Automotive Fleet, December 2020

L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R CARROT VS STICK The online AF article Changing Fleet Driver Behavior to Create a Corporate Safety Culture was a solid article You missed a truly critical program tenet recognition having the ability to recognize drivers for their compliance and great driving is a game changer Think carrot versus the stick Adam Kahn CTP President Commercial Fleet Team Netradyne San Diego Calif Great catch Adam We are in 100 agreement The article you referenced was an excerpt of a larger article Below is what was left out of the excerpt you read The safety culture policies must be clear and concise for everyone Set the level of expectation from the beginning There should be no gray areas in how policies are interpreted Likewise there should be no exceptions to violations regardless of rank or stature within the company Everyone must be treated equally Establish accountability The best approach is a carrot and stick strategy Reward and recognize safe driving behavior Institute accountability and consequences for unsafe driving behavior The message must be that it is a privilege to drive a company vehicle not an entitlement Editor AUTOMOTIVE FLEET I DECEMBER 2020 4 YOUR VIDEO IS A GREAT SERVICE Ive watched AFs weekly video series on the State of the Fleet Industry every Monday since its inception I think it is a great service to all fleet managers who are now buried in all the concerns unknowns and a very challenging near future Your synopsis is short and very direct which allows anyone to take few minutes of their busy schedule to get the latest information in the fleet industry Phil Schreiber Fleet Consultant Simsbury Conn Prior to retiring Phil Schreiber was the long time fleet manager North America for Otis Service Center a position he held from 2001 2019 Earlier he worked for the American Red Cross as the director of operational services Editor LAST MILE IS HERE TO STAY The Market Trends blog Are Vocational Fleets Futureproof was very insightful I am however betting last mile delivery of consumer products is here to stay and a vehicle manufacturer that reduces the overall cost of ownership has a bright future The rising popularity of in store pick up makes me think that people wont pay for the instant gratification of 3D printing Mark Bovingdon Owner Mark Bovingdon Custom Haying Great Falls MT The reference to 3D printing was a forecast in the article that predicted in the next 15 years circa 2035 home based 3D printing may impact final mile delivery fleets 3D printing is an additive manufacturing technology that creates products by laying down layer upon layer of a substance in three dimensions The design of a 3D manufactured product is digitized in a software format that is communicated to the 3D printer on how the layers are to be applied Today 3D printing is a rapidly evolving technology used to manufacture specialized parts in a variety of applications in manufacturing the medical field the computer industry and by the military aboard ships at sea to replace malfunctioning or damaged one off parts The article postulates that technological advances in 3D printing will allow consumers to build a variety of smaller purchased products within their home eliminating the need for their delivery Editor DATA OVERLOAD I watched AFs Spotlight video featuring the conversation between Oleg Cytowicz of Unilever and AF Editor Mike Antich about the Evolution of Fleet Technology It was really fascinating to hear how fleet was probably one of the early industries to face data overload Yann Kulp Co Founder eIQ Mobility Oakland Calif Thanks Yann There is also an emerging issue created by the availability of actionable data that is giving corporate managers no choice but to react to it Ask yourself What is the potential liability exposure if they did not react to actionable data that is safety related especially if it is discoverable after the fact during litigation As the more actionable information gets in the hands of fleet managers the more it will be necessary for corporate management to provide them the support and resources to act on it Editor THE MORE THINGS CHANGE After reading the Market Trends blog Fleet Managers Must Partner with Field Ops to Meet P L Objectives I thought of what someone once said The more things change the more they stay the same The fleet manager is and should be charged with a full time responsibility to stay up to date on a whole range of issues from vehicle choices and various financial options Field people cannot and should not be the final decision maker on fleet matters Having said that running a fleet without field buy in on vehicle selection and use is a great way to fail As simple a task as riding a route or helping to load a vehicle pays huge dividends Whether a driver is assigned one vehicle or another is probably best left to the field Ensuring that all vehicles are being fully utilized takes both parties Bert Grayson Principal Grayson Associates Lexington Ky Bert Grayson worked on both sides of the desk as a fleet manager for Coulter Electronics and later as area vice president national accounts for CitiCapital Fleet Services a former business unit of Citibank Editor