Fleet pains

GPS routing and software systems aside, a few other issues stand out when contractors consider fleet management. Lawn & Landscape surveyed more than 200 readers to find out the top headaches when it comes to vehicles and technology.

Labor came out as the biggest fleet management concern. Amy Tincher of Rocky Fork Company in Ohio notes this is likely of top concern because it’s traditionally a company’s biggest expense. “We sell service, so maximizing productive hours we get in a day is crucial. If our drivers aren’t efficient in how they drive to a jobsite or if they’re stopping places they shouldn’t be, those are hours we aren’t getting to bill out.”

Meggan Hargrave of Missouri-based Metropolitan Forestry Services says labor costs are also expected to rise, too. “The younger generation of people want to get paid more so now it is more important than ever to maximize the time that employees are working productively.”

Both Tincher and Hargrave suggest GPS and fleet management technology can help to relieve any of these top concerns, though. “You need to measure and manage fleets,” Tincher says. “GPS is a great tool for this, measuring your numbers all the time. Some may think it’s cost prohibitive, or a smaller organization may see it as costly. But if you do your research, it’s not that much.”