By Marc Sibbald – Director IPWEA FLEET
Reflecting on goals
We’ve entered the last quarter of 2023 which is a good time to reflect on the goals you set earlier this year when attending the IPWEA Fleet Conference. It’s also the first half of the financial year, so if you’re working on targets to achieve by 30th June 2024, it’s also a good time to make sure you’ve had a fast start.
During the 2023 Fleet Management Training days, we’ve looked at KPIs and discussed the importance of preparing regular reports that can be shared with the fleet team and, more importantly, with senior management. Everyone attending the training day acknowledged the need to prepare regular updates for their boss, but admitted that operational demands are a time stealer.
If you’ve started to reflect already, you’re probably feeling some frustration. So many good plans and ideas get lost in the daily grind of managing a fleet. The enthusiasm and energy you got from the 2023 IPWEA Fleet Conference probably didn’t last a week back in the office. That doesn’t mean the ideas the presenters gave you weren’t valuable. It just requires some effort to remain focused on continuous improvement.
Setting aside the time to prepare regular KPI reports and project updates is an important task for the leader of any team within a business. Feedback from attendees at the Fleet Management Training days indicate this type of work isn’t seen as rewarding or valuable. They viewed being hands-on, and completing practical tasks (such as emails) as a better way to spend their time.
So don’t let 2023 come to an end without having some KPI reporting from the Plant Vehicle Management Manual (PVMM) in place. Measure what you can, and manage it to gain improvements. Benchmark against similar fleets and share your success widely across the organisation. Being seen is the first step towards continuous improvement.