Many businesses are reliant on trucks to transport goods, equipment and supplies. While you can outsource a company to supply you with trucks, there could be many benefits to having your own fleet. It gives you much more flexible control over each delivery and journey, which could ultimately affect your relationship with customers and the efficiency of your business.
Of course, managing a fleet of lorries is not easy. There are costs, safety requirements, environmental standards and essential maintenance tasks to consider. You’ll also need to manage the drivers of your lorries and ensure that they are safe, productive and happy.
This guide takes a look into some of the key things to consider in order to successfully manage a fleet of trucks. By following all these tips, you can keep your fleet running smoothly.
Invest in the right lorries
Many problems can be prevented by choosing the right lorries. Start by considering exactly what it is you are going to be transporting. This will help you determine exactly what type of lorry you need.
- Flatbed lorries are ideal for large, heavy and irregularly shaped loads
- Box trucks are better for loads that need to protected from the elements or kept out of sight
- Refrigerated lorries may be necessary for perishable goods like food, pharmaceuticals or flowers
- Tanker lorries are ideal for transporting liquids such as chemicals or fuel
- Tipper lorries could help when unloading certain materials or disposing of waste
Once you’ve worked out what type of lorry you need, consider the size you are likely to need. Small trucks may be all that is needed if loads are likely to be small. Larger lorries may be needed for reducing journeys if you’re likely to be regularly transporting larger loads.
Your budget is likely to determine whether you are able to buy something brand new or used. A newer lorry is likely to be more reliable and fuel-efficient, but it will cost you more to buy or lease. When buying multiple lorries, most companies have to rely on finance – consider what the monthly instalments will be and whether you can reasonably cover these payments.
Hire dependable drivers
A successful fleet needs good quality drivers. It’s important to spend time looking for drivers you are qualified, experienced and in good health.
There are a few checks you may want to make when hiring drivers:
- Start by checking that they hold a valid licence and that they are qualified to work in this country
- Then consider a criminal background check to make sure they have no previously committed any crimes (particularly related to driving)
- A driving record check could be worthwhile they don’t currently carry any points
- A previous employer reference beneficial to check that any past they have worked for rates them highly
- A medical check could also be worthwhile to ensure that they are safe to drive – this could include an eye test, blood pressure test and blood sample to check that they are not taking any substances
Conduct interviews to get an idea of drivers skills and how they would react in situations. You can then consider hiring them on a paid trial period where you assess how well suited they are to the job.
Regularly service your fleet
It’s important to regularly service the vehicles in your fleet to make sure they are in safe working condition. Make a habit of annually hiring a qualified technician to carry out a full service on all your lorries.
Your drivers may be able to carry out small health checks on a weekly or daily basis such as checking tyre pressure and fluid levels. Alternatively, you can hire people at your premises to carry out these maintenance checks.
Don’t delay repairs
Once you detect problems, it’s important not to delay repairs and let these problems get worse. Many breakdowns could be prevented if companies invested in repairs earlier. Preventative repairs could be one way to combat this – such as replacing a battery or clutch after a certain amount of miles regardless of condition.
Make sure to acquire parts from the right places. Look for affordable and high quality parts such as these South Bend Clutch parts. Make sure to also hire qualified technicians to repair your lorries – don’t resort to quick DIY fixes.
Keep your trucks clean
Cleaning your lorries is an important maintenance task that shouldn’t be overlooked. Cleaning lorries is important for:
- Safety: windscreens and mirrors need to be kept clean to ensure good visibility.
- Brand image: driving clean lorries can make your company come across as more professional
- Condition: Dirt and dust can damage your bodywork and parts – regular cleaning helps your vehicles to last longer
Make sure to hire people to regularly clean your lorries by hosing them down. This could be after every journey or once per week at a designated time.
Optimise truck routes
It’s important to analyse and plan ahead the best routes for your drivers. Some companies like to take a hands-off approach, but this can lead to drivers regularly taking routes that take longer or consume more fuel. By optimising routes, you can carry out quicker deliveries and save money on fuel.
There are GPS tools for trucks that you can use to find the fastest and more economical routes. You could encourage drivers to use these tools or set specific routes for your drivers (when it comes to regular deliveries to the same location, you can take more time to optimise the best route).
Optimise driver schedules
You need to have enough drivers working each day to carry out all the deliveries that are scheduled. At the same time, you need to make sure that drivers are not working overly long shifts and they are getting a long enough break between shifts.
Fleet management software can help you to optimise driver schedules, as well as helping you to delegate jobs to the right people. You can also use this software to communicate with drivers and get live information such as ETAs. This guide at Forbes compares a few fleet management software solutions.
You will need to decide whether drivers work set shifts each week or different hours each week (the latter will require creating weekly rotas, which is extra work for you, but potentially necessary if driver demands vary from week to week).
Monitor and test your drivers
A lot of companies now monitor their drivers in order to ensure that they are travelling the best routes, driving safely and to legally protect them. This typically involves using GPS technology to monitor their live location, using interior and exterior facing cameras to monitor their driving and using bluetooth hands-free call technology to communicate with drivers. Make sure that this technology is all set up on all your vehicles.
It could also be a good idea to periodically carry out tests on drivers to make sure that they are not driving while intoxicated. These could be carried out at random. Regularly scheduled eye exams could also be important to make sure that drivers can still see clearly.
Introduce driver targets and rewards
Targets and rewards can be used to motivate drivers to drive more economically or safely. They can also be a way to keep your best drivers happy and retain talent.
An example of a driver incentive could include offering a bonus to the driver who is able to achieve the best average MPG over the course of a year, or offering a pay increase for every year that a driver is able to complete without getting points on their licence.
Data on all your drivers can be collected using fleet management software. You can use this data to set reasonable targets and rewards.
Stay compliant with regulations
Commercial fleets must stay compliant with various regulations. On top of making sure that drivers are qualified, you need to make sure that vehicles meet safety and environmental standards. Measures such as emissions tests may be a requirement in order to make sure that vehicles are not too polluting.
Laws regarding lorry fleets are constantly changing. It’s worth staying on top of news regarding commercial fleets in order to be alert of upcoming changes in compliance. A solicitor may be able to help you stay on top of laws. You can also hire a fleet inspection company to take a look at your fleet and suggest any necessary changes.
Hitting the road…
Managing a fleet requires a lot of initial preparation and planning. You’ll then need to set up a routine schedule when it comes to servicing vehicles, cleaning vehicles, testing drivers and analysing data. If fleet management is just a small part of running your business and you have lots of other tasks to juggle, consider hiring an employee to take over the role of fleet manager. When it comes to fleets that are in operation 24 hours, it could be important to hire multiple fleet managers who can work in shifts to ensure that your fleet is constantly being monitored and managed.
