Make 2020 the Year of Efficiency and Reduced Costs

a truck driving who's going to become more efficient in 2020

You can’t control how much fuel costs or the price of a new truck, but that doesn’t mean you’re helpless in reducing your fleet’s expenses, either. As you plan for a more profitable 2020, consider how your fleet can become more efficient and reduce costs at the same time. Here’s what you can do.

Plan Better Routes and Schedules

Just because a driver has used the same route for months or even years doesn’t always mean it’s the best one. Just because you’ve had a specific schedule with a shipper for the last dozen hauls doesn’t make it the most efficient.

To make your fleet run more efficiently and reduce expenses (like fuel costs), it’s time to plan better routes and schedules. The Gorilla Safety ELD system makes this easy. 

  • Use the GPS function to find the best route to a destination. You’ll have faster deliveries which make shippers happy so they continue to do business with you. You’ll have happier drivers who can get the job done quickly and take on more jobs for you.
  • Train your drivers to use their ELD to report detention time, especially when it’s overly long. This can help you create more efficient schedules for your drivers in the future.
  • Better routes and scheduling decreases the miles needed for a particular haul and can reduce idle time. Both decrease your fuel costs.

Handle Vehicle Maintenance and Repairs More Efficiently

The biggest cost of any fleet is the truck doing all of the work. A well-maintained vehicle is more efficient on fuel consumption, has fewer safety violations, and stays on the road longer.  

  • Use pre and post-trip inspections to look for any potential problems before they become costly problems later. Doing inspections electronically takes half the time of a traditional inspection report and keeps your mechanic and service department aware of issues.
  • Make sure your drivers and service department have any easy form of communication between them. The Gorilla Safety app makes reporting issues as efficient as possible and gives your mechanic the opportunity to pull a truck off the road for an immediate repair (without the expense of towing) or wait until it’s back at home base.
  • Use the driver behavior information in a truck’s ELD to determine how a driver handles a vehicle. If brakes, clutches, tires, and other parts seem to be wearing out quickly, you can use the data available to discover if the driver is part of the problem.
  • Consider upgrading vehicles that need constant repairs or aren’t using fuel efficiently, even with regular maintenance. The upfront cost may be steep, but in the long run, it will save you time and money.

Reduce Driver Turnover

On average, it can cost $6,400 to hire and train a new driver. Keeping a well-trained, happy driver costs much less. If hiring expenses are something you’d like to decrease in 2020, your ELD system can help. 

Incentivize driver performance. How your drivers handle the road is information you already have at your fingertips. Roadside inspections, trip inspections, driver behavior, hours logged — create a metric to measure where you want drivers to excel or improve. When a driver hits the target, reward them.

Offer better routes. One driver might want to be home more often while another may want as many miles as you can give them. The GPS function of your ELD system makes this easier than ever. Happier drivers stick with a fleet longer and perform better. You save time and money when your best drivers are on the road.

Train or dismiss poor performing drivers. While it’s expensive to hire a new driver, it’s more expensive to keep a dangerous or reckless driver. Reduce accidents and violations by dealing with problem drivers. Some need more training, and others need a new line of work.

Everything you need to reduce your costs, boost your fleet’s performance, and have a more efficient business can be found in a good ELD system. Gorilla Safety offers all of these options and more. Start with the ELD system that fits your business needs best and add more functionality as your fleet grows and becomes more efficient. Contact us today to learn more!