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The death and devastation in 2018 from Atlantic Hurricanes Florence and Michael was so severe that their names were permanently retired from the World Meteorological Organization’s list of storm names.

Florence, which made landfall in September on the North Carolina coast, brought catastrophic flooding to the Carolinas and Virginia. It caused over 50 deaths and an estimated $30-60 billion in damage. Michael, which came ashore along the Florida panhandle in October, was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall in the contiguous U.S., causing at least 45 deaths and an estimated $30 billion in damage.

Tags: Fleet Management

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Fleet managers have the responsibility of staying focused on the job at hand and the responsibility of planning and prioritizing future fleet and company needs.  Fuel planning, preventative maintenance scheduling, budgetary projections, and determining the optimal vehicle replacement cycle are just a few of those.

Arguably, all these responsibilities are equally important, but one that is not always prioritized is determining the optimal vehicle replacement cycle. For various reasons, this responsibility is often approached with a reactive “wait and see.” This approach should be avoided because it can prove to be expensive in terms of maintenance costs, fuel costs, and downtime.

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With fuel being the largest operating expense for fleets, controlling fuel costs is a top priority for fleet managers and one that can often seem like a full-time job. Fuel price volatility and unpredictable economic environments don’t make controlling fuel costs any easier, but what can help are proven strategies that ease fuel cost management regardless of fluctuating fuel prices.

Downsizing, rightsizing, preventative maintenance, telematics, and fleet fuel cards are just a few of the various strategies that can help combat price instability and control fuel costs. While all of these can be beneficial, one thing they don’t address is the actual price of fuel. However, a fuel hedging strategy does.

So, let’s take a closer look.

Tags: Fuel Management

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As if managing drivers and staff members is not challenging enough for fleet managers, add in the additional day-to-day responsibilities, and the management challenges increase tenfold. There’s vehicle purchasing, scheduling vehicle maintenance, controlling fuel costs, developing safety programs, and ensuring compliance with government rules and regulations — all while trying to increase efficiency and profitability, while staying within established budgets.

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One of the most pressing issues facing fleets today is rapidly evolving technology and the challenging effect it can have on maintenance operations. In fact, according to a recent survey of maintenance professionals by Fleet Owner, three of the top five challenges for fleet maintenance operations are technology-related:

Tags: Asset Management

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There are obvious factors that can help drive a fleet’s strong bottom line, such as controlling fuel costs, optimizing maintenance, ramping up safety initiatives, and monitoring driver behavior. Yet, there’s one factor, maybe not as obvious but equally important — if not more important — to overall success, and that’s maintaining good vendor relationships.

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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately nine people die and more than 1,000 are injured each day because of distracted driving.

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No one can predict with 100 percent certainty whether biodiesel will completely replace diesel in the future. There are just too many political, economic, and environmental impacts, and “unknowns” that are constantly in play. That said, if you take a look at the increasing use of biodiesel by commercial vehicles, as well as the growing interest in reducing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, it certainly appears that biodiesel is moving full speed ahead in that direction.

Tags: Fuel Management

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If you want freedom from the liability issues that can be associated with fuel storage and dispensing, your fleet vehicles and equipment fueled and ready to go at the start of the workday, and your drivers focused on their job rather than spending time fueling their vehicles at a card-lock or retail fuel station, then wet hose fueling is a method that’s definitely worth exploring.

Tags: Fuel Management

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It’s been just over two years since the FMCSA’s (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) ELD mandate went into effect in December of 2017. The mandate applies to the vast majority of commercial vehicles on the road, and the driving force behind it is improving road safety and minimizing road accidents by reducing driver fatigue.

Unlike paper logs, where it was possible for drivers to manipulate hours of service (HOS) numbers, ELDs are tamper resistant and don’t allow original data collected by the device to be erased or altered. They digitally track driving time and monitor compliance with the rest-break rule — mandatory rest break after 8 hours of driving — and the restriction that allows drivers behind the wheel for 11 of 14 hours before taking a 10-hour break.

Tags: ELD Mandate