PRSM Releases Best Practices And Benchmarks For Fleet Operations

By Cheryl Knight, contributing writer

Often, small private fleets struggle to remain compliant with industry standards or to keep their vehicles properly maintained. To help IT providers come up with solutions for their retail store maintenance customers that are in line with the rest of the industry, the Professional Retail Store Maintenance (PRSM) Association has released a one-of-a-kind report presenting tools and best practices to set benchmarks for fleet operations.

Management And Tracking
The PRSM report details insights about the retail facilities maintenance industry, including the fact that most suppliers with only 10 vehicles in their fleet own their vehicles. They are also less likely to use fleet management software or other programs to manage their fuel use.

Of all the suppliers surveyed, 57 percent use fleet tracking technology, with the most popular reason to use it listed as improving daily operational efficiencies.

The report also states 63 percent of suppliers track the location of their fleet using real-time location — and 37 percent do not. The most popular reason given among those that use the technology is “to improve daily operational efficiencies” (86 percent of respondents who use fleet tracking). This was followed by meeting customer requirements (72 percent), understanding driver behavior (69 percent), proof of delivery (61 percent), reducing accidents (44 percent), and reducing environmental impact (36 percent).

Factors these companies monitored include routing and dispatching (74 percent), maximum speed (48 percent), maximum idle times (40 percent), fuel theft (27 percent), and personal use mile allowance (24 percent).

The report also states, “Suppliers reported various benefits of using fleet management software including being able to improve customer service and satisfaction by knowing the exact location of the vehicle, efficient routing by having real time vehicle location to dispatch closest technician, accurate billing by tracking travel time and on-site time, using data and analytics to identify and improve efficiencies, having access to driving statistics in case of an accident, and information for budget.

Devices
The report also states 90 percent of technicians have access to smartphones, with 73 percent with access to GPS, 71 percent to a camera phone (although few have stand-alone cameras), and 49 percent to a tablet. Of supplier companies responding to the survey, 57 percent have apps available for their technicians.

Challenges
The conclusion of the report points out suppliers are facing a number of challenges; technology-related solutions could help with several of them, including “communication between dispatcher and technician” and “tracking vehicle and technician location.”