The role of a fleet manager (and any management position for that matter) requires skilled leadership and unwavering dedication to ensure drivers and trucks are moving the world’s goods with as little disruption as possible.
As a fleet manager, how can you make a positive difference to promote safety and success with your company’s bottom line? Here’s our 3 best tips to help you reach for greatness.
You can’t put a price on safety
Never say “it won’t happen to me” and never wait until an accident occurs to get on top of safety. Over the road trucking is dangerous. Whether it’s dealing with inclement weather, traffic jams, break downs, health- or even the unexpected, drivers need to be vigilant. It’s up to you as the fleet manager to reinforce this by being proactive. Hold a safety briefing to keep strategies and protocol fresh, invest in “hands-free” communication equipment and stress the importance of health and sufficient sleep to keep drivers energized and focused.
Regular truck maintenance is a must
Who remembers exactly when to get an oil change? With the hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy for anyone to forget vehicle maintenance. The thing is, taking trucks for granted not only compromises safety, but shortens the lifespan of an expensive rig. As fleet manager you can be the constant reminder for truckers in your fleet to take care of the mechanics. Hold inspections and send out reminders. You can go old school by writing announcements on a whiteboard or posting sticky notes on company boards…or you can go automated with cloud based fleet management software that makes it super easy to send out service reminders.
Be the positive soundboard
Every team needs that motivational boost, and the fleet manager is just the fella to do it. Organize incentives for your drivers to do a good job, and always hold them to a high performance standard. Challenge them to meet team goals and strive for excellence, like saving on fuel, demonstrating defensive driving practices and performing regular truck inspections. When everyone is amped to be a better driver, then the fleet succeeds as a solid unit.
