Fleet Managers: KPIs to Track as Q4 Begins

Let’s face it, 2020 likely impacted your fleet operation’s ability to complete this year’s goals. The pandemic might have resulted in your shop closing temporarily, unexpected staff reductions, remote work, budget cuts, and more. However, that can make tracking your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) even more important this year. As we enter the fourth quarter, track these KPIs to monitor how your fleet operation is performing. 

Preventative Maintenance Services 

One of the best ways to keep your vehicles on the roadways is to perform regular preventative maintenance services at set intervals – either time durations or mileage. It’s important to track how many of your team’s overall work orders are PM services, which vehicles are current on PM, and which assets are overdue. 

Work Order Completion Rates 

Avoid unwanted vehicle downtime by tracking work order completion rates. Monitor how long it typically takes the shop to complete a repair so you can determine how quickly vehicles are getting back on the roadways. This will also help identify problem areas and training needs. 

Vehicle Inspection Results 

When drivers complete vehicle inspection reports, track the results to determine which defects are the most common across your fleet. This can help you determine repair trends and needs. 

Mileage/Odometer Readings 

Monitoring your vehicles’ odometer readings allows you to properly schedule preventative maintenance services for each asset and track the vehicles’ usage. 

Costs 

As a fleet manager, you need to track how much your operation is spending. This can include labor, parts, fuel, and the following vehicle costs: 

• Total cost per mile 
• Parts cost per mile 
• Tire cost per mile 

• Fuel cost per mile 
• Miles per gallon 
• Idle time percentage 

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) 

One of the most important metrics to track is the Total Cost of Ownership to determine the cost of keeping a vehicle in your fleet. Tracking this can inform you of how much you are spending to operate a vehicle, and when it is time to replace the asset. 

Efficiency 

With tight budgets and possibly reduced staffs, you want your fleet to run as efficiently as possible. To measure this, you can track the following metrics: 

• Fuel usage per vehicle 
• Vehicle idling time 
• Vehicle usage 

Parts Inventory 

It’s important to monitor your parts inventory to ensure you are not over-ordering parts, or under-ordering the most-used parts. Tracking the inventory regularly will help give you more insight into your operation’s trends to ensure you have the right parts in stock. 

Safety 

You want to run a safe fleet operation. Measure the following metrics to track how safe your drivers, technicians and other employees are in the shop and on the roads: 

• Vehicle accidents 
• OSHA accidents 
• Speeding infractions 
• Aggressive acceleration and braking incidents