The budget of any business may be strained due to the rising fuel costs. Running a fleet of vehicles requires a lot of fuel. It should come as no surprise that fuel is a fleet’s second-highest annual expense since, without it, your trucks would be of no use.
Fuel costs highly impact the budgets of companies that run a fleet of vehicles. Knowing how fuel costs affect the bottom lines of organizations that run on fleets, it is critical to identify how to manage fleet fuel costs and increase the effectiveness of your fleet.
Your company can save money on fuel by employing straightforward tactics like checking tire pressure and replacing oxygen sensors. Telematics and GPS fleet management systems can significantly reduce the fuel your fleet uses.
Calculating Fleet Fuel Costs
Before figuring out different strategies, there are two options for calculating fleet fuel costs and identifying potential areas for savings.
- Manual Tracking: Manually tracking fuel expenditures using spreadsheets and receipts is a time-consuming procedure that can be challenging to manage. Human error is also more likely when tracking manually. A driver might, for instance, fail to record a transaction or misplace a receipt.
- GPS Monitoring System: Alternatively, you can compute fuel expenses automatically using a GPS fleet tracking monitoring system or an integrated vehicle management system (VMS). GPS monitoring devices provide more precise statistics by keeping track of a vehicle’s fuel consumption in dollars or gallons. Additionally, these systems can monitor how well your drivers use fuel and notify you of any potential issues.
Ways to reduce fleet fuel cost
Here are some strategies for managing fleet fuel costs and identifying potential savings areas.
- Partnering up with a telematics provider
The practical implementation of Telemetry tools can assist fleet managers in gathering essential data concerning fleet activities. The tool tracks and monitors every fleet movement from the initial ignition to the final aspect of reaching a destination. Adopting and incorporating this technology can help individuals save considerable fuel in the long run.
GPS fleet management software lets you track your vehicles’ performance and maintain driver safety. It can monitor driver routes and patterns, fuel consumption, and other metrics. Partnering with a telematics provider can ensure that your vehicles are equipped with suitable systems for your needs.
- Check Tire Pressure Periodically
Drivers should constantly check their tire pressure when there are variations in the weather and temperature because outdoor temperatures impact the tire pressure of commercial vehicles. In both cold and scorching climates, tire pressure can vary significantly. Before trucks hit the road and as part of routine maintenance, drivers and maintenance experts should check the tire pressure.
Tires that are properly inflated can help vehicles use less fuel. Cars can lose up to 0.2% of their fuel efficiency for every 1 PSI of tire pressure below the recommended level. Check tire pressure periodically, especially when the weather changes because outside temperatures influence it. This is especially true in cold or severely hot areas.
- Set Speed Restrictions
Speeding is potentially dangerous, especially for truck drivers, because it wastes gasoline. High speeds can cause a 30% reduction in fuel economy. Set speed limits for your drivers to reduce fuel use and safety hazards.
Further reducing fuel consumption, GPS fleet management and telematics can monitor fuel consumption and alert drivers when to slow down and obey speed limits. The program can generate reports showing which drivers are violating the company’s speed limits.
- Choosing Low rolling resistance tires
Low rolling resistance tires make it simple to reduce fleet fuel usage because they demand less power to move your cars ahead. Compared to standard rubber tires, low-rolling resistance tires are made of less frictional materials. They are more effective as a result. You might eventually see a decrease in fleet fuel expenses by replacing the standard tires on your fleet with low-rolling resistance tires.
- Maintaining Oxygen Sensor
Oxygen sensors are standard in every car built after the 1980s. The amount of fuel needed for each combustion cycle is determined by these devices, which measure the oxygen content in the vehicle’s exhaust gases and provide the data to the engine’s computer. The oxygen sensors in a car will eventually wear out, just like any other piece of equipment, so they must be replaced.
When replaced or repaired, the oxygen sensor can increase fuel efficiency by up to 40%. The maintenance team for your fleet should set up alerts to find and fix damaged oxygen sensors before the vehicle is allowed back on the road.
- Avoiding Idling
Idling vehicles wastes fuel needlessly and racks up expenses. These unnecessary expenditures can build up across your fleet and substantially negatively impact your revenue.
If your drivers anticipate parking or staying still for a period, teach them to turn off their engines. In terms of fuel usage and engine wear, this will save money over the short- and long-term.
When your drivers put the car in park, use telematics software to remind them to turn off the engine. You can then look over the software’s reports to see which drivers idling the most and take steps to break this habit.
Conclusion
Fuel prices are a massive concern for fleet managers. Fleet fuel cost management solutions should be data-driven decisions that will make a significant difference to your business’s bottom line. If you want to enhance fuel efficiency, this modern technology is the primary solution. The above-listed strategies are based on the best practices and can subsequently help improve fleet fuel efficiency and reduce fleet costs over time. So, start your journey and learn how to manage fleet fuel costs today. Be sure to conduct online research to learn more about this aspect.
