Automotive Fleet's former editor, Mike Antich, shared his opinions and ideas on the overall commercial fleet industry and draws interesting comments from fleet managers and other industry professionals from across the country. Mike was inducted in the Fleet Hall of Fame in 2010.
Over the years, work trucks have evolved into mobile offices equipped with a variety of in-cab devices, however, these devices and equipment take space, creating an increasingly cramped cab, restricting the body movement of a driver, which can potentially lead to ergonomic injuries.
A proverb is a phrase that gives real-world advice learned from practical experience. Upfitting is complicated and there are many opportunities to make mistakes, sometimes very expensive ones. Here are 10 proverbs for a successful upfit.
The three future Black Swan events that have the potential to turn today’s fleet management paradigm upside down are the advancement of 3D printing, widespread use of remote diagnostics, and the growing preference of next-gen employees for virtual meetings.
Time in the shop, instead of on the road, means lost sales and less face time with customers, putting downward pressure on the bottom line. Downtime mitigation is key to controlling costs and helping to maximize fleet uptime.
One under-discussed topic is when a fleet vehicle is impounded because it is part of a crime scene and declared by the police to be physical evidence in a criminal investigation.
Running a well-managed fleet is a complex task that requires supervision by someone with deep subject-matter expertise. As a result, a fleet manager’s capabilities and expertise can be easily overlooked by executive management not versed in the intricacies of fleet management.
Multinational corporations are changing the way they source and manage their vocational fleets to better identify true costs and to leverage opportunities to reduce spend and to maximize the operating efficiency of these specialized vehicles.
There isn’t a single trait that epitomizes a great fleet manager; rather, it is a multitude of traits interacting with one another. The best fleet managers are jugglers who can balance a variety of variables to make the fleet program work efficiently.
Today, more than ever, fleet managers must be goal-oriented in all aspects of fleet management. But, in an era of doing more with less, it is important to select your goals wisely.
For fleet managers, excessive idling of vehicles can pose a serious problem by harming engine efficiency and causing premature voiding of auto warranties.
Change is percolating in the management of multinational fleets, which is being driven by global market dynamics, evolving procurement trends, and technology platform upgrades that are facilitating cross-border management of individual country fleets.
While there never seems to be enough money to go around, one of the less talked about aspects of fleet management is the amount of budget dollars that are wasted every year.
In a six-month analysis, the FMCSA reported hours of service (HOS) violations have steadily decreased, which is good news and a testament to the efficacy of ELD technology. However, there continue to be negative unintended consequences caused by the constraints and inflexibility with HOS rules that hinder compliance.
Three challenges consistently high on the list for many fleet managers — improving driver safety, mitigating the high cost of fuel, and complying with corporate pressures to reduce fleet’s contribution to the company’s global carbon footprint.
Many times employees who have an “entitlement mentality” do not have a sense of responsibility to take care of the company asset as if it was their own. This impacts fleet costs. A company vehicle in poor condition because of driver abuse or neglect will result in lost resale value or incur unnecessary reconditioning expense at auction.
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