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.
The balance of calendar-year 2020 will be a time for major decisions. This includes decisions on staffing levels. Decisions on remote work versus office work. Decisions on whether a company should consider downsizing the square footage of its corporate offices due to reduced staffing needs.
The pandemic exposed fleet policies to be woefully inadequate in addressing the needs of a health crisis. Fleets were forced to improvise policies and procedures to minimize the risk of contagion.
Each fleet has a DNA of sorts, which is comprised of the procedures and regulations that are codified in its corporate fleet policy. It is these policies that determine the type of fleet that is operated and its characteristics.
Many fleet vehicles have been idled or parked in storage areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. One consequence has been an uptick in part thefts from these parked vocational vehicles.
Each fleet has a DNA of sorts, which is comprised of the procedures and regulations that are codified in its corporate fleet policy. It is these policies that determine the type of fleet that is operated and its characteristics.
Although we’re still in the midst of the pandemic, a glimpse of its impact on fleet management in a post-COVID-19 world is emerging.
Now is when the fleet industry should be proactively identifying these future technicians. The fleet industry has a window to tap into this idled labor pool, who will look attractive to other industries experiencing labor shortages leading to increased competition to recruit this talent.
Whatever the final impact of the pandemic on fleet management, one legacy will be the creation of an expanded base of new customers comfortable with e-commerce transactions to be serviced by a growing number of final-mile delivery fleets.
As fleet manager, your mission is to lower potential infections among those using fleet assets and to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to others with whom drivers interact.
Extending the oil drain interval to higher miles puts it out-of-synch with courtesy checks for tire wear and brake pad or rotor inspections. By extending oil drain intervals, there will be less frequent inspection of these wear items than what has occurred in the past.
Every company has a corporate culture and if you drill down the corporate strata, every department likewise has its own culture that embodies the management philosophy of the department manager.
Younger employees who are aware of fleet manager core competencies will gravitate to fleet as a stepping stone because of the exposure to cross-functional groups.
Everything fleet does revolves around money: asset acquisition, fuel to operate assets, maintenance to keep assets operational, and myriad other miscellaneous, incidental expenses ranging from tolls, parking tickets, and waste disposal fees to taxes.
If you are not actively engaging your drivers to help meet fleet objectives, you are managing the fleet with one hand tied behind your back. Most fleet programs focus on managing the asset versus managing the driver.
Truck fleet managers need to be diligent in tracking and documenting all PM work that comply with OEM recommended guidelines to ensure there is no PM variability.
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