How to Manage Your Fleet Data Effectively

Here are the top five tips to generating more efficient and effective fleet reports. 

Fleet managers get tons of reports every week and make even more about the fleet they’re managing. When most of those reports present bad news, consistently showing negative trends, or just not giving you what you need, things can get frustrating. 

This is why fleet data management is an integral part of the telematics industry, and GPS Insight is here to help you figure out what to do with your telematics data to improve those bottom lines and overall results. 

There are many different types of fleet management reports.  

• • • Fleet expenses  
    • Service history logs  
    • Work order and reminder logs  
    • Inspection submissions  
    • User login and usage  
    • Odometer history logs  

And more. But what are you supposed to do with these reports, and how do they affect your fleet operation? Here are our top five tips for managing your fleet data effectively with enhanced reporting and data analysis. 

1. Driver safety  

You can assess the driver behavior of your overall fleet based on driver reports you receive from your FSM software. Things such as speeding violations, traffic light violations, seatbelt violations, and more give you a better look at what driving behavior looks like for your operation, and what kind of driving habits need to be mitigated. 

GPS Insight can not only generate driver safety reports, but we can also help you figure out what to do with that data. With our Smart Dash Cams, you can initiate tailored driver training which focuses on the specific driver’s performance – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  

Several GPS Insight customers have begun training programs, alongside driver rewards programs, to encourage overall fleet safety and boost morale. The best part? It works! 

“The beauty of this system is that there are audible alerts that happen based on analytics of the drivers themselves,” said Don Bowman, Vice President of Engineering and Operations at Wake Electric. “So, if one of my drivers breaks the policy and uses a cell phone at their ear, then it gives them an audible alarm of distracted driving. They have a short amount of time – maybe 30 seconds – to put that that down and go back to normal.” 

2. Fuel tracking

Fuel card usage reports and overall fuel costs reports can contribute to you saving money by monitoring your fuel usage. Unnecessary fuel costs are typically high contributions to over-budget operating costs – and it’s all due to a lack of operational efficiency. 

Many GPS Insight customers found that an overuse of fuel consumption could be solved by eliminating unnecessary vehicle downtime and idling. In response to the reports of high fuel consumption, many also made efforts to optimize routes and overall vehicle utilization. 

Several GPS Insight customers were able to save thousands of dollars in fuel costs thanks to route optimization and fuel-efficiency practices – all coming from utilization and fuel-related reporting. 

Parks & Sons used the GPS Insight reporting solution for fuel management. They spotted inefficiencies which added unnecessary costs to their operation, along with unnecessary emissions released while vehicles were left idling. 

“Fuel is our company’s fourth highest expense – so any marginal change in that cost significantly affects our bottom line,” said Shawn Parks, Business Manager at Parks & Sons. 

 Parks & Sons saved $150,000 in fuel costs after their first year working with GPS Insight. 

3. Vehicle maintenance

Effective fleet management is residual from effective vehicle management. Generating reports on vehicle maintenance will give you insight on vehicle depreciation, on-route breakdowns, and the projected lifespan of the vehicle. 

This way, you can plan ahead. Knowing the lifecycle of your fleet vehicles will ultimately lead to cost savings as you consider route planning and preventative maintenance to increase your fleet’s sustainability.  

Staying on top of fleet maintenance and maintenance schedules with our reporting tools will decrease maintenance costs. Understanding maintenance reports, alongside other vehicle maintenance data, will help you take action.  

Ignoring maintenance is a problem that, if not addressed quickly, can lead to very high operating costs, higher risk, and a reduction in revenue. GPS Insight software can make preventive maintenance simple by implementing a maintenance schedule and instituting recurring automated reminders to keep trucks running at peak efficiency. 

GPS Insight can put the right tools in place to avoid unnecessary costs and risks associated with poor upkeep and to keep revenue-generating vehicles on the road, including excessive downtime. 

4. Asset tracking

High-value asset tracking reports are always at the front of a fleet manager’s mind. GPS Insight ensures real-time asset tracking for all fleet operations. With GPS Insight fleet management software, you’ll uncover details that might surprise you in a highly detailed usage report, including idle time and functionality.  

After generating these reports, your fleet can optimize asset usage for maximum fleet efficiency, all via real-time GPS tracking. The GPS Insight fleet management solutions give you the decision-making capability to make the most cost-effective choices thanks to various fleet tracking reports. 

With these reporting tools, your guys can get the job done safely and efficiently, with digitized workflow and optimized routes. 

“Workforce is our largest cost, but our next largest one is our fleet vehicles,” said Michael Mah, Vice President of IT at Spark Power. “How do we effectively deploy our fleet, and when do we need to start moving them to another location?  There are a lot of features and functionality that we want to be able to use. Obviously, this collects a lot of data, and all that data we want to push into our business intelligence reporting systems to do better forecasting and in short-term and long-term planning.” 

5. Budgeting

At the end of the day, reports are all about budgeting. How are vehicles, fuel consumption, and driving impacting the company’s budget? 

Reporting on metrics and key performance indicators (KPI’s) will give you a starting point on what actions to take in response, allowing you to adjust in order to meet your bottom line at the end of the year. 

So, generating the right reports or audits, keeping an eye on the right KPI’s, and taking action based on those metrics will ultimately lead to higher profitability. Therefore, understanding fleet data – what it means and what to do – cannot be emphasized enough. Fleet data, ultimately, impacts your business budget, and it’s up to you to make that impact a positive one. 

The GPS Insight reporting solution gives you an easy-to-understand interface and allows you to act. With GPS Insight, you can look forward to positive data and budget-friendly decision-making. 

Operational Efficiency

Generating the right reports and acting accordingly is the first step to improving overall fleet performance. Developing an effective reporting system will go a long way in telematics. 

With GPS Insight, you can make data-driven decisions with our software solutions. The GPS Insight fleet management software can keep track of any vehicle or driver-related benchmark and use easy-to-read displays to keep you in the know. 

Using the GPS Insight fleet management system, you can keep track of your fleet vehicles in more ways than one. Generating reports on workflows, maintenance, driver behavior, and more will help you streamline your fleet operation so it’s performing to the best of its ability. Knowing what to do with fleet data reports will send your fleet from zero to 100.