Tracking performance metrics in order to compare current data against past performance is a critical component of managing a fleet of commercial vehicles.
In addition to your many other daily tasks to keep everyone running smoothly, fleet managers must actively track performance metrics for their vehicle fleets since managing mobile employees makes it difficult to ensure everything runs efficiently. Read on to learn which metrics are most important to monitor and how they benefit your fleet’s performance!
Quick Links:
- What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
- Why Do Fleet Management KPIs Matter?
- Driver Performance & Operations KPIs You Should Track
- Fleet Operational Efficiency KPIs
- Fleet Maintenance KPIs
- Track the Fleet Metrics & Performance KPIs That Matter Most with Rastrac
What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the cornerstone indicators of progress toward an intended result; as such, they’re a crucial part of a financial management plan for your commercial vehicle fleet. KPIs provide a focus for operational optimization, create an analytical basis for decision-making, and help focus attention on what matters most. Implementing KPIs is an essential part of a good management approach since they allow you to measure the present against the past to project your fleet's future performance.
Why Do Fleet Management KPIs Matter?
Keeping an eye on your fleet management and driver performance KPIs benefits your fleet in several ways:
- Identifying Abnormal Vehicle Use: Is there an asset in the fleet consuming twice as much fuel and maintenance expenses as similar vehicles? It may be getting used in abnormal ways, such as being driven “off the clock” for personal errands. Tracking maintenance and cost metrics can help fleet managers identify when a vehicle asset falls outside the normal use patterns.
- Spotting Potential Safety Issues: Acceleration and deceleration information can reveal bad driving habits that increase the risk of a collision, while repair reports can identify consistent problems with certain vehicles, such as tires not being replaced frequently enough, brake systems wearing out faster than they should, and other safety-related issues.
- Creating Cost Efficiencies: Tracking fleet metrics on a large scale can help fleet managers find opportunities to reduce costs, such as planning for vehicle maintenance and/or replacements. Scheduling the timing of vehicle asset maintenance to focus on the prevention of issues rather than relying on a break-fix approach can be particularly effective at creating cost efficiencies.
- Satisfying Customers: Whether your fleet conveys field workers to a specific job site or carries cargo to customers, it’s imperative that the vehicles and their contents arrive on time. Tracking fleet management key performance indicators can help ensure that drivers don’t take needless detours so that deliveries and service calls are completed on time.
These are simply a few reasons fleet managers need to track fleet KPIs. Now, which performance metrics should you track as a fleet manager?
Driver Performance & Operations KPIs You Should Track
KPI #1: Engine On/Off
Good engine start/stop times translate to efficiency and schedule adherence. When drivers start their vehicles too late, they may fall behind schedule and have to rush, leading to increased road risks!
It’s never a good idea to run an engine when in close proximity to flammable or other hazardous goods, for example. Your drivers should be educated about these dangers to avoid potentially deadly situations. Utilizing a GPS tracking engine-monitoring system to oversee when the loading or unloading of dangerous goods is taking place ensures your employees are following safety protocols in such situations, which can significantly affect service agreements.
KPI #2: Speeding
Driving speeds are another way to check driver safety and compliance, but how can you monitor speeding habits remotely? One method is to install devices that will alert you when your company’s vehicles go over a speed limit that you set. With the aid of GPS tracking, you can match the speed of each driver with GPS data to a map database with information regarding speed limits. You would then compare GPS-recorded speed data to the established speed limits, which allows you to accurately track speeding infractions and increase safe driving practices.
KPI #3: Acceleration and Hard Braking
With a GPS tracking system in place, fleet managers can monitor drivers’ rapid acceleration or deceleration (braking) capability to determine whether they’re a careless and dangerous hazard in traffic. Furthermore, hard acceleration and sharp braking also contribute to vehicle wear and tear. Tracking this particular metric comprehensively overviews each driver and vehicle combination.
KPI #4: Idling
Some drivers leave vehicles idle for longer than expected. By reducing excessive idling, you can maximize fuel efficiency while reducing the carbon footprint from your company vehicles. Poor tracking of idle time, on the other hand, reduces your ROI. Monitoring this KPI is a win-win for you, your company, and the planet!
KPI #5: Route Adherence
You should know whether your drivers stick to the designated routes. Comparing a driver's route with an optimized route helps you identify drivers who genuinely lose their way from those who intentionally deviated from the route to run personal errands. With GPS tracking software, it’s easy to monitor your drivers' wastefulness so you can correct it sooner than later.
KPI #6: Road Safety Compliance
The fact that no one is watching may compel some drivers to disregard traffic rules. While the aforementioned metrics regard issues that might affect productivity directly, this particular KPI has a ripple effect on other aspects of your fleet and business. For example, if the drivers break traffic rules, they might cause the government to impose fines on the driver and the vehicle. Failure to adhere to road rules might also lead to crashes that could total the vehicle, or you might have to pay compensation to injury victims following an accident.
Tracking driver road safety compliance with GPS tracking solutions can save your company from financial disaster. A seemingly small mistake can negatively affect your business through accident, injury, and liability costs - not to mention damage to your reputation. In some cases, these breaches of compliance can cost you your entire business.
Although you may find it easy to calculate direct costs, including insurance payments and vehicle repair, you might struggle to do the same with indirect costs, such as crash reports or time and money spent on lawsuits.
Fleet Operational Efficiency KPIs
KPI #7: Vehicle Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
This is an aggregate metric that combines the initial cost of a vehicle, its fuel consumption, its maintenance, and all other costs related to owning and fielding the vehicle, including taxes, licenses, storage fees, etc., for the company over time. Tracking TCO for individual fleet assets and comparing them to the revenue they generate can be crucial for commercial fleet managers to identify opportunities to create cost efficiencies.
KPI #8: Vehicle Replacement Costs
Over time, even the best-maintained vehicles will eventually require replacement. Tracking this KPI will reveal how much is being spent on replacing vehicles each year, which is essential for creating a reliable and accurate fleet operations budget moving forward.
KPI #9: Vehicle Utilization
How much value does each vehicle generate for the organization? What’s the uptime for each vehicle? Vehicle utilization is an important KPI for measuring the value each fleet asset brings to the organization as a whole. However, utilization may mean different things for different vehicles. For example, a semi-truck’s utilization may depend on the total miles traveled, while a construction crane’s utilization may depend on how many loads it moves in a day.
KPI #10: Schedule Adherence
How well do drivers adhere to the driving schedules they’re given? Tracking incidents where drivers go off their planned route or start their shifts late can help fleet managers avoid having operations fall behind schedule.
Related Content: What is Fleet Management?
Fleet Maintenance KPIs
KPI #11: Total Vehicle Breakdowns
Vehicular breakdowns, wherein fleet vehicles suffer an unexpected failure and cannot continue to operate safely, should be avoided whenever possible. A high rate of vehicle breakdowns could indicate that the current fleet maintenance plan is insufficient and needs to be modified. Fleet managers should track breakdown incidents and try to determine the cause so such disruptions can be prevented.
KPI #12: Vehicle Part Inventories
What parts are most frequently used during vehicle maintenance checks? Tracking parts inventories and use patterns in maintenance is crucial for ensuring fast, efficient, and consistent vehicle maintenance. By tracking parts inventory and use patterns, fleet managers can ensure they always have the right types and amounts of parts on hand to service their vehicles and avoid having to make emergency orders that create delays and additional expenses.
KPI #13: Average Maintenance Downtime
How much time do vehicles spend “in the shop” for repairs? Whether you utilize in-house fleet maintenance crews or outsource the repairs to a third-party shop, it’s important to ensure that you can minimize the downtime for repairs. A vehicle sitting in the shop isn’t producing value for you!
KPI #14: Vehicle Diagnostic Codes Generated
Most vehicles made in the last 20 years have onboard diagnostic systems that can detect various issues with the vehicle and generate diagnostic codes to alert maintenance techs to those issues. Tracking the frequency of codes generated and which codes are generated can help fleet managers identify specific maintenance challenges with their current vehicle fleet.
Track the Fleet Metrics & Performance KPIs That Matter Most with Rastrac
There are a lot of fleet performance metrics to track, and it isn’t always easy to gather the data that you need to get an accurate report for each metric. This is where vehicle fleet tracking solutions like Rastrac can help.
Rastrac fleet tracking software and GPS tracking devices help fleet managers gather critical information about their vehicular assets—such as start/stop times, driver behaviors, and current positions. This makes tracking your most important fleet management metrics easier so you can spend less time collating data and more time creating cost efficiencies.
Have questions about Rastrac or fleet management GPS systems? Request a demo to learn more, or take a quick quiz to find out which solution is best for you.
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