As you look to improve your logging company in the coming year, a fleet management solution can contribute to creating a successful business strategy. Logging has long been considered a dangerous occupation. Factor in narrow roads and occasionally treacherous weather conditions and the job becomes even more dangerous. A fleet management solution can help keep track of logging trucks throughout long journeys and alert you if something goes awry.
What are some other ways that fleet tracking can help a logging business?
Reduce your carbon footprint
According to Fleetmatics customer Ryan Carey, Operations Manager at J Carey Logging, the logging industry has had to overcome misconceptions in a society increasingly concerned with conservation and protecting the environment. A fleet management solution can help improve the reputation of your logging business by reducing environmental impact. By lowering idling times, cutting back on aggressive driving, and improving routing practices your business can save fuel and contribute less waste to the environment.
Keep on top of vehicle maintenance
A GPS tracking solution can help your trucks stay in tip-top shape. Keep track of last oil changes, tire checks, and other maintenance so that before beginning a long journey. Fleetmatics allows the user to set maintenance alerts based on calendar date, engine-on time, or mileage. It is important to keep on top of routine maintenance since it better equips your trucks for success and lessens the chance of a breakdown.
Identify fuel-wasting practices
Most business owners are surprised at how much fuel is wasted by idling. Carey alerted his drivers ahead of time that he would be tracking their vehicles. He briefed them on his hopes to reduce idling in the fleet. “I said, ‘I am not mad, I am just trying to reduce costs to become more efficient and profitable. Can you help me out this week and pay attention to your idling times?’” he recalled. “The next Monday when I pulled the report we had reduced idling by 10 hours a day, which works out to 50 hours a week.”
Carey thinks that a fleet tracking solution can help improve the reputation of a logging company. “Our company harvests the woods as if it were our property,” he explains. “We have a big responsibility to change the way this industry is perceived and having Fleetmatics is helping us do just that.”
Read more about how J Carey Logging uses Fleetmatics
