THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
MAIN FEATURE
vehicles and or plant. Hiring may however eliminate some of this burden but not all and may be affected by the size of the fleet required, those all-important operational requirements and whether a hired unit will fully meet them and the extent of its area of operation. It may be that buying bespoke fitted units will be the only option if hire vehicle simply do not cover the operational requirements needed. This may also impact the life cost or cost of ownership of the fleet over time.
Hiring may be advantageous however given the ever-changing legal requirements for vehicles and equipment. Not least of these would be any changes in vehicles taxes with drive to net zero which hiring the latest vehicle may avoid, where owned equipment is not so easily changed or modified to meet requirements. Hiring, may if the contract stipulates, also cover the maintenance and servicing of the fleet.
Written by Ian Clarke
ian@nodigmedia.co.uk
equipment they have on board is just as important as knowing where that unit current is.
This means that there are several aspects of vehicle operation that need to be understood and available to any fleet manager at any given time. So how is this knowledge achieved?
Again, as with all these things how the fundamental requirements are established from day one usually underpins the effectiveness of the ‘fleet’. Knowing likely purpose of each vehicle and the range of undertakings it will be required to achieve will dictate what sort of
FOLLOW US
vehicle is selected and what fit-out is required. Once again, as with many aspects of this industry, homework is a major key towards success.
OPTIONS
Once the operational requirements have been established the choice of buy and own or hire is the next major step. It may be cost-effective to buy the ‘fleet’ if the owner is happy to take on the full cost of servicing, maintenance and other ‘on costs’ that come with owning a fleet of
Availability is also a factor where owning or hiring may be problematic. Owning a vehicle that only works a few days per year may be seen as wasted money as it still has to be maintained and kept legal, whilst only having a hire option for certain functions may be limited by availability of vehicles for that purpose at any given time.
As well as the vehicles and plant items themselves, fleet management also involves the operational consistency required of driver training and qualification, qualification renewal, driver status (which vehicles/plant can the driver operate with current qualifications) etc.
Monitoring of vehicle mileage, location, running times, downtime, service schedules, fuel usage and ongoing maintenance are all aspects that any fleet manager must have to hand at any time.
Perhaps it is also crucial to bear in mind that fleets are not just transport vehicles as previous
August 2021 | 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
