Capital Equipment News July 2018

FLEET MANAGEMENT

Keeping an eye on fuel tanks

Fuel is a big part of every fleet budget. In an environment where diesel prices have gone up 42% between January 2016 and April 2018, it is now imperative to keep an eye on fuel tanks, writes Munesu Shoko .

Every DAF vehicle sold in South Africa comes standard with an on-board fleet management system – Executrax.

F leet managers are increasingly resorting to fleet that they can reduce what is deemed to be one of their biggest cost drivers, through the use of fleet management solutions from both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their third-party counterparts. Many fleet managers agree that fuel is a large part of their budgets, if not the biggest. Against a backdrop of continued fuel hikes, Jasper Hafkamp, executive director, Daimler Truck and Bus Southern Africa, is of the view that fleet operators now have their eyes on lower total cost of ownership more than ever. He reasons that, based on a 6x4 long haul truck-tractor, available figures show that fuel makes up to 62% of vehicle related costs. As a result, there is particular attention on fleet management systems to manage fuel usage and optimise its consumption across fleets. Mark Gavin, sales director, Transport Solutions at Babcock, the southern African dealer of the DAF range of trucks, says in a long distance transport operation, fuel costs today can contribute around 50% of the overall cost of ownership of a vehicle. Gert Swanepoel, MD of UD Trucks Southern Africa, estimates that fuel makes up around 24% of a fleet’s fixed operating costs. However, he reasons that this can go up to 80% of variable operating costs. Pierre Annandale, fleet manager at Cartrack, a global fleet management, vehicle recovery and insurance telematics provider, says fuel can constitute anything between 45 and 50% of the monthly cost of ownership of a vehicle. management solutions to help them clamp down on fuel theft, unnecessary idling and improving driving standards for optimised fuel usage. Today’s fleet managers are aware

QUICK TAKE

Many fleet managers agree that fuel is a large part of their budgets, if not the biggest

There are a number of enemies when it comes to fuel, all the way from unnecessary idling, fuel theft to poor driving

A fleet management system can allow fleet managers to see the approximate amount of fuel used by each vehicle in litres and rands

There is a general assertion that one can reduce fuel costs by up to 20-25% through taking advantage of fleet management systems

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