There are several different ways that fleet managers and supervisors can manage their drivers and their vehicles to ensure maximum time on the road. Following these simple yet highly efficient tips will certainly cover all the bases and allow your budget to go as far as it possibly can when it comes to vehicle maintenance and cost savings within your department. Of course, the first consideration is using gas credit cards or fleet cards to track all purchases and calculate mileage.

Calculating mileage and fuel economy using gas credit cards or fleet cards makes sense for several reasons. Poor fuel economy is often the first sign of general maintenance problems in a vehicle, so accurate records can help with prevention of major engine repair costs. Gas credit cards do require a separate log for mileage that can be maintained by the drivers, which is a bit of extra work. Fuel cards, on the other hand, can be set to record odometer readings at each fill. These cards can only be used for gasoline or diesel purchases, depending on the type of card that you use.

Keeping a maintenance schedule that includes regular checks of tire pressure not only helps with fuel economy but it also cuts down on costly tire repairs and replacement. Poorly inflated tires are more likely to have excessive wear and more likely to become flat, which results in lost travel time and repairs.

Routing using a structured and logical formula for delivery and travel also saves money over the long run and helps to minimize wear and tear on vehicles. Planning routes to eliminate backtracking or multiple trips to the same general area can save thousands of dollars per month with larger fleets.

Loading trucks for sequential delivery and ensuring loads are packed together on the truck are two tips that will help to minimize mileage on each trip. Loads that are correctly packed on the truck don’t require return trips to deliver boxes or parts of the order that were mistakenly packed with other orders.

Checklists in vehicles that require a driver to manually check the vehicle for any possible problems and keep a record of these checks is a simple way to get drivers out and looking at the vehicle. This checklist should include verifying oil levels, transmission fluid levels, tire pressure, working headlights, signal lights and brake lights as well as washer fluid and working wipers. All these minor checks help to ensure the vehicle is safe to be on the road under any condition.

At the fleet garage routine tire rotation and regular oil and filter changes are also essential. If you don’t have a fleet garage, then working with a service station or repair shop to complete these routine maintenance programs will really help your vehicles stay on the road longer. Fuel cards are perfect for this type of situation since you can put maintenance charges on the cards without having to go through the invoicing or cash pay options.

Using a variety of strategies to keep your fleet vehicles on the road is an ideal strategy that is both time and money saving in the long run. If you use gas credit cards or fleet cards it is even more streamlined as built in checklists, logs or fuel card reports can be used to track and evaluate the overall performance and maintenance needs of each vehicle.

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