicles and equipment engaged in the same activity and a singular entity often owns the whole fleet.
Fleet management is the management of vehicles and equipment in a way that they run effectively, within budget, and on time for optimal efficiency. Regardless of the sector, public and private industries manage their fleets through a centralized platform. Fleet management usually has the following components:
- People: The fleet management company is the entity that oversees the efficient functioning and performance of the fleet.
- Technology: Examples of technology used in fleet management include dash cameras, GPS, telematics, vehicle sensors, and fleet management software.
- Data: It includes all the information fleet management technology collects, such as driver behavior and vehicle performance.
Which industries use fleet management?
Every industry that provides some sort of service with vehicles uses fleet management. Some examples are food delivery, landscaping, public transportation, package delivery and courier, emergency services, and construction.
In the construction industry, fleets are made up of off-road equipment and heavy-duty vehicles, such as cranes, bulldozers, tractors, pavers, backhoes, and excavators. Every vehicle is required at a particular time in the construction project and has an individual use case.
Fleet management in the construction industry involves general upkeep and maintenance of these vehicles, forecasting, compliance, automation, and security. Well-managed operations reduce downtime, improve budgeting and invoicing, and secure operations.
What does a fleet management company do?
A fleet management company uses software and hardware solutions to help fleet-using organizations manage their vehicles and equipment. Here are some services a fleet management company may provide.
Equipment tracking
Research has found that 4,938 minutes are wasted on construction sites due to the unavailability of the right information at the right time. Not knowing where a certain machine or vehicle is at a particular time can waste time locating that fleet component.
Fleet management platforms enable users to locate vehicles and equipment at any time. Besides equipment, you can also track your inventory to stay a step ahead in planning and budgeting.
These platforms also allow you to improve customer experience by sharing location insights with your clients. Plus, you can create custom alerts for the departure and arrival of equipment on different job sites to monitor their movement seamlessly.
Utilization tracking
Fleet management companies take the guesswork out of knowing where your fleet is and what your vehicles are doing at any given time. Instead, their platform lets you monitor your fleet’s utilization in real-time to manage productivity and costs.
These platforms also offer equipment utilization insights you can leverage for efficient asset planning. For instance, if a vehicle is under-utilized, you can move it to a different job site that requires its services.
Process automation
Automation is working its way into every industry and use case – fleet management is no different. However, many stakeholders are unfamiliar with automation technology.
That’s where fleet management companies step in to help you automate menial tasks. Let’s take maintenance scheduling as an example.
Instead of relying on manual maintenance checks, fleet management companies use advanced programming. It captures different performance indicators of a vehicle, such as speed, oil pressure, fuel rate, engine speed, boost pressure, and coolant pressure to determine if a vehicle requires servicing.
Fleet security
The last thing a construction manager wants is equipment theft, especially if the vehicles have been rented. Fleet management software simplifies fleet security for construction managers and or rental companies by letting them track and monitor fleets.
The software notifies you of unauthorized movement on one or all job sites to ensure a swift response. They also let you set access controls to allow specific individuals to operate the equipment, reducing the risk of unauthorized use.
Performance reporting
Fleet management software collects a ton of data, including metrics like idle time, vehicle usage, and fuel consumption. These metrics give you adequate information to make better decisions for your fleet.
This information can then be analyzed and used for future budgeting and informing equipment purchases or rentals for other projects.
What to look for in fleet management software company
Every fleet management company will have different services and industry specializations. The first step in selecting a fleet management company is to ensure it fits your industrial needs and standards.
Second, ensure the company and software have a proven track record. Request testimonials, read reviews about the software online, and check their credibility and credentials.
It’s also important that the company’s tools are customizable for your needs. Look for an all-in-one solution, like Trackunit, for example, to avoid installing multiple tools and spending too much time on onboarding.
Final words
A fleet management company lets you monitor your equipment remotely, even if your fleet is deployed across multiple job sites. You can also maximize fleet security, get insights for data-driven decision-making, reduce costs, and receive real-time notifications about your fleet’s whereabouts and performance.
Selecting the right fleet management company is key to getting all these benefits. Spend time researching different companies and opt for the one that best meets your specific needs.