In addition to the holiday parties, downtime, and festive atmosphere, the end of the year is an ideal time to check over your fleet and ensure you are ready for 2019. From updating maintenance and driver training to double checking your insurance and making sure your truck insurance coverage matches your needs, these are the tasks to handle as the year draws to a close.
4 things to do to prepare your fleet for 2019
Review Vehicles and Maintenance Records
Ideally, you’re performing truck maintenance throughout the year, but if you have not looked under the hood in a while, it is time. Review your records for each vehicle and make sure they are up to date and ready to deploy. This is also the time for detailing if you have salespeople who drive clients around and any annual maintenance for your larger trucks and equipment. Regular maintenance means you won’t have to worry about disruptions due to reliability or breakdowns.
Evaluate Insurance Needs
One of the most important things to do each year is to evaluate your current truck insurance and make sure you have the level of coverage you need. During the year, if you added vehicles, removed vehicles, added company cars or made any other changes, you should review your policies to be sure you have the right amount of coverage.
Reviewing this data at the end of the year ensures you start 2019 right and that you have full protection for your business. It also ensures that you are not paying higher insurance rates than you need to be; if you have disposed of vehicles, you should remove them from your policy as well.
Update and Review Gas Cards and Access
Which employees regularly drive your fleet vehicles and who has access? Are logs being updated as they should? Your truckers are likely keeping meticulous records, simply because that is what the law requires, but how about the employees who drive your company cars?
Employee turnover means that you could have more keys and cards out than you realize, and it can cost you. You’ll also need to make sure that any employee driving one of your vehicles is properly trained and licensed for the job.
Take some time to review who has access to which vehicles and where your gas and other cards are. You’ll get peace of mind knowing your assets are under control and that you know exactly who can and can’t use these items.
Plan Driver Safety and Ed Refresher for 2019
Now is the time to take stock of one of your most important fleet assets – your drivers. Making sure that everyone is up to date on any certifications you require and that they are fully trained can help you start 2019 in the right way. If you have not had a driver safety or road update recently, schedule a meeting for 2019 to connect with your drivers, update everyone on your rules and federal regulations, and touch base.
You may need to set up more than one time for this session, depending on your drivers’ schedules and routines. Setting this after the holidays and well in advance ensures everyone can be there and that you are able to connect and engage with your truck drivers and support teams.
Don’t overpay for insurance! Review your existing commercial insurance plan and then chat with one of our representatives. In many cases, our skilled team members can spot savings or improve the value of your policy, simply by reviewing your needs and where you are now. Don’t delay – contact us now before 2019 rolls in and you’ll head into the new year knowing your fleet is protected. You can fill out our online quote form or give us a call.