¹ú²úÂ鶹

Understanding your fleet’s specific needs when it comes to fuel tracking can help you implement the right tool for the job. However, knowing how to collect and analyze fuel data can make all the difference and really help you build out a strategic fuel management plan to reduce fuel spend.
By Rachael Plant

For most fleets, fuel makes up the biggest slice of the budget—as much as 50% in some cases. Not only is fuel a significant expense, but the actual cost of fuel itself is pretty volatile depending on things like market trends and even where you choose to fuel up, which can make it a bit tricky to manage. On the plus side, understanding the causes of inflated fuel spend is a great first step to getting control of it. Using robust fleet data, waste management fleets can quickly source asset issues related to increased fuel consumption, such as excessive idling, driver behavior, asset age, mechanical issues, and theft so they can better plan strategies to reduce fuel waste, optimize the fuel economy of their assets, and reduce fuel expenses.

What Causes Inflated Fuel Spend?
While you cannot control the market, there are several ways that operators, technicians, and managers can directly impact your fuel spend. On the operator side, for instance, asset idle time can be a primary culprit in putting a dent in fuel economy, driving up both fuel consumption and spend. Poor preventive maintenance (PM) practices also play a significant role; even simple issues like low tire pressure can impact an asset’s fuel economy. Asset age is also a contributing factor since assets nearing the end of their useful life tend to have poorer fuel economy. Also, when managers do not have a replacement plan, both fuel and repair spend are likely to increase.

Inefficient routing and poor driver behavior can further exacerbate the problem. A particular route may lead to excessive idle time, which not only plays a role in driving up fuel spend, but also increases wear and tear. And, while you may not be able to change a route, you can adjust asset usage so that you are not wearing out one asset faster than the rest and tanking its ROI. Alternatively, if you have electric assets in your fleet, you can put one of those on the high-idle route. Some idle time—operational idle time—cannot be avoided, but true idle time can sometimes fall into the category of driver behavior, which can be mitigated through training. Other driver behaviors that can affect fuel economy and spend include speeding, harsh braking and cornering, as well as harsh acceleration.

Perhaps the most scandalous cause of inflated fuel spend is theft. Fuel purchases that exceed the amount of fuel an asset can hold and fueling outside of designated areas are red flags, and something you should address as quickly as possible.

Using Data to Surface and Source Inflated Fuel Spend
Since so many data points in the fleet can be used to point to the source—or sources—of inflated fuel spend, data collection is pretty much make or break for effective fuel management. Fleet solutions like fuel cards, telematics, and fleet optimization platforms are all great tools for collecting fleet and fuel data.

Fuel cards are a great option for tracking fuel—with the added benefit of savings through discounts and rewards, depending on the fuel card you choose. Using a fuel card program can help you detect discrepancies, like fuel purchases exceeding tank capacity, and collect data around fueling location, time, price, and operator ID.

Telematics, which many waste management fleets already use, provide more in-depth fuel-related data that you can access in real time, making it easier to pinpoint and address the sources of inflated fuel spend. When using telematics solutions, you can use such fuel-related data points as DTC faults, routing, idle time, and driver behavior, all of which can point to why fuel spend may be higher than usual.

If you are looking to collect the maximum amount of fleet data to assess and manage fuel within the context of the whole fleet operation, a fleet optimization platform may be the best choice for you. An optimization platform can be used on its own or integrated with other fleet solutions, like telematics and fuel cards, for a consolidated source of data. This better equips you to cross-reference an asset’s fuel spend against its usage, inspection and maintenance compliance rates, service histories, and more; it also highlights fuel consumption patterns, making it easier to spot discrepancies. Furthermore, you can also surface key information like fuel spend by asset to determine potential mechanical issues and replacement cycles, or fuel spend by operator to determine asset or fuel card misuse.

Whichever tools you use to manage fuel and the actions you decide to take in order to address fuel spend, the main thing is this: you need to be able to understand how the actions you take are impacting the fleet. And for that, you need access to reliable fuel data.

Tips for Improving Fuel Economy and Mitigating Excessive Fuel Consumption
Once the causes of inflated fuel spend are identified, you can implement targeted strategies to improve fuel economy and mitigate excessive consumption. Since we covered idle time earlier, let’s look at a few other practical tips you can put to the test.

#1: Perform Regular Maintenance
Regular maintenance is already a major aspect of fleet management, and it plays a pretty significant role in fuel management as well. Aim to keep assets in optimal condition by implementing—and sticking to—OEM-based PM schedules and promptly addressing fuel-related DTC faults.

#2: Choose Fueling Locations Wisely
Where your drivers choose to fuel up can have a big impact on fuel expenses, but determining the most accessible gas stations in your operating area with competitive median price points can lead to substantial savings. Use your fueling location or geofencing data to determine if operators are fueling up outside of their routes.

#3: Address Fuel Theft Quickly
Monitor where and when fueling occurs to stay apprised of discrepancies. If using telematics or an optimization platform, set alerts for things like fueling outside approved parameters and fuel purchase exceptions, such as filling up an asset beyond its capacity.

#4: Make Driver Training a Priority
Because poor driver behaviors can put a dent in an asset’s fuel economy, investing in driver training courses can be well worth the investment and is a great way to address these problems.

The Right Tool
Understanding your fleet’s specific needs when it comes to fuel tracking can help you implement the right tool for the job, but understanding how to collect and analyze fuel data can really help you build out a strategic—and manageable—fuel management plan to reduce fuel spend. | WA

Rachael Plant’s automotive background started in auto parts inventory management. After developing and contributing articles to construction magazines, she moved into overseeing fleet-specific editorial in national trade publications and eventually joined Fleetio, a fleet management software that helps organizations track, analyze and improve their fleet operations. For more information, visit .