FM MONITOR GILES MARGERISON
HOW TO...
Giles Margerison is director UK & Ireland, TomTom Business Solutions
EF F ICIEN CY IN FL EET M A NAGEM EN T
oor management of an organisation’s fleet can result in high fuel and vehicle maintenance costs as well as increased insurance premiums. Giles Margerison considers how modern GPS tracking technology can help tackle the problem
P
FM advisers at professional services firm Deloitte have highlighted how “workforce efficiency continues to be an issue for many FM companies due to inflexibility, lack of good quality logistical information and the tools and skills to manage a more efficient workforce”. In particular, managing a mobile workforce can be a challenging affair unless companies gain proper insight into the activities of their employees out on the road.
A boost to the bottom line Fuel is a variable overhead and it is possible to minimise the cost burden by tackling fuel efficiency across a company fleet. A reduction in fuel bills represents direct bottom-line savings; savings that may otherwise have to be recovered through an increase in revenue or through budget cuts elsewhere. Appropriate technology is now widely regarded as being one of the most logical options for relieving cost pressures at the pump. Better navigation alone can lead to a 10 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, but greater financial rewards can be enjoyed by companies that 36 | 10 APRIL 2014 | FM WORLD
36_HowTo.indd 36
improve the performance of their drivers. Zenith Hygiene Group, for example, saved £222,660 on fuel over a year by implementing an incentivised scheme for the improvement of driver behaviour across its 119-strong fleet. Average vehicle mpg during this time soared from 26 to 43. Fleet management technology can be used to tap into vehicle diagnostics and provide in-depth analysis into each employee’s driving style, based on key elements of safe and efficient driving. Measuring fuel consumption can be a litmus test to highlight problems in other areas, such as speeding, idling, and even harsh steering or braking. With such insights, staff can then be rewarded for good performance and training targeted at those who require it most. Employees can even be helped to correct poor driving style on the move with real-time feedback on driving style through their in-vehicle navigation devices. Incentive schemes are not necessarily expensive. One company saved up to £200,000 on diesel in a year by buying a £20 trophy and engraving it with “Driver of the Month”.
Better road risk management Where employees are encouraged to drive in a more considered fashion, improved driver performance will also result in higher safety standards. Employers are required by law to exhibit a duty of care to staff and the data gleaned from monitoring driver performance can prove invaluable in this respect, providing evidence that efforts to address risk factors are proving successful. Inevitably, companies that also improve their risk profile may be rewarded with significant insurance savings. Zenith Hygiene Group saw its premiums cut by £78,000 over two years by being able to demonstrate a reduction in risk to its insurer.
Plotting a smarter route to optimum efficiency Traffic is frequently regarded as a major barrier to efficient company performance. Improved routing, however, is reliant upon using intelligence gathered from the road. Advanced fleet management technology can draw upon historic road use and live traffic data to generate accurate timings for every journey, taking account of the best available route, time of day and congestion. This allows companies to plan their workflow to maximise productivity. Furthermore, the most appropriate mobile workers can be dispatched based on who will be quicker, rather than simply who is closest to the customer. At Sanctuary Maintenance, for example, technology has enabled staff at its customer service
centre to pinpoint the exact location of engineers at any given time, dispatch the correct operative to each job and know exactly when they arrive.
Putting green back on the agenda And then there is the bigger picture. By making sure that employees spend less time on the road and use less fuel, FM businesses can help to put green issues back on the agenda. In addition to its fuel savings, Zenith Hygiene Group also reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 598 tonnes a year. Companies should consider the overall impact their activities make on the environment and make a concerted effort to address this, especially as an increasing number of companies are actively looking to employ businesses that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. A combination of improved routing and smarter scheduling will drastically reduce the mileage covered by company vehicles and better driver behaviour will guarantee optimal efficiency on the road. Fleet management technology can then report back on factors such as carbon dioxide emissions to help monitor trends and the setting of environmental KPIs. It is easy to focus on fleet management technology as “Big Brother” monitoring technology, but the telematic data is also used to defend drivers in cases of complaints of poor driving. But an even greater benefit is securing the safety of the organisation’s drivers. There is no greater benefit than a driver arriving home safely at night. FM www.fm-world.co.uk
03/04/2014 15:46