Companies are sitting on a treasure trove of information when it comes to their fleet’s operating costs, but knowing which data to rely on is the key to making the right decisions.
Today’s trucks supply lots of information through their sensors; however, if you’re using your trucks’ sensor data simply to react to immediate problems, you’re missing out on identifying trends that can be used for long-term planning and both operational and purchasing decisions. This is the message Jane Clark, Vice President of Member Services for NationaLease, delivers in her recent IdeaXchange blog.
Today’s truck technology provides a great deal of data, yet not all data is necessary for every decision. You need to be selective; what fleet owners and managers should be looking for, according to Jane, are identifiable trends…especially failure trends among similar types of assets. Having visibility into the performance of vehicle parts and components for those assets may alert fleet managers to trouble in time to avert making the wrong purchase. Not all components and parts are right for every asset; that’s why it’s imperative that you look at the performance over time for similar assets (the same truck models from the same year with similar specs). If a failure trend is noted, fleet managers can look for parts and components from other manufacturers. They should also use that information to make smarter, more informed spec’ing decisions when making future parts and components purchases.
Making the right decisions can mean reducing downtime and keeping more of your assets on the road and on time. And that translates into more savings when it comes to maintenance and repair and ultimately more revenue. As Jane accurately points out, “With the razor thin margins most fleets are operating under, any savings helps. The data is already there. Why not take full advantage of it.”
Read Jane’s full blog.
