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TODAY'S BONUS QUESTION IS...
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Are you wondering how to make your drivers more efficient? Maybe you should introduce a fuel bonus. Emma Penny reports.
Diesel, it seems, is becoming more expensive by the day, and the price shows no signs of dropping. So getting the most out of every litre is increasingly important if you want to make any attempt at maintaining your margins.
You can buy the most fuel-efficient truck.pick the best routes,fit the latest aerodynamic kit and even invest in supposed fuel-saving devices. However, all that fails to take account of the best fuel saving device there is -the driver.
Many people are recognising that drivers hold the key to better fuel economy; indeed many professional drivers judge fuel economy as one of the measures of their success. But there are others to whom fuel economy is just another hassle when it's a big enough task getting to drops successfully.
Getting every driver in a fleet to think about driving efficiently is a difficult task. Some fleets have taken advantage of the free courses being offered by the Safe and Fuel Efficient Driver (SAFED) initiative run by TransportEnergy. SAFED provides a days' training to help drivers drive in a more relaxed and economical fashion.
But breaking driving habits is difficult, and SAFED relies on drivers being keen to go back to their jobs and put all that fuelconservation training into practice.
Offer someone money to help change their habits though, and it puts a whole new perspective on persuading drivers to become more fuel efficient.That's exactly how a fuel bonus works: ask them to meet fuel consumption targets and then share some of the savings with them. Drivers win, and operators win. It's simple, effective, and it pleases everyone except for the fuel company.
Desk jockeys save fuel...
But is it that simple? Many operators will start off full of enthusiasm for a fuel bonus scheme, realising its benefits, but will then tire of the desk jockeying involved, the carping from drivers who have less fuel-efficient vehicles and tough routes to drive, and the discovery that someone in the business has been 'working the system'.
For many firms, the idea of tracking each driver's fuel use when vehicles may be double manned or driven by different people every day is just too much.
But it needn't be like that. Fuel efficiency specialist Dr Michael Coyle admits there are sometimes problems with such schemes, but stresses that with a bit of work beforehand and some thought, fuel bonuses can work well for everyone.
Most operators tend to think of fuel bonuses as an individual thing, and while that is an option, Coyle says adopting a team or groupbased scheme is a much better option which removes a lot of complication.
"People get stuck on the point of this being about individual drivers, and how they can make it fair for everyone," he adds. "I would advise going down the team route."
It is possible to run schemes for individuals where firms have a one person/one truck policy and everyone is doing a consistent type of work. "But then you get into problems if there is any variation,he warns.
"The minority of people think about a team fuel bonus and they are often surprised when I mention it. But often when they think about individual driver bonuses a great big barrier comes up."
So just what's needed to set up a fuel bonus for a group of drivers? According to Coyle, the first vital step is to work through a year's worth of fuel figures and mileages to remove seasonality differences:"You can't just add things up, or rely on your fuel bills, as when the profile of your fleet changes, the figures will change too and you might end up paying a bonus when you shouldn't , or vice versa."
Having good quality data to work with initially is vital, and that might mean going back to tacho records to check mileages and having to dig out other paperwork or spreadsheets where there are figures which are either missing or wrong.This part of setting up a fuel bonus can be laborious, and can take weeks, he warns. If you're seeking quick answers,some efficiency experts such as Coyle have software they can use to clean up your records; he reckons sorting out the fuel data for a fleet of 30 trucks will take him about a day. Even then the specialists will require you to fill in the missing gaps.
appreciate that this part will take time, and that is one of the biggest barriers as many people just don't have the time to do it. Dealing with data is often the last thing people want to do too," he admits.
However, he knows of some larger fleets where students have been employed during their holidays specifically to handle this task, and have been successful.
A recent Department for Transportfunded study found that operators who were running an individual fuel bonus scheme spent about two hours a week on its administration once it was set up. Firms using onboard fleet software found it much easier to manage the system, but the cost-benefit of fitting software specifically for this would have to be closely examined. Next year's introduction of smart-card tachos might make it all much easier as information should be much more complete and won't rely on drivers having to fill out tacho charts properly.
Plug those data gaps
But back to the present, and assuming you've plugged the gaps in your fuel and mileage information, use the data to work out a consumption figure for each vehicle.Then look at the distance the vehicle is likely to travel in the next six months, for example, if you are planning to pay the fuel bonus every six months.This could be done each month or even each week if you are feeling particularly keen, but that will involve a bit more work.
This is your benchmark, and once you have a figure for each vehicle you can start to think about whether you want to apply the fuel bonus across the whole fleet, or to break it up into, say, 44-tonners and 7.5-tonners, or whatever fits your fleet profile. "it's easier to do it for the whole team," adds Coyle.
The next bit, though,can be tricky, and that is deciding how much you want to pay drivers for fuel savings. Getting it right is vital. You must ensure you are saving money in the business, rather than just adding a cost, which is what can happen if you get it wrong, he warns "Work out what will happen if you give a driver a set percentage of any saving. Look at how much you will get in return. You could choose to split any savings 50/50, or use a different percentage. Another option is to have an incremental system where the bigger the savings achieved, the higher the proportion goes into the pot.
"If you are paying on mpg figures you must ensure it is going to work for you," he adds. "For instance, if you base your calculations on a truck doing 1,300km a week but you have a quiet period and it ends up doing 700km a week, you could end up making a loss. Consider the 'what if' scenarios."
Coyle recommends looking at the best and worst scenarios to ensure you don't end up out of pocket. And he believes the system should be trialled among a small number of drivers before it goes live throughout the fleet: "It is important to get it right before you introduce it to the whole team —it will be a lot tougher to introduce something a second time if it doesn't work the first time!"
When you're satisfied the fuel bonus will work well in your company, introduce it to the whole team and then ensure you review it regularly to check it is still working well.
But ensure that whoever introduces it is someone who is respected by the drivers: "Don't just get the financial director to introduce it because he or she always deals with money or figures—drivers may well be suspicious if it is something that is seen to be driven by them. Use your conurion sense."
bonuses in time for the holiday season and then again just before Christmas. Some firms do this and use it as a driver retention aid, making it a rule that only drivers who are working with the firm on the day the bonus is paid will receive it.This has helped stop some drivers leaving to go and work for agencies in the run up to Christmas, he says.
And, if you are awarding a team bonus rather I han an individual one, it should mean that all drivers will go home happier. rather than just one or two-It helps everyone who is doing well to receive a bonus.
Drivers can be so cynical
Drivers, of course, can be a cynical lot, and some may well wonder whether they are being had by management,but Coyle believes offering a fuel bonus should appeal to everyone, once they understand what it can do for them.
If you go into a depot and say to drivers that if they drive more efficiently they will get a bonus people will think they can make some money. When I ran a transport operation we had an individual fuel bonus scheme and most drivers were taking home 0-£14 a week extra because of it. Everyone who is doing well should benefit, and there should be no problems if it is fair to everyone." •