Fleet Route Planning
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The most efficient path to get the job done
Route planning ensures that the most efficient routes are always taken. It is an excellent way to reduce unnecessary fuel consumption and decrease driving time. Route planning is a financial and organizational improvement exercise and connected to climate action.
Route planning ensures that vehicles optimize loads and minimize empty trips. Improved logistics are used to better coordinate vehicle needs and driving by taking steps, such as clearly defining territory, sequencing stops or route segments to avoid redundancy, and expanding time windows to allow use of roads with lighter traffic.
Global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) can aid in mapping and planning regular routes, consistent communication, and strategic scheduling. For local governments, studying and mapping the most fuel efficient routes for community driving are an effective way to reduce emissions.
Route planning ensures that what is done every day is done as efficiently as possible
Start by identifying common activities, destinations, routes, and loads. This will help you understand where you need to get when and help you focus less on the driving and more on the task that results in the driving. Depending on complexity and the way you choose to understand routing, you may want to spend several weeks or months analyzing information. Some methods and components of route planning include:
- Mapping and planning regular routes
- Using computerized route planning (including GPS, on-board computer technology, and GIS)
- Establishing strategic delivery schedules
- Ensuring consistent communication between drivers and dispatch
- Considering equipment storage locations.
Ensuring your vehicles run at optimum efficiency is another key component of route planning. Some ways to ensure full carrying capacity and helping you avoid empty or small loads include:
- Coordinating loads to full permitted weight
- Using non-time sensitive fill-freight to maximize loads
- Maximizing back haul trips
- Establishing strategic delivery schedules
- Having drivers finish deliveries near next pickup assignment.
Finally, provide your drivers with logistics support. Help them understand where to start and stop to better coordinate their efforts and sequence deliveries to avoid redundancy.
As you begin to save money from reduced fuel consumption, lower maintenance costs, and numerous other benefits related to fuel efficient fleet management, you can take the opportunity to invest in new hardware and software designed to help you optimize the routes your drivers take.
Example
Thompson Nicola Regional District installed remote online turbidity and chlorine monitoring at 11 rural water systems (will eliminate need to physically travel to sight to monitor operations)
