efficient operations for small fleet

7/28/2019 Efficient Operations for Small Fleet

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Ecient Operations or

Small Fleets and Owner-drivers

Case

Study


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ForewordFreight Best Practice is unded by the

Department or Transport and managed by

AECOM to promote operational eciency and

reduce environmental impact within reight

operations.

Freight Best Practice oers FREE essential

inormation or the reight industry, covering

topics such as saving uel, developing skills,

equipment and systems, operational eciency

and perormance management. All FREE

materials are available to download rom

www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

or can be ordered through the Hotline on

0300 123 1250.

Additional ree copies o the guide can be

obtained by calling the Freight Best Practice

Hotline on

0300 123 1250. It can also be downloaded rom

the programmes website www.businesslink.

gov.uk/reightbestpractice

Disclaimer: While the Department or Transport (DT ) has made every eort to

ensure the inormation in this document is accurate, DT does not guaranteethe accuracy, completeness or useulness o that inormation; and it cannot

accept liability or any loss or damages o any kind resulting rom reliance on the

inormation or guidance this document contains.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Contents

Foreword 2

Introduction 4The Purpose o This Guide 4

Who is This Guide or? 4

How Much Can Be Saved? 4

A Quick Look at Fuel Use and CO2

Emissions 6

Finding Your Way around This Guide 6

Operator Types 8

Getting Organised - Managing Costs and Eciency 10

Time Management Planning Your Time 10

Collecting Data 11

Measuring Perormance 12

Job Costing 13

Reducing Fuel Use - Improving Your MPG 14

Driver Training 14

Anti-idling 15

Vehicle Specication 17

Preventative Maintenance 18

Maximising Vehicle Use - Making Every Mile Count 20

IT Systems 20

Back-loading and Online Freight Exchanges 21


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Essential Tools to Improve Eciency 23

Transport Operators Pack (TOP) 23

Fuel Ready Reckoner 24

Fleet Perormance Management Tool Incorporating CO2 Emissions Calculator 24

Create an Eciency Action Plan 26

Useul Contacts 29


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Introduction

The Purpose o This Guide

Around hal o all trucks on the road are rom feets o 10 or ewer vehicles. This guide describes the

actions that you can take as an owner-driver or small feet operator to reduce the amount o uel you use

and improve your eciency, as well as doing your bit or the environment.

The guide highlights a range o measures that can be introduced which are both cost eective and easily

implemented. Use it to improve your eciency and save money!

Who is This Guide or?

This guide is or anyone who has responsibility or a small feet, including:

Owner-drivers

Owners and transport managers o small haulage companies

Small own account feets whose primary business is not transport

You may be an owner-driver with your own truck and youre responsible or everything to do with it.

You may be the owner o a small haulage company sub-contracting rom, or competing with, large

multi-depot reight rms.

You may be part o a large organisation that needs to run a small transport feet as part o its main

business.

Depending on which o these categories you all into, you may nd that one or two sections in this guide

do not apply directly to you but whatever your operation, you will nd plenty in this publication to help

you run your transport operation more eciently.

This guide is aimed at small feets, by which we mean those with up to 10 vehicles. Operators o larger

feets, however, will also nd the inormation useul.

How Much Can Be Saved?The ollowing three examples show some o the methods employed by small companies to reduce uel

use and improve eciency and illustrate just how much can be saved.


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N.R.D. Transport

Neil Davis, trading as N.R.D. Transport, is an

owner-driver based in Birmingham. He has

achieved a 15% reduction in uel use by:

Measuring his costs

Using his vehicles cruise control and

exhaust brake more eciently

Maximising his vehicles aerodynamic

eciency

Maximising back-loading opportunities

and reducing empty miles

Logiq UK LtdOperating nine vehicles, Logiq UK Ltd is a

Kent-based haulage company that has

reduced its uel consumption by 10% by:

Introducing a driver bonus scheme

based on uel consumption

Using sat-nav and vehicle tracking

technology

Regularly checking tyre wear, pressuresand wheel alignment

Speciying cab roo air defectors on its

vehicles

Riverord Organic Vegetables Ltd

Riverord Organic Vegetables Ltd operates a

small feet o articulated vehicles to deliver

produce to regional hubs or its organic home

delivery business. It has reduced its uel use by

9% by:

Speciying the correct vehicles and

trailers or maximum eciency

Monitoring driver and vehicle

perormance

Maximising vehicle utilisation


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More inormation about these companies

can be ound in the Freight Best Practice

Case Study, Owner-drivers and Small Fleet

Operators: Simple, Cost Eective Ways to

Improve Eciency

These can be ordered FREE via the Hotline

0300 123 1250, or you can download them

rom the website www.businesslink.gov.

uk/reightbestpractice

A Quick Look at Fuel Use

and CO2

Emissions

Reducing uel consumption saves you money but

also provides the added bonus o reducing yourcarbon dioxide (CO

2) emissions at the same time.

The amount o CO2

produced by your vehicles

is directly linked to the amount o uel that you

use. The more uel you use, the more CO2

you

produce. So i you can save uel, you end up

reducing your environmental impact as well as

saving money and increasing your prots. Its a

win-win situation!

The issue o climate change and greenhouse gasemissions has become one o the most important

subjects o our time. Companies o all types

and sizes are now being asked to prove their

green credentials. Many large companies are

investing in new technology to address this or

commissioning studies on ways to reduce their

uel usage - and with it their CO2

emissions.

The good news is that uel saving and emissions

reducing measures are not just something that

can be carried out by big organisations with largebudgets. There are many measures small rms

can introduce to cut down on uel consumption,

reduce their CO2

emissions and increase their

prots and many can be done very quickly,

without major investment.

Finding Your Way around

This Guide

Figure 1 shows the structure o this guide, which

begins with a prole o the types o operator the

publication is aimed at.

The guide then takes readers through the

ollowing key areas:

Getting organised to make real savings

Reducing uel and maximising vehicle use

Creating a proper action plan

To help vehicle operators on their way, there is

also a section in this guide that outlines some

useul tools rom Freight Best Practice to help

you make savings and improve eciency. There

is also a list o organisations that can provide

urther assistance.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Figure 1 Guide Structure

1) Plan Your Campaign

Chapter6:E

ssentialTools

Chapter8:UsefulContacts

Chapter 4: Reducing Fuel Use

Chapter 5: Maximising Vehicle Use

Chapter 7:Action Plan

Chapter 2: Operator Types

Chapter 3: Getting Organised


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Operator TypesThis section briefy outlines some o the characteristics o small feets and owner-drivers and some o the

challenges they ace. Obviously every company is dierent, so not all the characteristics and challenges

shown will apply to you, but you should recognise certain things which aect your business

Small Own-Account Fleet Operator

Characteristics

Specialist transport systems and equipment geared towards main business

Knowledge o business sector and transport within that sector

Perormance measures may concentrate on service rather than operational eciency

Challenges

As transport is not the companys main business, there may be knowledge gaps amongst transport

sta when it comes to compliance, training, eciency, etc

The demands o the business can oten mean improving delivery service perormance to the

detriment o the transport operation

Small Haulage Operator

Characteristics

Flat business structure ease o communication and fexible service

Less data to handle complex monitoring systems not required

Used as subcontractors, wealth o experience o dierent contracts

Specialism, many small rms tap into niche markets

Challenges

Less well known

Restricted opportunities or training, advice, systems development

Vehicles o the road have more o an impact on small feets


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Owner-driver

Characteristics

Flexible, not limited by company working

practices, shit patterns, wage structures

Can provide a personal service to

customers

Their own boss - no one reports to the

owner-driver and they in turn do not report

to anyone else

Challenges

Finding time to carry out driving duties as

well as running the business

No company support when it comes to

training and compliance

Vehicle servicing and maintenance need

to be careully planned to ensure minimal

impact on the business

Vehicle breakdowns can be a particular

issue as the vehicle is the owner-drivers

only source o income


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Getting Organised - Managing Costs

and EciencyBeore you can start to implement an eciency plan, there are three things you need to do.

1. Plan your time to make the most o the limited time you have. As an owner-driver or small

feet operator, it is you who must assume the role o Fuel Champion - the person in an organisation

responsible or implementing eciency improvements. Youll thereore need to make some time

available or this important task.

2.You need to start collecting data on what your costs are, or example how much uel you are using

and how much youre spending on things like uel, vehicle repayments and servicing.

3.You need to record how well your transport operation is perorming.

You then have a base on which you can start making savings.

Time Management Planning Your Time

Time management is all about managing yoursel. It is about ensuring that you make the best possible

use o the time available to you. Good time management is at the heart o being eective in your job and

comes rom being results-ocused and knowing what you want to achieve.

Follow the steps below to start planning your time more eectively.

1.Do your planning at the same time every day. This may be in the morning, or in the evening or theollowing day

2.Write down a to do list. This gives you:

A roadmap o what you need to do at the beginning o the day

A reminder o what still needs to be done throughout the day

A place to check o your accomplishments at the end o the day

3. Separate the list into A, B and C priorities:

A items are top priority

B items are reasonably important

C are the less important things

4.Do the A list rst, then B and nally C

5.Check o items as you complete them

6.Remember to allocate time or driving and other major activities


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7.Dont plan too many activities or any one day

- dont ll your planner up to overfowing! Much

o your work will come in during the day and you

need to allow or that

Interruptions

No matter how well organised you are, you will

always have to manage interruptions. These can

be by phone, by e-mail or simply people coming

up to you. Some are important, others are not.

But they all need to be managed to ensure

they dont take up too much o your time. I the

balance is right, then important interruptions

can be processed as necessary whilst the less

important ones can be put to one side or later.

Tip

Inorm people when you are willing or

unwilling to be interrupted

Set time limits - ask those interrupting

you how long it will take

Arrange meetings at times convenient

to you

Dont invite interruptions e.g. by having

an empty chair by your desk

Collecting Data

Costs

Beore you can start to make savings, you need

to know how much your operation is costing you.

This is just as important or an owner-driver as

it is or the manager o a multi-vehicle feet. It is

also important to know your costs when it comes

to providing quotes or work.

There are dierent ways to collect data but

a manual checklist is probably the easiest,especially i youre an owner-driver (though

larger feets oten benet rom using

sophisticated computer packages and systems

or automatically collecting and recording such

data). A common way is to record the inormation

onto a spreadsheet. Once the spreadsheet is set

up, it takes little time to regularly input the data.

There are two types o costs to record:

Fixed (standing) costs

Running costs


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The main cost types within each category are as

ollows:

Fixed Costs Running Costs

Vehicle Excise Duty Fuel

Insurance OilVehicle Finance Tyres

Depreciation Maintenance

Overheads Driver Costs

Road Charges / Tolls

Other Data

As well as these, there are one or two other

pieces o inormation that need to be recorded.Examples include:

Vehicle miles or kilometres travelled

Empty miles travelled

Total time vehicle has worked

Once a system or recording data has been set

up, you are then in a position to do something

with it.

Measuring Perormance

Key Perormance Indicators

There are a number o measures that can be used

to monitor various aspects o your transport

operation. These are commonly known as key

perormance indicators (KPIs).

There are many possible KPIs that can be

recorded. The KPIs that are suitable or you will

depend on the particular type o operation you

are running and the eciency improvements

you want to set or yoursel. One company,

or example, may be particularly interested in

reducing the time spent by vehicles travelling

empty; another might be more concerned with

total vehicle costs per mile.

Among the most common, however, are:

Vehicle costs

How much your vehicle is costing or every mile

it travels. This is calculated as ollows:

Vehicle Costs = Fixed costs + Running costs

Distance Travelled

Percentage o empty miles run what

proportion o your mileage is empty. This is

calculated as ollows:

Percentage o = Total empty miles run

empty miles run Total miles run

Measuring Miles per Gallon (MPG)

For most transport operations, uel consumption

is perhaps the most important eciency measure

to be recorded. Fuel accounts or anything

between 25% and 40% o total vehicle operating

costs, so reducing uel usage is a key part o

making savings or most vehicle operators.

In its most basic orm, measurement o uel

consumption means nothing more than

recording, or each vehicle on your feet, howmuch uel it has used and how ar it has travelled.

This is the beginning o a uel management

system. Whether you preer to measure in terms

o miles per gallon (MPG) or kilometres per

litre (KPL) isnt really important. Whichever you

choose, to calculate uel consumption you simply

divide the distance travelled by the volume o

uel used as ollows:

Miles per gallon = Total miles traveled

Total gallons o uel used

Kilometres per litre = Total kilometres

travelled

Total litres o uel used

The data used to calculate uel consumption

in this way can easily be recorded on a simple

spreadsheet which will reduce the time required

or calculations in the uture.


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Using KPIs

A KPI on its own can only take you so ar.

Individual measures and data need to be

turned into inormation that can help you make

decisions. This means setting a target, and

measuring and monitoring KPIs over a periodo time to see how you perorm against this

target. Weekly, monthly and annual reports allow

you to monitor progress and see which areas

need the greatest attention. Producing graphs

or charts will oten be the best way o showing

perormance progress.

KPIs can be used when trialling eciency

improvements. The perormance o the

operation is measured beore the improvement

is introduced and then again aterwards. This will

show how eective any improvement has been.

The Freight Best Practice Fleet

Perormance Management Tool

Incorporating CO2

Emissions Calculator

available through the Hotline on 0300

123 1250, or via the website at www.

businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

This guide can an help you record your costs

and measure your perormance. Furtherinormation can be ound in section 6.3 o

this guide.

Job Costing

One advantage o monitoring your costs is that

it gives you a solid basis on which to price jobs

or potential customers. Instead o using gut eel

or pricing a job or just trying to undercut the

competition, you can price the job knowing whatthe prot margin will be.

When recording your costs or job pricing

purposes, you need to ensure that you account

not just or the xed and running vehicle costs

described in section 3.2 but also or the other

costs o running your business. These overhead

costs include things like lighting and heating,

oce equipment hire and advertising.

Freight Best Practices Transport

Operators Pack (see section 6.1) includes

theJob Costing Tool, an interactive

spreadsheet or recording costs and pricing

jobs or customers, which can be used in

conjunction with the Freight Best Practiceguide An Introduction to Job Costing

or Road Freight Operators. Both are

available through the Hotline on 0300

123 1250, or via the website at www.

businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Reducing Fuel Use - Improving Your

MPGFuel can account or anything between 25% and 40% o your total costs. Thereore, anything that can

be done to reduce uel use can yield signicant savings or your company. This section highlights somesimple and eective ways o improving the MPG o your vehicle or feet.

Driver Training

No matter what size your operation, the greatest single infuence on uel eciency is the driver. Investing

in driver training and development can help you adapt to changes and improve eciency, assist in sae

driving and improve employee retention. Remember, your employees are your greatest asset!

There are three key skill areas or drivers in any operation, big or small:

Technical skills - sae and uel ecient driving, maintenance skills

Personal skills - customer care, communication, teamwork

Knowledge - knowledge o the vehicle, routes, products, customers and legislation

Proessional training courses available or drivers include Sae and Fuel Ecient Driving (SAFED), National

Vocational Qualications (NVQs), Certicates o Proessional Competence (CPCs) and other accredited

courses.

The ollowing will help you identiy relevant courses or your drivers:

SAFED (www.saed.org.uk)

Skills or Logistics (www.skillsorlogistics.org)

The Chartered Institute o Logistics and Transport (www.ciltuk.org.uk)

SAFED

The Sae and Fuel Ecient Driving training programme consists o a one-day training course which

includes practical assessments and theory on:

Accident prevention and reduction

Fuel ecient driving

Companies that have trained their drivers using SAFED have typically reduced uel consumption by

between 3% and 12%.
http://www.safed.org.uk/http://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/http://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.safed.org.uk/


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SAFED or HGVs: A Guide to Sae and Fuel Ecient Driving or HGVs

SAFED or Vans: A Guide to Sae and Fuel Ecient Driving or Vans

Companies and Drivers Benet rom SAFED or HGVs: A Selection o Case Studies

All are available through the Hotline on 0300 123 1250, or via the website at www.businesslink.

gov.uk/reightbestpractice

Benets o Driver Training

For Drivers For the OrganisationFor the Fleet Manager /

Owner-driver

Reduced stress and

enhanced satisaction

Increased condence indriving perormance

Increased own-vehicle MPG

Development o a health and

saety culture

Eective risk management

Reduction o harmul

emissions

Reduction o accidents and

incidents

Reduced uel spend and

running costs

Improved resale value o feet

Potential reductions in

insurance premiums

Increased productivity and

vehicle utilisation

Driver CPC

From September 2009 all drivers o goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes will need to hold a Driver CPC as well

as their vocational drivers licence. The main aim o the new Driver CPC qualication is to improve roadsaety but it will also improve drivers knowledge, proessionalism and driving skills.

Tip

When investigating driver training, nd out what Government unding is available to help nance

your training. For urther inormation on unding, contact Skills or Logistics

(www.skillsorlogistics.org) or Train to Gain (www.traintogain.gov.uk) .

Anti-idlingExcessive idling o vehicle engines wastes uel and money. With modern vehicles, the cost o switching o

the engine and starting up again is usually less than the cost o leaving the engine idling.

On tickover, a large HGV can use up to two litres o uel per hour.

Follow this simple process to support the introduction o an anti-idling campaign in your operation:

Plan your campaign

Measure uel consumption or at least two weeks without anti-idling to help set a benchmark MPG

gure and realistic targets. Then measure uel consumption or two weeks with anti-idling to gain a

beore and ater picture.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/http://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Brie your drivers

Gather your drivers together or a brieng - no more than ve minutes may be required.

Anti-idling training presentation and posters are available rom the Transport Operators Pack,

downloadable rom www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

Run the campaign

Ater your drivers have been brieed you can start to analyse your beore and ater data to

determine improvements.

Communicate the results

Present the results and provide eedback back to your drivers. Continue to monitor progress

together with periodic briengs to maximise benet over the long term.

TipMost modern vehicles with engine management systems can be programmed to automatically cut

out ater idling or more than a specied length o time, or example ater ve minutes.

Examples o anti-idling campaign posters ound in the Transport Operators Pack

TURN IT FF!When youre

on a breakDont idle.

Drivers: You are the key! Drivers: You are the key!

Excessive idling

Wastes fuel

Wastes money

Increases emissions

TURN IT FF!
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Vehicle Specication

Whether buying new or second hand vehicles, spending time developing an accurate vehicle

specication can really help you achieve a reduction in your uel costs and improve your bottom line.

Speciying the wrong vehicle can result in a truck that is unsuitable or the taskor which it has been

acquired and more costly than necessary to operate.

To speciy the right vehicle or your operation, you need to do the ollowing:

Think about what type o work the vehicle will be carrying out

Identiy the basic vehicle type thats most suitable or your operation

Complete a detailed specication or the ollowing core vehicle components chassis, suspension,

axles, tyres and wheels, engine, transmission, uel tank, cab, body and trailer

Truck Specication or Best Operational Eciency is available through the Hotline on 0300 123

1250, or via the website at www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

We have had cab roo airings tted to all o our 7.5 tonne trucks. Although there was the extra

cost o having them tted, we know that they will more than pay or themselves in the long run.

David Crayord, Director, Logiq UK Ltd


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REMEMBER:

Tyre selection can also aect

tachograph and speed limiter

calibration.

Wheel Alignment

As well as making sure that the tyres on your

vehicles are in good condition, having the

wheel alignment checked can also reap huge

savings. Proper alignment can lead to:

Reduced uel usage (a 1 misalignment

on one axle could increase uel

consumption by around 5%)

Improved tyre lie (a 0.5 misalignment

can reduce tyre lie by up to 50%)

Reduced emissions

Less wear and tear on mechanical

components

Improved driver comort and saety

Reduced potential or tyre overheating

I you require urther inormation, detailed

guidance is available in SAFED or HGVs: A

Guide to Sae and Fuel Ecient Driving or

HGVs, and many other Freight Best Practice

publications.

These can be ordered FREE via the Hotline

0300 123 1250, or you can download them

rom the website www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

Preventative Maintenance

Preventative maintenance is a programme o

care or your vehicles that maximises vehicle

eciency and reliability. A preventative

maintenance programme includes:

Daily vehicle checks

Systematic saety inspections at regular

intervals

A system or dealing eectively with any

aults

A system or documenting these activities

Being proactive about vehicle maintenance can

save you a lot o time, money and trouble in the

long run. As an operator o a smaller feet, the

consequences o having a vehicle out o action

can be enormous, ranging rom unscheduled

disruptions to lost earnings.

Poor vehicle maintenance can also reduce vehicle

lie, increasing whole-lie vehicle cost. A proactive

maintenance strategy, on the other hand, can

make or signicant savings.

Preventative maintenance improves

saety, reduces uel use and can help your

vehicles achieve a higher pass rate at annual

roadworthiness inspections.

Preventative Maintenance or Ecient

Road Freight Operations is availablethrough the Hotline on 0300 123 1250, or

via the website at www.businesslink.gov.


The Transport Operators Pack (see

section 6.1) includes driver vehicle check

and deect orms and an interactive

maintenance planning tool and is available

via the website at www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice.
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Figure 3 Maintenance Planner

Depot: Fleet:

Maintenanceplanner

Key: M = MOTP = Tanker Pressure Test

A = A service

B = B service

C = C service

I = Inspection

R = Reduced Pollution Check

T = Tachograph Recalibration

Month

Week No.

Veh ic le/ Tr ai ler Reg Ty pe MOT Dat e

September October NovemberJanuary February March April May June July August December

Weekcommencing

YEAR:


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Maximising Vehicle Use - Making

Every Mile CountOnce your truck is in service, using the right technology to plan and manage your work can help you

maximise vehicle and driver eciency and maintain your competitive edge. This section o the guidehighlights a number o measures that could help boost your eciency, your productivity and your

protability, using simple and cost eective inormation technology (IT) and other strategies to maximise

vehicle ll.

Using Technology

IT systems, routing sotware and on-board telematics can be rather daunting, especially i you are not a

computer bu. But you dont need to understand how such technology works - only what it can do or

your operation.

IT systems by themselves do not save you money. It is how you use the inormation they provide that will

improve your eciency.

IT Systems

Routing and Scheduling Systems

Routing and scheduling systems can help you to plan the best routes and schedules to ull your orders

quickly and accurately. They tend to be quite sophisticated sotware packages and can provide benets

in many areas, in addition to rapid planning o routes. These systems are generally expensive, however,and are more suited to operators with large feets and complex delivery systems.

Journey Planning Tools

Mainly used to plan single journeys, these systems cost considerably less than vehicle scheduling

systems. They are more aordable or smaller organisations and they can prove very eective in

organisations operating a small feet o ten or less vehicles, where the number o routes or the number o

calls on each route is relatively small.

These systems hold a digital map o the road network and calculate the best route between two or more

points, based on various actors such as road speeds and road types.

The simplest o these systems can be used online or ree. More advanced programmes can be bought or

downloaded and cost typically between 25 and 75.

The advantages o the planning tools are that:

They provide the most ecient route or the journey

They can reduce travel time and lost running

They provide maps and directions or the routes


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They can be linked to live trac inormation

They are low cost

They have to be used with care, however, as such

programs may not highlight road eatures such

as low bridges and weight restrictions.

Satellite Navigation

Satellite navigation (sat-nav) systems contain

a digital map o the road network and pick up

signals rom global positioning satellites (GPS) to

calculate a vehicles current position, using that

inormation to guide a driver to their destination.

A sat-nav unit is a useul tool, especially or multi-

drop operations where drivers are travellingto unamiliar destinations. These systems have

become very aordable and can be bought o

the shel in most electrical retailers.

For owner-drivers and small operators travelling

to unamiliar destinations, sat-nav can:

Eliminate the need or drivers to obtain

detailed directions to their next destination

Improve drivers concentration on the roadby automatically guiding the way

Reduce planning time and lost running as

well as decreasing overall travel times

Some systems can also advise drivers o trac

delays and assist in re-routing, where necessary.

WARNING:

Dont over-rely on sat-navs. Most

systems are not yet designed with

large vehicles in mind and so do not

account or height restrictions, weight

restrictions and unsuitable roads.

Systems are now being developed

specically or trucks. Additionally, the

Highway Code warns drivers against

being distracted by in-vehicle systems

such as satellite navigation, congestion

warning systems and multi-media.

Telematics

Telematics reers to any remote device tted into

vehicles, including sat-nav and a variety o other

applications such as:

Vehicle and driver monitoring

Communications systems

Vehicle and trailer tracking

Trac inormation systems

Saety and security systems

Until quite recently, many telematics systems

have proved too expensive or small feet users,due both to their complexity and the costs

involved in their development. Advances in this

technology, however, are now making cheaper

o the shel systems widely available.

Inormation Technology or Ecient Road

Freight Operations is available through

the Hotline on 0300 123 1250, or via the

website at www.businesslink.gov.uk/

reightbestpractice

Back-loading and Online

Freight Exchanges

Back-loading

Back-loading (also known as backhaul) is the

practice o making use o spare capacity on the

return leg o a delivery journey.

Collecting additional loads or the empty or

partially loaded return journey can:

Improve operational eciency

Increase vehicle and driver utilisation

Increase the revenue rom each trip

Remove the need or an additional vehiclejourney

Increase prots
http://information%20technology%20for%20efficient%20road%20freight%20operations%20is%20available%20through%20the%20hotline%20on%200300%20123%201250%2C%20or%20via%20the%20website%20at%20www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://information%20technology%20for%20efficient%20road%20freight%20operations%20is%20available%20through%20the%20hotline%20on%200300%20123%201250%2C%20or%20via%20the%20website%20at%20www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://information%20technology%20for%20efficient%20road%20freight%20operations%20is%20available%20through%20the%20hotline%20on%200300%20123%201250%2C%20or%20via%20the%20website%20at%20www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://information%20technology%20for%20efficient%20road%20freight%20operations%20is%20available%20through%20the%20hotline%20on%200300%20123%201250%2C%20or%20via%20the%20website%20at%20www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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The highly competitive nature o the road

distribution market gives operators a strong

incentive to eliminate wasteul journeys,

minimise costs and satisy their customers. As

well as making better use o your vehicle, back-

loading can also raise the prole o your business

as it can give you the opportunity to work with

many more haulage companies than you would

otherwise be doing and become better known

within your industry. New contacts and trading

partners you establish can expand the reach o

your business and improve your prots.

Tip

Own account transport feets operating on a

Restricted Operators Licence cannot collect

goods rom suppliers or payment as this willbe deemed as working or hire or reward. For

this, a Standard Operators Licence is required.

Online Systems

Online reight exchanges are systems that allow

organisations with loads to move to post the

loads online or hauliers seeking loads or back-

loads to consider. These systems match buyers

(those with goods to be transported) with sellers(those who have vacant vehicle space).

Online reight exchanges may not benet

companies with only a small number o vehicles

operating in a limited area. However, or owner-

drivers or small companies with a national or

international operation, they can be a useul way

to obtain back-loads and reduce empty running.

Such exchanges can help:

Save time and money, or both consignorsand hauliers

Provide ready access to a wide customer

base

Enhance back-loading opportunities

Improve vehicle ll

Tip

There are now ways to connect to the internet

away rom home using mobile phone

networks. These can be used to nd back-

loading opportunities while away rom yourbase.

When away rom base, I use my mobile

phone to access the internet to look at

online reight exchanges and monitor

back-loading opportunities in real time.

I have ound this acility crucial to my

success as an owner-driver.

Neil Davis, Owner-driver, N.R.D.

Transport

Alternative Methods or Generating

Work

As well as reight exchanges, there are other ways

to generate work to maximise vehicle utilisation,

including:

Sub-contracting - providing your services

to other companies to help to ull their

schedules; each job could be either a one-

o or part o a regular contract

Partnering - collaborating with other

companies; this may be to bid or a contract

which would be too big to service by

yoursel, work with a haulier in another

sector (or example a primary distribution

company working with a courier or the

nal distribution stage), or even work witha haulier rom another area to provide

backhaul opportunities or both companies

Pallet networks - groups o companies

working together, ormally or inormally, in

a network or the movement o palletised

goods around the country

Prot through Partnership is available

through the Hotline on 0300 123 1250, orvia the website at www.businesslink.gov.



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Essential Tools to Improve EciencyThis section highlights some o the some o the tools in the Freight Best Practice programme which will

help you to make uel and eciency savings.

Transport Operators Pack (TOP)The Transport Operators Pack is a downloadable package o tools and inormation designed or transport

managers and owner-drivers to help them run their operations as eciently as possible.

It provides practical, everyday support on managing sta and operations, along with a number o helpul

checklists, spreadsheets, orms, presentations, posters and key act reminders.

The orms and checklists can be edited as required and printed out or repeat use.

The top tips sheets can be wall-mounted or led away as reerence material.

The posters in the pack support specic Freight Best Practice campaigns, such as those on uel

management, road saety and anti-idling.

G

GREEN

5

10

15

20

25

30

Keeping engine revs

within the green band

dramatically improves

fuel consumption.

Drivers: You are the key!

The interactive spreadsheets, meanwhile, can be used with the orms and checklists to urther improve

your operation. They are simple to download and include clear instructions. Examples include the Job

Costing Tool and the Vehicle Maintenance Planning Tool.

The various sections o the Transport Operators Pack can all be downloaded FREE rom the Freight

Best Practice website (www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice).


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26

Fuel Ready Reckoner

The Fuel Ready Reckoner is a FREE, web-based

tool that quickly helps you estimate how much

money you could save by introducing various

uel saving measures into your operation. It is

designed or any feet looking to create an actionplan or uel saving.

There are 21 dierent measures that can be

tested, including:

Increasing vehicle ll

Driver training

Aerodynamic eatures

Wheel alignment

Fuel ecient tyres

Anti-idling

The tool is very simple to use. Ater entering the

current price o uel, you just need to:

Enter the details o your vehicles

Test the eects o dierent uel saving

techniques against each vehicle group in

your feet

View the results or your whole feet

Change the techniques and again view the

results

Calculate how long it will take or the

technique to pay or itsel using thepayback calculator

A detailed instruction booklet can be

downloaded which includes screenshots and

step-by-step instructions.

The Fuel Ready Reckoner can be accessed

or FREE via the Freight Best Practice

website www.businesslink.gov.uk/

reightbestpractice

Fleet Perormance

Management Tool

Incorporating CO2Emissions Calculator

The Fleet Perormance Management Tool

Incorporating CO2

Emissions Calculator is a

ready-made spreadsheet to help you measure

the perormance o your operation. I youre an

owner-driver or run a small feet, it will help you

to understand your operation more ully and

then identiy which areas can be improved.

The tool works by providing the user with keyperormance indicators (KPIs) which are measures

o how well your operation is perorming.

Examples o such KPIs include:

Cost per unit delivered

Average miles per gallon or kilometres

per litre

Percentage empty running total

Percentage o late deliveries

There are a total o 24 KPIs in the tool but not all

o them need to be used - just the ones that are

important to your operation. Once these have

been identied, you need to collect and input the

data into the spreadsheet to produce the reports.

The tool produces a series o reports and charts

automatically which clearly show how well the

operation is perorming in your chosen areas.


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27

The accompanying guide provides ull instruction

on how to use the tool, with screenshots o the

spreadsheet, background inormation on KPIs,

handy tips or using and understanding the tool

and details on how to read the charts.

The Fleet Perormance Management ToolIncorporating CO

2Emissions Calculator

can be ordered FREE rom the Freight Best

Practice hotline on 0300 123 1250. It can

also be downloaded along with the guide

rom the Freight Best Practice website www.

businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice.

Once you have entered all the

inormation required or your vehicles,the spreadsheet works everything

out or you. Thanks to the Fleet

Perormance Management Tool, we are

now seeing rewards in reduced uel use

and much better overall operational

eciency.

John Clafey, Transport Manager, A1

Paper


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28

Create an Eciency Action PlanThis guide has already covered a range o actions that owner-drivers and small feet operators can take toimprove their eciency, all o which are both cost eective and easily implemented.

This nal section o the guide provides the outline or an action plan that can be used either to start

monitoring perormance and improving eciency, or to introduce new measures into your operation to

urther improve its perormance.

A bit o time may initially be required to start carrying out these actions but in the long run they will

provide signicant savings without occupying much o your time. Monitoring perormance and uel use

should become part o your daily routine as a transport operator. Doing so will reap benets or you in

improved perormance and reduced costs.

Not all o the ideas in this guide will be suitable

or you and your particular operation, but you can

concentrate on the ones you eel will make the

biggest dierence.

In Figure 4 you will nd a checklist to help make

sure youve got everything in place to make your

eciency improvements.

Your time is precious, but spending a little o it to

properly plan your activities will pay dividends in

the long run. Figure 5 gives you the key stages o

an action plan to help you organise your eciency

improvements, step by step.

Beore implementing any eciency strategy,

always seek ways to test it rst - or example in a short trial. Make sure that you can measure the results,

establish some KPIs and record your perormance. I you nd that the improvements are too small, try

something else. I the trial is successul, then you can ully implement the system.

Above all else, keep monitoring your perormance and keep looking or opportunities to make urtherimprovements.


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Figure 4 Action Planner Checklist


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30

Figure 5 Action Planner

Get organised

Review system using KPIs

Implement system

Collect data

Identify where biggest

savings can be made

Trial system / scheme

Does it work?No

Yes

Use the Fuel Ready Reckonerto

identify which fuel saving schemes

will save you the most money

- see Chapter 6.2 Page 16

Measure performance


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Useul ContactsFreight Best Practice

Tel: 0300 123 1250

www.businesslink.gov.uk/

reightbestpractice

Department or Transport

Tel: 020 7944 8300

www.dt.gov.uk

Train to Gain

Tel: 0845 600 9 006 (Business Link)

www.traintogain.gov.uk

Road Haulage Association

Tel: 01932 841515www.rha.net

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency

(VOSA)

Tel: 0300 123 9000

www.vosa.gov.uk

Freight Transport Association

Tel: 08717 112222

www.ta.co.uk

Highways Agency Trac Inormation

Tel: 08700 660115

www.highways.gov.uk/trac

Chartered Institute o Logistics and

Transport

Tel: 01536 740104

www.ciltuk.org.uk

Driving Standards Agency

Tel: 0300 200 1122

www.dsa.gov.uk

Federation o Small Businesses

Tel: 01253 336000www.sb.org.uk

SAFED

Tel: 08701 908440

www.saed.org.uk

Skills or Logistics

Tel: 08702 427314

www.skillsorlogistics.org

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)Tel: 0300 790 6801 (Driver Enquiries)

Tel: 0300 790 6802 (Vehicle Enquiries

www.dvla.gov.uk
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.dft.gov.uk/http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/http://www.rha.net/http://www.vosa.gov.uk/http://www.fta.co.uk/http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffichttp://www.ciltuk.org.uk/http://www.dsa.gov.uk/http://www.fsb.org.uk/http://www.fsb.org.uk/http://www.safed.org.uk/http://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.dvla.gov.uk/http://www.dvla.gov.uk/http://www.skillsforlogistics.org/http://www.safed.org.uk/http://www.fsb.org.uk/http://www.dsa.gov.uk/http://www.ciltuk.org.uk/http://www.highways.gov.uk/traffichttp://www.fta.co.uk/http://www.vosa.gov.uk/http://www.rha.net/http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/http://www.dft.gov.uk/http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpracticehttp://www.businesslink.gov.uk/freightbestpractice


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Freight Best Practice publications, including those listed below, can be obtained

FREE o charge by calling the Hotline on 0300 123 1250 or by downloading

them rom the website www.businesslink.gov.uk/reightbestpractice

Fuel Ecient Truck Drivers Handbook

This pocket guide provides inormation or truck

drivers on uel ecient driving techniques, details o

the SAFED course and useul orms or daily use.

Saving FUEL

Saving Fuel Through People

This guide provides advice and real lie examples to

help operators motivate their sta eectively and

shows how to implement and manage change more

successully.

Developing -SKILLS

Truck Specication or Best

Operational Eciency

A step-by-step guide to the process o correctly

speciying an ecient and t or purpose vehicle.

Equipment & SYSTEMS

Fleet Perormance Management Tool

Incorporating CO2

Emissions Calculator

This tool has been designed to help feet operators

improve their operational eciency using

key perormance indicators (KPIs) to measure

and manage perormance. KPIs include costs,

operational, service, compliance, maintenance and

environmental.

PerformanceMANAGEMENT

Choosing and Developing a

Multi-modal Transport Solution

This guide provides a useul insight into the rail and

water reight industries, explains the process or

making an inormed choice about modal shit, and

also explains the availability o nancial assistance

such as grant unding.

Multi - MODAL

There are over 25 case studies showing how

companies have implemented best practice. The

ollowing involve smaller companies:

Owner-driversandSmallFleetOperators-

Simple, Cost Eective Ways to Improve

Eciency

SmallFleetPerformanceManagementTool

Helps A1 Paper Improve Eciency

Case STUDIES

February 2010.

efficient operations for small fleet

Documents