FleetManagementWeekly AmeriFleet
September 13, 2016

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Editor's Analysis & Top Industry News


Ushering in a New Era at NAFA

We applaud NAFA Fleet Management Association members for their overwhelming vote to change the organization’s bylaws to grant Affiliates the opportunity to vote and serve on the national board. This is no small thing – the organization is making some very important strategic decisions that will greatly enhance the value of NAFA for both members and affiliates.

Marketing guru Ed Pierce has penned a most topical column in this week’s issue — How to Put ‘Brand Ambassadors’ to Work for Your Company. If you are a fleet service provider, you will want to read Ed’s article and round up your own ambassadors for next week’s annual AFLA Conference.

Once again, AFLA has assembled an outstanding group of speakers on topics relevant to both fleet management and fleet service providers. We are excited to be seeing so many of our friends in San Diego in just a few short days!

Janice Sutton
Editor in Chief


Thought Leadership

Fleet Marketing – Guiding principles for fleet providers to improve marketing and increase sales.

Fleet Asset Management – Best practices for work truck management.

On Accident Management Learn ways to save money on your fleet’s collision repair costs.

Safety & Risk — Impactful driver safety and risk management tools and techniques.

The Fleet CX Toolbox – Solid steps to implementing and improving fleet customer experience.

The Sustainable Fleet – Strategic approaches to bring about a smarter, cleaner fleet.

BIG Data. BIG Results. BIG Future– We look at harnessing big data to achieve big results using cutting edge technology.

Talent Management – Smart guidelines to help you manage the talent in your workplace.

TCO Trends – Expert View — A global look at fleet total cost of ownership trends.


elliott-bill

VIDEO: Excellent Networking Opportunities at AFLA

AFLA’s small, close-community feeling allows for some truly amazing networking opportunities.



VIDEO: Letting Your Employees Be Their Best
Pitcher-Mike
  It’s OK to Have Fun at Work!
 

From making sure that fun is part of work, to to allowing employees to be their best philanthropic selves, LeasePlan has built a truly fantastic culture.


VIDEO: A Different Sort of FMC
lodding-dave
  The Boutique of Fleet Management Companies
 

Emkay still offers the same services as the bigger FMCs, and it prides itself on its flexibility.





The Fleet Spot


nafa webinars NAFA Members Overwhelmingly Approve Changes to Bylaws; Affiliates Can Now Vote, Serve on Board

Fleet suppliers gained equal footing with their fleet manager colleagues in NAFA when NAFA Members overwhelmingly approved changes to the Association’s bylaws, giving those suppliers the ability to vote and serve on the national board.

“This has been a long time coming,” said NAFA President Ruth Alfson, CAFM. “NAFA’s bylaws had remained virtually the same since the day NAFA was incorporated in 1957, so it is about time we recognized our Affiliates as the valued partners they are. Besides that, though, this is the right strategic move for NAFA to make.”

READ MORE

michael-griffin Driving Dynamics Appoints Michael Griffin to Manage its New Simulator-Based Training Services Business

Michael Griffin has joined Driving Dynamics, Inc. in a newly created position as Manager, Simulation Training Services.

In this new role Mr. Griffin will report to Art Liggio, President and collaborate with training services and sales leadership to leverage his expertise to develop and deliver safety courses, grow market share for instructor-led simulator training and provide ongoing support and service to Driving Dynamics clients.

READ MORE

go7_diagnostics_large Geotab and J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. Partner to Provide Powerful Integrated Solution

Geotab and J.J. Keller & Associates, Inc. announced a new partnership to offer a solution combining Geotab’s telematics solutions and J.J. Keller’s electronic logging solution.

This partnership provides a powerful solution for fleets seeking in-cab technology that combines telematics and compliance, while addressing the needs of the market as the Electronic Logbook (ELog) becomes mandated for millions of drivers on December 18, 2017.

“Catering to the needs of the market and our customers is just as important to us at Geotab as it is in developing the most robust and comprehensive fleet management technology,” said Geotab CEO Neil Cawse. “This partnership with J.J. Keller will bring a new level of service to the industry, especially in light of the ELD mandate.”

READ MORE

Mike Quimby Brake Safety Week Breakdown: September Is Month to Take Action on Stopping

By Mike Quimby Senior Vice President and General Manager, Element Fleet Management

Fleet managers have a valuable opportunity this month – a built-in accelerator, if you will – to demonstrate commitment to both their drivers and the communities they serve by focusing on vehicle brake safety.

Sept. 11-17 is Brake Safety Week, an annual effort sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. Law enforcement throughout North America will inspect commercial motor vehicles and educate the industry about the importance of properly maintaining brakes.

READ MORE

On Accident Management

By Greg Neuman, CEI Senior Manager of Quality Control

Fleet managers are under constant pressure to reduce costs and save money, so it’s no surprise that many look to save on collision repairs whenever possible.

In fact, third-party accident management companies like CEI compete on the basis of being able to do exactly that: find ways to make the customer pay less for parts and labor.

But it’s a false economy when a fleet vehicle is repaired in a way that saves money in the short run but exposes the vehicle to even more severe damage or threatens the health and safety of the driver in another crash. Just one fatality or one serious injury can wipe out the savings from hundreds of repairs where cost was the primary or only consideration — not to mention the associated human costs.

Saving money on collision repairs is a legitimate and achievable goal. But it takes special expertise and a commitment to careful reviews of repair estimates to strike the right balance between short-term savings on the one hand, and long-term savings and driver safety on the other.

READ MORE

 
Fleet Marketing

By Ed Pierce, Fleet Industry Marketer

Last month, I promised to dig a bit more into the topic of “brand ambassadors,” who can be an effective part of an overall strategic marketing plan and contribute to improved results from various marketing and sales support activities.

Recruiting your ambassadors to attend and be active at NAFA, ALFA, RIMS, NTEA, and other important industry events can be much more effective than relying upon company representatives who can’t be everywhere at once.

There are plenty of company-driven marketing activities where ambassadors can be more effective than your sales reps, technical staff, and even management.

READ MORE

 
Constantly Improving Driver Safety

By Janice Sutton

We always look forward to interviews with Tom Callahan, President of Donlen. He is very thoughtful and serious, but also has a genuine lightheartedness about him that is contagious.

In this recent interview, his focus was driver safety, which is clearly a passion of his. To wrap it up, we asked him to give us his thoughts on the future of fleet.

Tom says, “Driver behavior is a cause of 90 percent of accidents. So, if you really want to deal with safety, you need to monitor driver behavior. There are studies that said you can lose up to five seconds if you are on a cell phone. When you consider that a lot of these forward collisions happen in a second and the car moves several hundred feet in a second, five seconds is like the length of a football field or longer. That is not a lot of leeway.”

The future? Callahan says, “The future is going to be those people that can utilize data effectively. It is going to be those that have the great and flexible technology platforms. It is going to be folks that give great thought leadership and it is going to be the folks that can work and partner with people out there the best, because we can’t do it all alone.”

READ MORE








Fleet Trends & Issues


Ford Expands Business With Shuttle, Bicycle Services

The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. is expanding its business to include shuttle and bicycle services in select cities as it moves beyond selling cars and trucks.

Dearborn automaker on Friday made a series of announcements in San Francisco. Among them: Ford will acquire shuttle service Chariot, and expand it from San Francisco to five other cities globally over the next 18 months.

It will partner with bike-share service Motivate to add stations and 7,000 Ford-branded bicycles in the Bay Area by the end of 2018. And it is launching a “City Solutions” team as part of its Smart Mobility subsidiary to work with governments.

READ MORE

eDriving Virtual Risk Manager® Recieves BusinessCar’s 2016 Techie Award In Risk Management Category

eDrivingSM announced that its Virtual Risk Manager® (VRM) product was recognized with BusinessCar’s “2016 Techie Award” in the Risk Management category.

Ed Dubens, Executive Vice President of eDriving’s FLEET division, stated: “This exciting recognition for one of our flagship products is not only a testament to measurable and meaningful results for our clients, but salutes the team of innovators behind VRM – who truly understand what it takes to reduce risk, increase fleet efficiencies and make our roads safer for everyone.”

READ MORE

Tesla is Using This Familiar Technology to Make its Autopilot Safer

The Washington Post

In the wake of a series of Tesla crashes this year, the maker of electric cars said Sunday it is rolling out an upgrade to its semi-autonomous Autopilot feature that may help make it safer to use.

The company said that although its vehicles’ existing software may cause a Tesla on Autopilot to scrape against a car that’s partially in its lane, or to ram into an obstacle that another driver ahead has swerved to avoid, an update that will be rolled out around the world in the coming weeks will address both problems — as well as a host of others.

It will give radar technology a more active role in Autopilot — a feature drivers can enable to allow the car to stay within its lane and to keep it from hitting other vehicles.

READ MORE

A Safe, VERY Safe Ride in a Self-Driving Ford Fusion

Detroit Free Press

After a 10-minute ride in the back seat of a self-driving Ford Fusion hybrid on a loop around the company’s Dearborn research campus, I felt safer than if I had driven myself.

“We follow the speed limit (in this case 25 miles per hour). We drive by the letter of the law,” said Schuyler Cohn, one of two Ford autonomous vehicle engineers who served as my fellow passengers. “We’re going to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, maybe a little longer than most people would.”

READ MORE

COI vs. ROI

Do you want to run a more profitable fleet?

Read this excellent white paper from Geotab – Fleet Savings Report COI vs. ROI – to discover how to uncover potential savings in the areas of safety, fuel, maintenance, and productivity. By pursuing these savings opportunities, you can increase fleet efficiency and improve your bottom line.

DOWNLOAD THE WHITE PAPER

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Expert Advice

By Janice Sutton

Kathe Carter is Chief Operating Officer at Mercury Associates, an independent consultancy with a staff of fleet management experts who have an enviable wealth of hands-on management experience and an array of sophisticated analytic tools. We talked with Kathe about some of the more pressing issues confronting fleet managers, one of which is to confidently prove the high value of their fleet operation to senior management.

She says, “If fleets are to control cost and quality, they must look at how they are doing business, regardless of whether they are insourcing or outsourcing the services, and be able to document in concrete ways that the fleet is providing best value services in terms of cost and quality. To do so, fleets need processes to secure information on service delivery requirements that speak to their company needs.

READ MORE

 
Not Ready for Prime Time?

The Washington Post

Uber’s decision to bring self-driving taxis to the streets of Pittsburgh this week is raising alarms among a swath of safety experts who say that the technology is not nearly ready for prime time.

The unprecedented experiment will launch even though Pennsylvania has yet to pass basic laws that permit the testing of self-driving cars or rules that would govern what would happen in a crash. Uber is also not required to pass along any data from its vehicles to regulators.

Meanwhile, researchers note, autonomous cars have been thrown off by bridges, a particular problem in Pittsburgh, which has more bridges than any other major U.S. city.

READ MORE








Fleet Management Resources
 
AFLA – Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association
Providing the advanced forum for corporate fleet professionals to network with industry leaders.
The CEI Group Inc.
CEI is North America’s largest provider of fully integrated fleet accident management, driver safety and risk management services.
NAFA Fleet Management Association
NAFA is the association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession regardless of organizational type, geographic location, or fleet composition.
AmeriFleet
Offering a nationwide vehicle delivery and relocation service; serving the corporate and commercial fleet industry.
Donlen
Since 1965, Donlen has been the fleet management industry’s leading provider of comprehensive, integrated financing and asset management solutions — and that spirit of innovation continues today.
PARS
PARS' mission is to provide you with high-quality service at competitive prices for all of your transportation needs.
ARI
Driven fleet professionals. Driving results.
Driving Dynamics
Driving Dynamics was established to help corporate fleet drivers develop expert, safe driving skills using proven, advanced driving techniques.
Wheels, Inc.
First in fleet for 76 years. Wheels helps you build tomorrow’s fleet today.



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