Running a profitable home improvement service business depends largely upon your ability to maintain an efficient operation. Your truck fleet offers many opportunities to improve and even maximize efficiency. Here are six tips you can use as a resource in your quest to run a more efficient service fleet.

1. Track your expenses. Having solid expense and performance numbers allows you to set efficiency goals based on solid evidence rather than guesswork. This will make it much easier to motivate your team toward even greater efficiency.

If you can, track expenses by vehicle and by item. One easy way to track expenses is to set up an expense account in your accounting software labeled “fleet expenses.” Under this, set up a sub-account for each vehicle you own. Then set up additional sub-accounts under each vehicle to track fuel, maintenance, tires, repairs, etc. That way, you’ll be able to see at a glance which vehicles and drivers are most efficient, and which ones may need attention. It will also help you make important decisions regarding vehicle replacement.

2. Plan your workflow. Careful planning pays off in spades when you are juggling multiple jobs and crews. Here are some ways to ensure the most productive use of time and vehicles:

• Track your man-hours. Knowing how much time a certain job is likely to take will help you become more efficient at workflow planning. Develop a protocol for tracking time at each task, and use a spreadsheet or planning software to analyze it. This will also help you deliver more accurate estimates.
• Require appointments for service visits. An extra last-minute service visit that doesn’t make logistical sense may result in extra fuel expense and overtime. Asking your customers to schedule their appointments projects a professional image, and allows you to plan your daily routes more efficiently.
• Integrate your marketing with your workflow. Areyou offering a special deal on a particular service? Consider targeting your offer to one or two neighborhoods at a time. Scheduling multiple nearby jobs for the same day will allow you to minimize vehicle use and maximize billable hours.

3. Train drivers in fuel-saving best practices. Aggressive driving — including speeding, sudden braking and rapid acceleration — can burn up to 33 percent more fuel on the highway, and 5 percent more in town, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Investing the time to train your drivers in safety and fuel efficiency can save both fuel expense and lives.

Two more fuel-wasting habits are idling and carrying excessive weight in the vehicle. Encourage your drivers to turn their motors off when parked, and be sure to remove heavy equipment not needed for the job at hand to avoid overloading your trucks.

4. Organize your truck interiors for maximum efficiency. Make sure your crew members can easily reach and put away frequently-used equipment in your vehicles. This will help reduce time spent per job.

You might also want to outfit different trucks for different types of jobs. However, it is a good idea to store any equipment that is standard issue across all your vehicles in the same location within each vehicle. This will reduce confusion and help your crew work as efficiently as possible.

5. Maintain your vehicles properly. Proper vehicle maintenance pays for itself by extending the life of your trucks and helping them run at maximum efficiency. At a minimum, inflating your tires properly and changing your engine oil regularly will help reduce fuel costs.Even just using the recommended grade of oil can save you 1-2 percent on fuel, according to fueleconomy.gov. Also, look for oil that carries the “Energy Conserving” label on its API performance symbol — this indicates that it contains additives that reduce friction in the engine. 

6. Invest in a GPS tracking system. More and more home improvement service fleet managers are discovering the benefits of truck tracking systems in improving fleet efficiency. A good tracking system will allow you to locate the best vehicle to deploy at a moment’s notice. It can save a tremendous amount of fuel by optimizing service routes and allowing you to monitor driver behavior. And, it will let you better analyze your performance for continued efficiency improvement.

Author Bio: Robert Hall is the President of Track Your Truck located in New Lenox, IL. Track Your Truck is the leading provider of GPS vehicle tracking devices for businesses that have a small to medium sized fleet of vehicles that need to be managed.