The workforce of a fleet is what defines its network. Simultaneously, the health of the vehicles, a large clientele, and the safety of the goods play a prominent part; the people behind the scenes are what drive the company forward.
Over the last decade, the shift to technological alternatives has made reliable fleet management achievable. The use of automation and tech does not aim to replace human work but to cut down the burden and yield better results. These are tools and services that ensure that the fleet runs longer and healthier.
Man-made machines and software are designed to work at the top of their functionality at all times. As compared to an overworked person, a machine will never experience fatigue, boredom, or dishonesty. These one-time investments promote excellence in the business.
What Are The Benefits Of Tech?
The advantages of technological upgrades are very apparent in the modern world. Before we dive into how it can help your business, let’s address the most straightforward benefits of switching to automation.
Firstly, automation aids better safety for your workforce. The use of automation can help monitor the working staff and prompt the team if there are any dangers or threats. The shipment’s safety onboard and at the warehouse are reassured with the use of electronic and automation features like cameras and trackers.
Automation is also the best way to derive maximum productivity and timeliness from your crew. This trait will ensure their time is put to good use and spent only on doing profit-yielding tasks. A computer can do mundane (yet necessary) tasks like filing entries and calculations.
These benefits ensure better job satisfaction for your staff and secure employee retention. A workforce that is not overworked will do their job more diligently. Automation also gives your organization a shallow margin for error across all domains.
These upgrades will inevitably allow the company to meet deadlines, satisfy clients, and churn better profits. More than 68% of fleet service companies that moved to automation noticed a significant spike in revenues and higher customer acquisition rates.
Who Does The Fleet Technology Help?
Considering it’s a broad spectrum of utility, we understand that fleet technology can help you in more than one way. Let’s understand it’s practical applications to a fleet workforce:
Fleet Drivers
The drivers in the fleet are responsible for the physical movement of the fleet. Be it a logistics company or a shuttle service – the drivers ensure that the fleet is always in motion. The use of an automated ELD compliance system (also called electronic logging devices) and other fleet management software will help clock the hours of operation of the drivers. This feature will keep the driver safe and ensure they are driving within the legal limits.
Other technologies like a dual-facing dash camera can help monitor the driver and trigger a warning if there is a reason for concern. Some advanced dash-cameras also assist the driver with on-road obstacles and maneuver complicated turns.
Other specialties like speed governance systems, automated door locks, passenger-facing cameras, blind-spot cameras, etc. all make the driver’s duties very convenient.
Ground Labor
Technological additions can help the fleet manager better organize the ground staff. Using the tracking information of the moving fleet, the work time and man-power requirements can be planned. The tracking of ground staff working hours is possible using biometric and IoT scanners.
The use of motion-detection devices and warehouse cameras can enhance the staff’s safety and make it easier for the manager to monitor their behavior. RFID tags are a fast and convenient way to scan a shipment and maintain automated logs.
Fleet Manager
The role of a fleet manager is highly strenuous. He/she is responsible for keeping a tab on all the moving parts, inventory tracking, managing logs, and maintaining communication with the organization heads and clients. With so many tasks dependent on a single person, the possibility of errors also increases.
The use of fleet management software will ensure that the workload of the manager is better distributed. A fleet management system is a single dashboard that consolidates all the data a manager needs to a particular point. With the click of a few buttons, the manager can better supervise the entire fleet.
The fleet manager’s job is to keep a check on parameters like miles clocked, fuel consumption, engine health, and service & maintenance. Monitoring all of these variables can be from the same dashboard, as it saves time and promises improved accuracy.
Client Servicing
We can look at client satisfaction as a two-fold process. The first is to keep the client up to speed on their shipments and have zero doubts about the safety or integrity of goods. This process can be done using a global positioning system device. The unit will feed the fleet’s real-time position to the dashboard, which can reflect on the website for the client to see.
If we take the example of a shuttle fleet — the use of app-based booking, live-tracking, and computer-generated route maps are all tools that will encourage more users to opt for your service.
The second aspect is assuring quality service. The fleet management software is a goldmine of information that stores a permanent log of the fleet in usable data. This data can help generate sophisticated analytics and find problem points in the network. This method will, in turn, help the organization make positive transformations.
Final Thoughts,
These technological advancements help the workforce on the field, they also help the people working behind-the-scenes. For example, a top-of-the-line, tech-enabled fleet will pay lesser insurance costs, and assist the fleet-owner and attorneys if there are any accidents.
Marketing a company that has high-end qualities is much more convenient. All tech has practical benefits; we cannot ignore the emotional and mental triggers it can generate in customers’ minds.
Some advanced fleet software also helps the management plan the route of the fleet using automated mapping software. This helps the organization make the most use of the fleet and eliminate the chances of zero-load transits.
The investment in all of these technologies is a one-time cost that will give you a lifetime of benefits €”a small price to pay for a happy, healthy, and efficient workforce.
