When it comes to efficient cost management, the fleet owners have to identify and separate their fixed and variable costs to micro-analyse their expenditure t犀利士
rends. Expenses like insurance, depreciation, fuel, vehicle maintenance are the major cost heads that fleet management companies can effectively control with connected vehicle data.
Let’s take a deeper look into how can connected car data help the fleet owners reduce their variable expenses with Preventive Maintenance and Remote Diagnostics –
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE – To keep the fleet up and running in good shape, it is important to monitor the performance and health of the fleet in real-time with the help of notifications and alerts to take timely action beforehand. With the help of connected car data, the fleet companies can get timely warnings about any part that might require repair or change.Timely servicing and regular maintenance checks can help keep the fleet owners updated on the health status of their fleet. Such preventive maintenance can help them toavoid any excessive expenses that could have occurred in case of a breakdown.
- FUEL – Typically about 75% of the total expenses get spent on Fuel. The fleet owners need to effectively look to assess and identify improvement areas towards lower costs. With real-time data, the fleet owners can track the fuel transactions like refill rate, top-up amount, fuel capacity, consumption rates, type of fuel etc. The fleet owners can use the vehicle data for real-time tracking to avoid unnecessary fuel spent on congested routes, deviations, and personal usage of the vehicle by the drivers. The data also helps them to identify and curb any unauthorised transaction, misuse of fuel or potential fuel theft.
- MAINTENANCE – Maintenance is the second largest variable expense constituting up to 17 % of the entire expenditure. To control these overhead costs, the fleet managers must opt for regular basic preventive maintenance to keep the vehicle in good health and avoid any major sudden repair cost. Connected car data helps to track the health status of the vehicle with regular updates and reminders.
- TIRE – About 6% of the total expenditure made by the fleet owners on their vehicle is that on tires. Tire maintenance is the key in keeping fleets operational. To reduce expenses, it is important to monitor the tire pressure every time a vehicle is used. Wrong pressure level of the tires makes the vehicle unsafe for traveling and also lead to increased fuel consumption. The tires should also be inflated to the right level as recommended by the manufacturer based on the make of the vehicle. Appropriate inflation level of the tires maximizes fuel efficiency and tire life. Under-inflated tires make the engines use more force and more fuel to operate. Timely tire replacement is important to ensure the efficiency of the vehicle. Using the vehicle data, the fleet owners can monitor the condition of the tires based on the real-time notifications on its wear and tear and save more on these expenditures.
- OIL – Oil expenses are not as major as the spent made on fuel, maintenance or on tires but they are important to maintain the performance of the engine and the overall vehicle and to save the extra cost on fuel. The connected car data helps with real-time notifications on the status of the oil. The oil should be changed at regular intervals before it gets too old or dirty to avoid engine overload and wastage of fuel. The older and dirtier oil gets, the harder an engine must work to circulate it, and the more wear on the engine. Apt oil weight must be used to maintain the fuel efficiency. The oil filters should be changed timely to avoid filter clogging which can impact the air and fuel flow.
REMOTE DIAGNOSTICS – Vehicle breakdowns and failures can lead to major downtime and unexpected costs for a company. In case of sudden breakdowns, a vehicle usually has to be towed to a service station to be fixed before it can go back on the road. These costs increase the expense burden of the fleet management companies. In order to curb these expenses, fleet managers should be able to run remote diagnostics that can help them track their vehicle in real-time even from a distance with the help of connected car data. Remote diagnostics aims to prevent unexpected failures and help companies keep better track of their fleet’s health in terms of –
- FUEL – With the help of remote diagnostics, the fleet management companies can keep a track on the fuel consumption of the vehicles in real-time so as to detect any problem related to fuel level, fuel pressure, leakage or pilferage even from a distance so as to reduce any overhead cost related to this.
- MAINTENANCE & REPAIR – With the help of connected car data, the fleet companies can assess the performance of the vehicles in real-time even from a distance and keep a track on the various health factors of their fleet including battery voltage and level, engine temperature,coolant temperature,odometer reading, etc.to assess any requirement of repair beforehand so as to prevent any damage or extra expenditure.
- TIRE – Tires of a fleet are not only essential for the vehicle’s health but also prime to driver’s safety. The fleet management companies can monitor Tire Pressure and wear and tear in real-time to reduce traffic accidents, improve fuel economy and increase tire life. Remote diagnostics allow the fleet management companies to keep a track on their vehicles’ tires even from a distance.
- OIL – To keep the engine performance high and the vehicles’ health in shape, regular oil change is a must. The fleet management companies can run remote diagnostics on their vehicles with the help of connected car data to monitor the oil weight, oil temperature and filters to avoid any damage on the engine and health of the vehicle which could incur major expenses for the company.
CerebrumX through connected car data addresses the key challenges of cost management and provides apt solutions through ADLP to the fleet owners. With the real time embedded data, CerebrumX enables the fleet providers to run cost-friendly functions like remote diagnostics and preventive maintenance, etc. to reduce the expenses of fleet and to keep the performance and health of the vehicle in check.