You might have a fleet of a handful of vehicles that operate locally, or dozens that travel through different countries across Europe. It’s easy for money to leak through the gaps and that’s not good for any business. Ensuring maximum efficiency to produce maximum profit is a goal for any company, and through effective fleet management, it can be done. We have gathered some of the biggest money leaks we can find, and while on their own the difference isn’t massive, combining them all together consistently will make some big savings.
What you’re driving
Regardless of the vehicles in your fleet, there are some generic rules you can follow to cut down on fuel consumption that will improve efficiency. Ensuring your tyres are fully inflated and pressurised is important for performance and fuel consumption, and making sure you have the right wheels for the right tyres also makes a difference. Overall maintenance of the vehicle should be checked regularly to keep fuel efficiency at maximum, as well as the overall condition of the machine.
Ensuring you are in the right gear will keep the revs down and improve fuel consumption, as the engine is doing less work. The same is true of hard acceleration and braking, which also uses more fuel each time these actions happen. Air conditioning also increases fuel usage by almost 10% in some models so it is worth checking on the effect this has while driving. You should also look at any excess weight that can be removed to make the vehicle lighter and easier to run. This is difficult for transporting goods, but every little bit of weight saving can help.
Planning ahead
Using a journey planner will allow drivers to know exactly what route they are taking, where the best places to stop are and what the speed limits are at each stage. Further research can also help identify expensive fuelling stations and avoiding these can be of great benefit.
The use of fuel cards is essential for any size fleet, like those offered from MF Fuels. Fuel cards offer a fleet a fully-managed payment system to eradicate the need for a substantial paper chase of documents, as well as information that will enable a fleet to travel on the most efficient routes available.
Performing a vehicle check before beginning your journey is always a useful thing to do. This lets you keep track of any changes between journeys that might alter performance and even safety of the vehicle. You can also act on potential problems early before they become serious and cost more money to solve; it is essential for any fleet to ensure the vehicles last as long as possible in the best condition. Utilising these tips can bring about big savings for each vehicle, so for larger fleets, the savings could be considerable.
MF Fuels
01202 339 199
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