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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.
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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.
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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
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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/7/28/2019 Efficient Operations for Small Fleet
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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/freightbestpractice7/28/2019 Efficient Operations for Small Fleet
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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.
uk/reightbestpractice
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.
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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/freightbestpractice7/28/2019 Efficient Operations for Small Fleet
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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.
uk/reightbestpractice
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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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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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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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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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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
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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.