strategicinsight LIFT TRUCK FLEET MANAGEMENT
operation in one state is paying twice as much [for mainte-nance] as someone two states over—and both of them
think they’re getting a good deal because they don’t have a
yardstick to measure against,” he says.
Centralized review and decision making, in concert
with local managers, will help to ensure that
data analysis and the resulting decisions
are sound, says Adams. Central oversight
will also compensate for fleet managers’
varying degrees of experience, which can
influence asset decisions. “The word
‘objectively’ comes to mind,” he says.
fast could disrupt operations and elicit pushback from
employees. Raymond’s LaFergola suggests starting with
small initiatives that require little effort or change, and then
moving on to broader efforts.
Don’t start those big projects without all the neces-
sary data in hand, though. “In order
for you to properly analyze the fleet,
you have to look at it over your com-
pany’s business cycle,” LaFergola says.
“When you optimize, analyze at least
six months, including the busiest time
of the year, but a full year of data that
lets you see the ebb and flow of busi-
ness is better.”
For a multifacility implementation,
conducting a pilot program at one
warehouse or DC will help users nar-
row the scope of the project, establish pre-
launch and launch plans, work out any
bugs, and set benchmarks for con-
sistency, McKean says. He also sug-
gests putting together a policy and
procedures manual based on that
experience. “Now you have a template you can take and roll
out to other facilities,” he says. “It reduces risk.”
4Properly prioritize information. Information overload, a common worry among users, can discourage people from making full use of the
software’s many capabilities. One way to
prevent that is to clearly define each user’s
roles and responsibilities, and then
provide them with only the information they actually need to carry
out those responsibilities.
I.D. Systems President Ken Ehrman favors a “cookbook
approach” centered on a guidebook that identifies the roles
that will be affected by the technology; specifies which
reports and graphs the person performing each role should
look at, and at what intervals; and recommends actions to
take based on those reports. For example, a safety manager
should be alerted immediately to problems with critical
items on the OSHA operator checklist, while the fleet manager may only need to get that information weekly in order
to look at safety trends, he explains.
Still, fleet management software makes so much informa-
tion available that it’s easy to lose sight of what’s most
important. Mike McKean, fleet sales and marketing manag-
er for Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. Inc., recommends
that fleet managers focus on the reasons the company
decided to take on the fleet optimization project in the first
place. “It could be that you have too many trucks … or you
want to reduce the cost of avoidable damage,” he says.
Whatever it is, that’s what you need to focus on as the pri-
mary objective, McKean says. “That doesn’t mean you can’t
look at secondary issues, but you should identify priorities
and then phase in others.”
McLeod cautions, however, that the time and effort spent
obtaining some types of data may outweigh the cost bene-
fits to be gained from analyzing it. “I would challenge fleet
managers to stay away from the ‘nice to know’ information,
because in many cases, it simply is not going to give them
adequate payback,” he says.
6Make people accountable. The ability of fleet manage- ment software to take data and generate reports is impressive, but to get a return on their investment,
users have to take action based on what they learn. The best
way to ensure they do that, says Ehrman, is to hold them
accountable for making improvements in fleet costs, asset
utilization, safety, maintenance, and any other major areas
of concern.
All fleet management software programs have exception
reporting and alert functions, and some vendors will
prompt users either electronically or with a phone call if
they fail to take action in response to an event. In addition
to monitoring such short-term actions, Ehrman says, it’s
important to notify users when they fail to make improvements over the longer term. If progress—or the lack of it—
in cost control and productivity is clearly visible to both
users and management, he says, it encourages the responsible parties to take action and solve problems.
5Start small and take it slow. Once fleet managers start seeing opportunities for improvement, they may be ager to introduce changes quickly. But moving too
MEANINGFUL CHANGE
Because fleet management software provides companies
with a seemingly endless array of data and reports, it can be
tempting for fleet managers to think that the software itself
will solve all their problems. But that’s not very realistic.
The purpose of the software, McLeod says, is to track costs
in a meaningful way to help fleet managers make meaningful decisions. Any cost savings or other improvements will
depend not on the software or the data itself, but on how
the user analyzes it and responds. ;
