In the FFC seminar on Nov. 8, 2024, “Fleet Manager’s Hackathon,” fleet professionals (from left to right) Lisa Kneggs, Lissa Brady, Jim Petrillo, and Marc Canton, shared tips, tricks, and creative hacks to get their jobs done.
Photo: Ross Stewart Photography
Over the years, the role of a fleet manager has evolved to tackle the rapidly changing demands of the industry.
Whether in the form of “hacks,” juggling complex operations, or learning from fellow professionals, fleet managers across the board are inventing new ways to support efficient, productive, and safe fleets.
During a recent Fleet Forward Conference (FFC) session focused on advancing industry practices and understanding the future of fleets, professionals came together to share actionable insights and strategies implemented into their own fleet management processes.
From Manuals to Mastery: Fleet Hacks
In the FFC seminar on Nov. 8, 2024, “Fleet Manager’s Hackathon,” fleet managers from various fleet types and sizes took attendees beyond tutorials and instruction manuals to share tips, tricks, and creative hacks to get their jobs done.
The seminar, moderated by Marc Canton, head of product at RTA, featured three panelists with experience managing vocational fleets on worksites, delivery vehicles, service fleets, perk vehicles, and more.
Panelists included Lissa Brady, fleet asset manager for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Lisa Kneggs, fleet manager for Farmer Brothers, and Jim Petrillo, manager of accounting services and fleet manager for Fujifilm.
A Singular Fleet Change May Have the Greatest Impact
Why would a hack be necessary in fleet management? It all boils down to efficiency. Oftentimes, a complex plan isn’t required to make a fleet more efficient. By pinpointing areas of improvement, a single change or technique can help all the other pieces fall into place.
For Kneggs, this comes in the form of utilization, which consists of tracking how much time a vehicle actually moved. “If a delivery truck or service van doesn’t do 20 hours a month, do you really need that vehicle?” Kneggs said.
While this time measurement depends on maintenance intervals, parts delivery, or more extended periods in the shop, it could be one of those vehicles being held just in case it’s needed. In the latter situation, the vehicle isn’t necessarily needed.
Instead of annual reports, Kneggs looks at weekly data for more detailed utilization and cost allocation metrics. “It really helps a lot in this because we know down to the dollar what it’s costing us per hour to utilize that truck or not utilize it,” Kneggs said.
Similarly, Brady runs a utilization report every six months that shows the fleet’s most underutilized assets. With that information, her team, in the dead of night, physically drives 50 or so of the most underutilized assets off their lots and holds them in a yard to see if someone notices. If they don’t notice within three months, the vehicle is sent for redeployment or auction.
“If you didn’t notice [the vehicle] was missing for three months, there’s no way that you can make a case that you really needed that vehicle,” Brady said.
For Petrillo, having a background in finance proved beneficial for capitalizing on the total cost of ownership (TCO) of fleet vehicles. “It really helped when I first took over, finding a solid way to calculate TCO and to explain to all our business divisions how replacing a vehicle before it’s old and needs a lot of maintenance is actually better for them,” Petrillo said.
With aggressive electrification goals and an idea of what needs to be customized, Brady notes that the company’s fleet is returning to the early days of working with what is available.
Photo: Ross Stewart Photography
Finding Efficiency in Fleet Adaptation
However, a vocational fleet like Brady’s at SDG&E does not deal with revenue-generating assets, and their upfits and utilization are customized to a crew’s job, which presents a challenge regarding standardization.
With aggressive electrification goals and an idea of what needs to be customized, Brady notes that the company’s fleet is returning to the early days of working with what is available.
“That’s allowing us to standardize in a way that we couldn’t before because the answer can’t be, ‘Yes, I’ll make that happen for you.’ It is, ‘This is what’s available,’ and it has to be electrified,” Brady said.
For example, Brady piloted a Class 7 EV with a 50 ft. aerial lift, which she knew would be unpopular but felt was necessary to try. The pilot revealed the EV was 2.5x the cost of an ICE vehicle with two plug-in points requiring 26 hours to reach a full charge.
As a company with needs exceeding automakers’ ability to produce commercial electric vehicles, Brady has had to pivot goals for SDG&E’s fleet by taking a three-year pause on buying any EV larger than a half-ton to let the new vehicle market catch up.
“The market is, again, good at making electric vehicles that deliver people and stuff. They’re really not good at making vehicles that go to a job site and work,” Brady explained.
Regarding utilization, cost allocation, TCO, and standardization, one size does not fit all, and a fleet assessment is required to decide what method, or combination of methods, may work best to boost efficiency.
“I have the ideas in my head, and sometimes once I get started, I can get rolling, but that getting started can be hard, and I find AI to be a tremendous tool,” Canton said regarding AI support in writing.
Photo: Ross Stewart Photography
From Note-Taking to Cybersecurity: AI in Action
AI is becoming more common each year, and we may already use it in the workplace without realizing it. For fleet managers, AI can help with tedious tasks that can aid in time management or even be built into a system that protects your fleet’s data.
Through her network of fleet colleagues, Kneggs has learned that AI can be utilized for something as basic as note-taking or transcribing. In contrast, Canton may use it to get creative juices flowing as he writes a memo or new policy.
“I have the ideas in my head, and sometimes once I get started, I can get rolling, but that getting started can be hard, and I find AI to be a tremendous tool,” Canton said.
A complex use of AI may be its integration into an asset management system, where it can identify trends or push alerts when something is out of alignment, or, as Brady describes, AI can be part of a cybersecurity policy.
“We have an AI policy and an AI sandbox that our IT people thoughtfully put together for us. So we have an internal firewalled AI system that we can use with our information,” Brady said.
Taking the time to build something with AI, such as a company-specific system, can help protect fleet data from being used to teach other AI models, such as ChatGPT.
Listening: Building Culture Through Feedback and Authenticity
The most important thing we can do is listen to the people in the industry, whether they are customers, employees, or network connections we make along the way.
Petrillo makes it a point to review customer and driver surveys the fleet management company (FMC) sends. Something as simple as adding an OEM that expands a fleet’s vehicle choices may increase survey satisfaction.
“If you hear a recurring theme, it’s something you have to address. Perhaps it’s something you never thought of or a problem you may have known and have been trying to find a solution for, but somebody may, if they give constructive criticism, have good ideas,” Petrillo said.
Canton agreed, explaining that fleet operators and professionals may know if their customers are happy or not, but very few measure it. “You have to be able to tell your story with numbers and customer satisfaction. Numbers are a great way to justify resources,” Canton said.
Employee engagement should also never be swept under the rug since it reflects directly into the company culture and work environment.
“I think that employee engagement has to be authentic,” Brady said. “Talk to your people, hire good people, and create a culture that’s welcoming. All of those things, to me, are so much more important. […] Employee engagement is about your corporate culture, and you create that every day, all day long, and that’s really where it has to come from.”
Although certain aspects of a fleet require measurements to move forward, employee satisfaction may need authentic ways of connecting to form strong company rapport.
“It’s a life sentence. Once you’re in, you’re in,” Kneggs joked regarding what she would want her younger self to know about being a fleet manager.
Photo: Ross Stewart Photography
Networking: Turning Connections Into Opportunities
Across the industry, fleet professionals everywhere describe the fleet world as tight-knit, which is no over-exaggeration. Kneggs pointed out that connections you make can last years, even decades.
“People often ask us, ‘What’s the number one piece of advice you would give to a new fleet manager?’ Get involved with the network,” Canton said. “Someone has gone through it before. Someone has an answer or can point you in the right direction.”
For Brady, the utility world is very collegial with one another and cooperates across all types of groups. “We’re solving for the same problems, right? We have the same types of equipment and the same breadth of equipment. We’re trying to do the same job in different geographies. There are a number of industry associations that are specific to utility fleet, but I think broadening your network is important,” Brady said.
Building and maintaining a strong network isn’t just valuable — it’s essential for success in the fleet industry, where collaboration and shared expertise can turn challenges into opportunities.
What Fleet Managers Wish They Knew
With the past few years full of disruptions that have finally turned for the better, the panelists reflected on what they would tell their past selves on their first day as fleet managers.
“It’s a life sentence. Once you’re in, you’re in,” Kneggs joked. “Mine is be patient with yourself. […] Be kind. Ask questions. That was my biggest thing. Calling people and asking questions.”
“My first day, I thought I knew a lot about the auto industry and running a business product in a department. You don’t know everything, and you’re not going to know everything in the first year. You spend your entire career learning. You always have to be the sponge and keep your ears open,” Petrillo added.
Brady’s first day as a fleet manager was in March 2020, but she came from 30 years in the industry with OEMs. “Most of my career was in sales and sales management. […] I used to joke that if I were really good in this life, maybe God would bring me back as a customer,” Brady said.
“I always thought, as the customer, you’d have all the power, right? I spent 30 years trying to make my customers happy, and what I learned on my first day is you have no power. You have to continue to behave as if you know you are the supplicant in the relationship with your vendors,” Brady continued.
The Fleet Manager’s Hackathon panel discussion offered a wealth of insights, practical strategies, and reflections on the evolving role of fleet managers. From embracing innovation and networking to tackling industry challenges, these sessions reinforced that collaboration, adaptability, and continuous learning are the keys to navigating the future of fleet management.
