The intelligent van takes decisions out of the hands of van operators

Understanding how to act upon the analysis is the key to gaining benefit

MANAGERS are getting better at “listening” to what fleet data is telling them and making better decisions, says Chevin Fleet Solutions.

In the past, explained David Gladding, sales director, there was a tendency to sometimes use operational data to underline existing policy decisions but improved data interrogation is leading to more radical change.
“A good example is the question of flexible vehicle replacement cycles, which we have started to see on a few commercial vehicle fleets in recent years,” he said.

“In the past, some fleets would tend to set fixed cycles of perhaps four years in an almost arbitrary fashion. It was simply believed to be the optimum cycle based on reliability and general wear.

“All of the day-to-day data that the fleet then generated from its fleet software and other sources would then be viewed within this framework.

“However, better data interrogation can provide a much better way forward. By ‘listening’ to the full range of information available, you might find that some of those vans are best replaced after three years while some will still be economic to operate after five. A one-size-fits-all approach was a blunt instrument.

“Certainly, we have fleets that have saved 23% on overall running costs over three years by adopting this policy.”