How do you become a class leader in the trucking industry? You must be a trend setter. No matter what size your fleet is, you need to be ready to adopt new technologies and methodologies to help you succeed in a crowded and challenging marketplace. By focusing on the right performance indicators and using telematics solutions to make sense of the data, trucking companies turn from good to great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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But once you have invested in a solution and established\nyour fleet goals, what are the next steps? Running a trucking company isn\u2019t\neasy. You need to know whether you are effectively running your business. If\nyou are not using key performance indicators to measure your organization, you\nmight not be running an effective program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Improve What You Measure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever heard of the adage that you can only improve\nwhat you measure? There is a lot of truth to that saying. If you aren\u2019t\ncollecting actionable data on your operation, you won\u2019t get effective results.\nWhen you are establishing your key performance indicators, you need to make\nsure they are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, what you measure can differ based on fleet size\nand industry type. Every motor carrier faces their own challenges. KPIs can\ndiffer based on everything from fleet size to industry type and more. Still,\nthere are certain data points that every fleet should measure, regardless of\nsize. Let\u2019s take a closer look at the universal indicators every trucking\ncompany should be looking at. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Measure Speeding<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously, speeding can be incredibly dangerous, especially\nwhen one is driving a tractor trailer. And even more, not only is it very\ndangerous but it also decreases fuel economy, which has a negative impact on\nyour bottom line. If you look at data provided by a reputable fuel\nstatistics organization<\/a>, gas mileage begins to drop precipitously at speeds\nover 50 miles per hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can generally assume that for every 5 miles per hour\ndriven over 50, you are burning up an extra 20 cents per gallon. If instead you\nmonitor fleet performance and reduce incidents of speeding, you can save on\naverage between 7% and 14% on your fleet fuel bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But let\u2019s talk for a moment about more than your fuel bill.\nThere are lives at stake here and it is without a doubt that excess speed\nincreases the risk of accident-related injuries. Research has found that nearly\na third of all fatal crashes involve at least one speeding driver. The last thing\nyou want is for one of your truck drivers to be one of them. The best way to\ncurb fatal or injurious crashes is to decrease instances of speeding within\nyour fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stop Harsh Braking and Acceleration<\/p>\n\n\n\n When truck drivers brake harshly, this could be a symbol of\nthem engaging in unsafe behaviors. Just consider that harsh braking on a\nregular basis basically means your truck driver is frequently barely avoiding\naccidents. Unsafe driving like this can be a major problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When truck drivers apply regular and unnecessary force to\nthe brakes it will only increase wear and tear on the pads, tires, and other\nbraking components. It is also important to remember that harsh braking and\naggressive acceleration often go together. Why? Because you usually don\u2019t have\none without the other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, with the proper telematics set up and KPIs in\nplace, your system will notify you whenever a vehicle\u2019s brake or accelerator\nare jammed. Without having a technology like this place you are going to be\nflying blind when it comes to the actions of your truck drivers while they are\nout there on the road. By measuring harsh braking and aggressive acceleration\ntogether, you can identify truck drivers who need more coaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When a Crash Occurs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the worst things any fleet manager wants to hear is that a crash as occurred on his or her watch. Depending on the severity of the accident, it could put smaller trucking companies<\/a> out of business. \u00a0The fact is crashes of almost any kind post a major threat to your fleet. Whether it be through litigation or resultant downtime, your fleet suffers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n And here\u2019s the thing, when a crash happens, you need to know\nexactly what happened, when, why, and who was involved. When you establish what\ncauses the accident you can make a proper determination as to whether your\ntruck driver is at fault or not. If it is the fault of the driver, it is\nincumbent on you to provide them with the training they need to prevent the\naccident from happening again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if your truck driver is not at fault in the accident,\nyou want to make sure you have the data to back it up. With nuclear verdicts\nand high insurance costs on everyone\u2019s mind, you need to be armed with enough\ninformation to keep a plaintiff\u2019s attorney at bay. You do that by investing in\ntechnology and properly setting up your KPIs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting Better Fuel Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuel economy is often one of the most vexing aspects of\nrunning a trucking company. First you must understand the basic fuel economy\nequation. At its heart, fuel economy simply refers to the relationship between the\ndistance a vehicle travels and the amount of fuel that is used per unit of\ntravel. Generally, trucking companies measure fuel use in a couple of ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fuel economy often interrelates with the other factors on\nthis list. Because when a truck driver speeds, they are burning more fuel. Wen\nthey undergo rapid acceleration, they burn more fuel. Everything from excessive\nidling to driving through hilly terrain and braking harshly, it all has an\nimpact on fuel economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a direct relation between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching for Underutilized Miles <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is something worse than when your cup runneth empty;\nit\u2019s when your miles runneth empty. Empty or underutilized miles refers to\nsituations where commercial motor vehicles are operating without carrying\nfreight or passengers. These are referred to as empty miles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It is easy to understand the concept of empty miles. If a\ntractor completes a delivery 300 miles away and then drives back from that\ndelivery empty, those are considered empty miles. They are miles that have not\ngenerated income and if anything, they incur costs. Obviously, empty miles are\na big waste of time, fuel, and money, yet they can also be a safety hazard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a big rig is driving around with an empty trailer, it is\nmore susceptible to swaying or tipping over. This problem is exacerbated in bad\nweather. In the end, no good comes out of underutilized miles. You want to make\nsure you are practicing proper route optimization to keep your trailers filled.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keep Fleet Utilization High<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to find the true measure of your fleet\u2019s\nefficiency, you\u2019ve got to take a hard look at fleet asset utilization. There\nare several factors you must evaluate when assessing fleet utilization. The\nfirst, and most important, is the volume a commercial motor vehicle can carry\ncompared to what it is currently carrying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You also want to take a close look at driver hours of\nservice that have not been fully allocated. Also, are there customer service\nrequirements you must keep in mind, such as specific time windows for\ndeliveries. How long are your vehicles normally detained and how many stops\nen-route do they usually take? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Maintenance can also impact fleet utilization. Are you\nensuring your vehicles are properly maintained? Is preventative maintenance at\nthe top of your shop\u2019s priority list? If your trucks sit idle because they are\nbroken down, expect to see your fleet asset utilization metrics take a deep dive.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n HOS and Unassigned Mileage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The final metrics you have to keep a close eye on if you\nwant to make sure you run a well-oiled trucking company are hours of service\nviolations and unassigned mileage. According to FMCSA guidelines, operators of\ncommercial motor vehicles and private motor carriers have a limited amount of\ndaily and weekly working hours they can log. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the ELD mandate in full force, there is no excuse for trucking companies to not be ensuring their truck drivers properly log and regulate their time. Not only does ensuring HOS compliance<\/a> protect the companies bottom line, it makes for a safer fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n [wp_ad_camp_2] <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, you want to pay close attention to unassigned\nmileage. In the age of the ELD, it is up to the trucking company to ensure\ntheir tuck drivers are not logging unassigned miles. You want to make sure your\nvehicles are never being misused or improperly utilized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter what type of business you run, there is always\ndata to consider. Metrics and benchmarks must be set and aligned to ensure <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"