Fleet Management

Done by:

Fatima Ashoor/201000315Ali Obaid/201000365

Sakiena Mahdi/201000035Latifa Alalawi/201000078

Mohammed Almahmood/201000299

Requested by:Lorraine Cowley

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Best Practice Guideline

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 5

Findings 6

Fleet Management 6

Operating License 7

Human Resources 7

Fleet Manager 7

Operators 9

Drivers 11

Regulations and control of operations 12

Road Regulations 12

Accidents 13

Vehicle Regulations 13

Insurance 14

Recruitment 16

Employment contract 17

Vehicles 19

Truck Manufacture19

Front Loader 21

Semi Trailer Truck 23

Concrete Conveyor Truck 25

Knuckle Boom 27

Dump Truck 29

Additional vehicles 31

Fuel Management 32

Driver Responsibilities 33

The efficient vehicle utilization 34

Vehicle utilization 34

Time utilization 34

Loading utilization 34

Maintenance 35

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Legal Obligation 35

Service schedule 36

Vehicle checklist 37

Vehicle defects reporting 38

Breakdown procedures 38

Type of Maintenance 39

Cost 39

Spare Parts 40

Safety 41

General legislation 41

Seatbelts 41

Tires 42

Vehicle weight 44

Vehicle weight terms 44

Vehicle plates 45

Axle weight 46

The diminishing load 47

Truck driver’s health 47

Safety regulations 48

Rules protecting the driver 48

Rules protecting other road users 48

Rules protecting businesses or companies 48

Other regulations 49

IT 50

Fleet Management software 50

database 52

Accidents database 53

Remote vehicle disabling systems 54

Route planning 55

Tools for monitoring vehicle utilization 56

Conclusion 58

References 59

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Appendix 69

Table of tasks 76

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Executive summary

This report is going to outline recommendations for fleet management, including human

resources and the operations and guidelines of the best fleet management. It will cover

the fleet management aspects which are:

Human resources.

Operating license.

Regulations and control of operations: Road regulations, accidents, Vehicle regulations, insurance, Working hours, Recruitment and Employment contract.

Vehicles: types of the recommended trucks, fuel management and vehicle utilization.

Maintenance: legal obligation, service schedule, vehicle checklist, vehicle defect reporting, breakdown procedures, types of maintenance and cost.

Safety: general legislation, vehicle weight and safety regulations.

IT: database, fleet controlling, fleet management software and tools for monitoring vehicle utilization.

Building Materials and Warehousing (BMW) is an international company that was

opened in Bahrain two years ago and now is looking to set up its own transport division

instead of hiring a third party to offer transportation services; it is located in Al-Hidd

industrial area where the logistics zone is placed. The company is specialized in storing

construction materials such as; cement, concrete, sand and etc. BMW needs the best

practice guide to perform the best fleet management.

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Fleet Management:

A lot of definitions have been acknowledged by experts to be the correct explanation

for fleet management; they focus on the fleet industries. Fleet management is the

handling of vehicle fleet and personnel whether they were drivers, loaders or sorters and

also deals with cost implications as well as legal implications. Employees and fixed costs

control has been emphasized by many fleet managers as the key factor in running the

fleet industry. The success of the company depends on gaining customer’s interest and

satisfaction which is a difficult matter that needs several elements such as: experience,

good working environment and workers cooperation (CILT, 2006 S1).

The purpose of fleet management is to enhance the company’s reputation by giving

customers good impression through serving high-quality products and services that

cannot be compared with other companies. Without fleet management the industry will

fail and will be hard to resurrect (CILT, 2006 S1).

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Findings

Operating License:

As a fleet manager, it’s important to have the ability to choose the best types of

vehicles that suits your job type and suits the country that you operate on. In addition, it’s

also important to make sure that the fleet manager will deal with different type of people

like customers, suppliers, government officers and other people that involved to the job

you are doing. To be able to drive a vehicle that exceed 3.5 tones, companies must make

sure to apply for a O license (operator’s license) that give them the ability to run with this

amount of tones. To have this license, as a fleet manager you will have to make sure of

controlling your vehicles and show the numbers of the vehicles you are going to use in

your company.

1) Human resources

Human resources are responsible of choosing the appropriate staff of fleet

manager, operators and drivers. Each one must be chosen based on specific

qualifications and skills to handle their responsibilities and duties which help in

running the operations in an efficient way.

Fleet manager

The fleet manager plays an important role in controlling and managing the

processes so he must be chosen for his high education level and working

experience in different fields. The fleet manager also has to have different skills

and abilities some of them are ("Motor vehicle management," 2009):

• Capability of supervising the works of others.

• Capability of creating and retaining relationships with the workers and

public.

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• Having a background of transit system management and operations.

• Knowledge of principle of vehicles maintenance and repair.

• Understanding the vision set by the company owner’s and making sure it

is applied in everyday operations of the company.

• Administration skills

• IT skills.

• Planning skills.

• Moreover, he has responsibilities and duties that he must achieve which

are (Fleet Manager Duties, 2012):

• Dealing with difficult and unexpected situations such as vehicle accidents

and delivery delays considering the ability of making damage reports.

• Reviewing vehicles purchase or replacement requests.

• Plan making for vehicles maintenance process and organizing repair

programs.

• Arrange training programs for new employees.

• Organizing different types of plans in transit system considering routing

and transit scheduling.

• Making operational reports and cost analysis.

• Take the responsibility of other related duties.

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Operators

The operator has a very complex back office job with a wide range of

responsibilities in dealing with transportation and activities of the company,

starting from supporting the work of fleet manger to dealing with customers’

demands and complains. Therefore, when chosen an operator for BMW

construction, he must have these general skills (“transport operators”, 2012);

• Good communication skills.

• Organization skills.

• Able to speak and write in English beside Arabic.

• Accurate and able to notice the small details.

• Good computers skills.

• Ability to stay calm under work pressure.

• Able to work individual and as a part of team.

Furthermore, there are number of responsibilities and duties that the operator must

accomplish;

• Review the company workers performance.

• Finding problems with the current performance and put some solutions

and recommendation to those problems.

• Making well written report about and shows the recommendation and

solution that the company offer to its customers.

• Motives the company worker to work more effectively and sending for

training.

• Presenting custom-made IT solutions as well as electronic data

interchange connections (“Transportation Coordinator”, 2012).

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• Capable of making comparison between the cost and benefits of different

plans.

• Coordinating and negotiating with the company-related parties such as

traffic authority and developers.

• Arrange for the entire vehicle insurance as well as being responsible for

setting finance.

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Drivers

The truck driver’s job is not only about transporting the raw materials and

goods from one location to another but to take the responsibility of doing daily

check-up for vehicles he use. BMW will select its drivers depend on these

specifications (hrvinet, 2012):

• Must be at least 23 and not older than 55 years old and in good health

condition.

• No less than one year of experience with a record of clean driving within

the last five years.

• Having valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and completed the

required training that authorities him to drive the heavy truck on the roads

(Heavy vehicle driver, 2011).

• Ability to work in late hours, holidays as well as weekends.

• Performing regular check-up for the vehicle that he operates.

• Ability to operate the vehicle safely.

• Implement the safety regulations that are required by the law such as

wearing seatbelt and legal driving speed.

• Keeping a record of all the work and pickup that he done and the number

of hours in service.

• Ability to load and unload all company raw materials and goods without

help from other people, and knowing how to secure the load properly.

• Knowledge of administer First aid and understanding what to be done in

road emergency situations.

• Capable of understanding and following directions.

• Do not driving under the influence of alcohols or drugs (Truck driver,

2005).

• And Respond to the police request and provide them- police- with answers

and documents, as well as allowed them to check the vehicle.

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2) Regulations and control of operations

Kingdom of Bahrain has many regulations for the transportation department

that must be followed and applied by road users, mentioning that the road being used

by many types of vehicles like cars, buses, bikes and trucks. Focusing on the trucks,

there are many regulations and rules that a truck driver should take into consideration

before driving in roads, these rules have been set by The General Directorate of

Traffic and Licensing. The reason for using them is to insure safety in roads for users

and vehicles. There are many regulations that an organization must abide when

operating a fleet, they are:

• Road Regulations.

• Accidents.

• Vehicle Regulations.

• Insurance.

• Working hours.

• Recruitment.

• Employment contract.

Road Regulations:

To make sure of controlling on trucks operation, there are some rules that

companies and drivers should make sure of while loading the trucks and diving them in

the road, these rules are:

• Limited weight for the goods on the truck while running, which means

that truck got a limitation for the goods they carrying while moving

through the roads.

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• Drive the trucks only on the time that the countries allow you to drive on.

Each country will put specific time for trucks running that is better for the

traffic operation.

• Making sure that the driver of the truck got the heavy truck license that

qualified him to drive this type of vehicles with this weight of goods,

insuring that he drive within the speed limits of the road to insure the

safety of the road for him and the other drivers .

• Making sure of the tires condition, the headlights condition and the break

condition to make sure of the safety of the truck movement.

Accidents:

Accidents happen for different reasons even if the rules are followed. It is

important to know how to deal with trucks accidents and what to do after the accident

immediately. The first thing to do is to call the insurance company for the trucks; they

should send you a special team for helping you depending on the accident type. A report

will be taken in the accident filed, which will be used to fix up the damages that are

caused by the accident. Insurance companies are offering different types of contract to fix

your vehicle after the accident if any damage happens. Full insurance are necessary for

trucks, because of the big risk on them in the road and because of their high value.

Vehicle Regulations:

Aiming to reduce the risk on road, The General Directorate of Traffic and

Licensing in Bahrain has put signs to the trucks, showing the limit height, weight and

length for this road. Also there are signs to show the limited speed for the trucks which

reminding them not to drive over the speed. In addition there are also signs on the trucks

that installed by the ministry of transport and the factory that produced the truck. Each

truck must have the following signs:

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• Number plate

• ID plate that installed under the truck

• The weight of the truck empty

• The maximum weight that the truck can carry

• The limited speed for the truck

• Attention signs showing if the truck loading dangerous or flammable

products.

• The logo of the owner company of the truck

• These signs are helping the truck driver and the other drivers in the road to

avoid the accidents and to have less risk while driving.

Insurance:

The aim of insurance is to protect the business workflow, the goods and the people in the company which will give much ability to success the business.

As BMW trucks are owned, it is important to insure their trucks before start operating on roads. In addition, the company’s duty is to insure their drivers for their safety and health. As a result, it is recommended for BMW to sign a contract with AXA insurance company to insure their trucks and drivers. According to Mohammed Nabeel, a phone operator in AXA, the premium for each truck is about BD 500 annually and for each driver BD 50 per month.

Insurance is one of the fleet manager responsibilities and he should be able to arrange all the insurance needed and be will known on purchasing the best policy that offer the company demand.

Insurance must cover three important things which are:

Vehicles Goods People

Vehicles must be insured and protected from any risk that could occur such as fire, theft and accidental damages. It is necessary from the insuring company to cover all the damage fixing, compensation when the vehicle stolen and be able to offer a replacement vehicle when needed. Insurance companies are offering many types of insurance. Third party, Full insurance and Bail Bond insurance.

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Third party insurance will cover the recovery of only one vehicle when accident or damage occur, it’s important to mention that it’s not a good insurance and not mostly allowed for trucks.

Full insurance is the most offers used by truck users and the most insurance that ministry of transport insets to use for trucks. It insure the protection of the vehicle whenever an accident happen like road accident, fire on the truck or even when it’s stolen.

Moreover, Bail Bond is one of the most attractive and useful insurance. An example to describe this insurance offers is when an accident happen on the road, the police will take the truck for their checking points and take the driver to their office for an investigation. Bur Bail Bond insurance allowing the company to reject the investigation and take back their vehicle from the police who helps on reducing times for the company and make fast solution after the accident.

The goods that being transport also needs to be insuring from damages or from being stolen while transporting them. It is important from the company to insure their goods safety. As well as it is important from the insurance company to give reward whenever damages happen.

In addition, all the people (workers, drivers, employees, visitors) in the company need to be insured from any injuries or death risks. Insuring companies are offering that kind of insurance to ensure the safety of the company and people in it.

It’s important from the fleet manager to know the best steps or purchasing the suitable

insurance for his company, making sure that it could be expansive as it’s a commercial

insurance and to remember to renew the policy every year.

Working hours:

According to Claire Mayhew, Michael Quinlan on their journal (Economic

pressure), and the trucks drivers are divided to different types. Large fleet drivers and

small fleet drivers, each one of these drivers’ types got a specific number of working

hours that should not be crossed. For BMW, small fleet drivers are going to be used to

operate through the roads and deliver the product from and to the company. As

mentioned on Mayhew and Quinlan journal, Small fleet drivers are able to work for 48

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hours per week, which mean they are able to work 8 hours per day not including one hour

break. In addition the working hours can have different numbers according to the

numbers of drivers that a company using, means it could be less than 48 hours a week for

one driver, but it can’t be more than that number because it will cause a workers rules

breaking.

Supporting Evidence:

During an interview with Hussain Al-nasooh, a traffic policeman that operate on his

office and through the policemen car, which was on 24th May 28, 2012. Al-nasooh said

that lots of trucks are being stopped every day for different reasons. Sometimes they are

being stopped for missing number plates, bad vehicle condition or broken lights and

overloaded trucks. Violators are being fiend starting from 10BD tell 50BD. Al-nasooh

also mentioned that when that stooped the drivers, they blame their companies saying that

they are ordered to do that and ignore the road regulations. About the legal timing for

trucks running, he said that the legal time for trucks running is all day long with an

exception from 6:30 am-7:30 and 12:30pm- 2:00 pm saying that it’s time for school buses

and officers workers. Mr.Hussain has also said that, ministry of transport has organized

lectures for the trucks drivers to explain the rules and regulation more for them and make

them more knowledgeable about it.

Recruitment:

Workers are required to give priority to the employment of Bahraini nationals and

GCC countries, where they are available and possess the necessary skills and proficiency

to carry out this role. For some companies, there are compulsory minimum ratios of the

number of Bahrainis in the number of non-Bahrainis. Employers and the legal duty not to

discriminate between Bahraini and non Bahraini national especially with respect to the

payment (except to the extent necessary to attract foreign workers), or any employee

subject to any other form of treatment is harmful.

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Employment contract

The employment contract should include the working conditions agreed upon by

both parties, and can be kept for a specified period, or to implement a specific project.

Must have an employment contract setting out terms and conditions of employment in

writing; also, Must abide by the Bahrain Labor Law for the private sector for the year

1967, and any relevant laws, regulations and orders. After will be considered any term or

condition in the contract and that do not conform with Bahraini law null and void except

to the extent that is more favorable to the employee (Zeenatal Mansoori, online).

Zeenatal Mansoori Retrieved 6 June 2012 from

http://www.zeenatalmansoori.com/articles/ARTICLE-

Employment_law_in_Bahrain.pdf

There are some requirements for the non-Bahrainis to be able and legal workers in

Bahrain, these requirements are:

• Valid passport.

• Photographs.

• Sponsorship letter.

• A copy of the contract between the worker and the company.

• Health record and certificate.

• Registered in the Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA).

• 200 BD for 2 years and 10 BD payable per the worker.

The contract with the workers will include and insurance for them, make sure that

its fair wage and will be registered in the General Organization of Social Insurance

(GOSI). It will insure that they are treated fairly, got their holidays and sick leaves. The

worker wages will include:

• Bonuses.

• Commissions.

• Transport allowance.

• Housing allowance.

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• Cost of living allowance.

Some of the non-Bahraini workers find that their wages are not fair or not enough, so

they run away from their sponsor to work somewhere else with a higher wage. For this

reason most of the companies now are taking their workers passports to insure they don’t

runaway.

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3) Vehicles:

Every industry’s fleet should look at the different elements of a vehicle to decide if it

is suitable for the business conducted. Moreover, Finance is a consistent concern for

every business in the world as it would organize the budget and the state of the company

when it comes to investments and other aspects of the fleet industry so the vehicle must

be purchased for a good price.

Another important point to take into consideration is the options available to the

business as not all the pursued vehicles would be found and bought immediately on the

spot. Buying vehicles surplus to requirements is the most appropriate solution to this

problem if the industry is capable of negotiating such a successful deal.

It is recommended for BMW to purchase trucks instead of leasing because it will

cost less compared to the amount that would be spent on leasing and limit the use because

it will not be shared by other companies which will increase the truck’s life cycle.

It is in the best interest for BMW to have 5 types of construction trucks, 3 types of

each one which will make a total of 15 vehicles as it makes the most reasonable amount

of trucks to cover all the business transactions taking place within the industry. The total

cost for the trucks is BD 603,000.

Truck Manufacturer:

Volvo is the truck manufactures for the rear discharge concrete mixer as well as for

the other trucks, it has an expectancy of clients to think immediately of quality, strong

engine, high level of performance and safety when the Volvo name is mentioned (Volvo,

2011). It has one of the strongest if not the strongest global dealer and handles any issues

regarding parts or service support with immediate effect, the Volvo commitment towards

its products is unmatched by its manufacturing competitors. They offer innovative

solutions to keep everyone involved whether they are dealers or customers up to date

with the current expert advice on the knowhow of the business. It gives more experience

and expertise in situations for it to be simplified and improve operations around the

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business. The Volvo dealership is located in Sitra and can be contacted over the phone or

by observing the process personally and making sure everything is up to bar in the

dealership. All fleet managers need to recognize that the cheapest option available is not

always the most suitable value and other slightly expensive option may provide to be of

better value and save the industry costs in the long term future.

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1- Front Loader:

Figure 1:

Source: (Matt Stephenson, 2011).

Amount of Weight Carried 0.5 to 36 Cubic Meters

Price BD 42,000 (2010 model)

Gallons 40 gallons

The front loader is common and popular equipment among the construction

companies and workers. It is usually used for large job sites as it can carry large amounts

of sand and rocks which can be utilized to the utmost by the crew. Many consider them to

be essentially tractors with the only difference being that they are on tires and can be

tracked as well; they are able to carry from 0.5 to 36 cubic meters of material that will

depend on application and size of the vehicle and the specified weight limit for that

particular vehicle (Matt Stephenson, 2011).

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Advantages:

Front loaders move a stock shaped pile of material from a ground position to the

awaiting dump truck plus it can perform the task of landscaping that only a

handful of people actually know about

The tires on the front loader are successful in sustaining the pressure and damage

of sharp edged material ruining the rubber wheels

A pivot point that is located between the front and back axle of the front loader, it

allows more weight to be carried on the front axle and thus making it more solid

and flexible.

Disadvantages:

A ground filled with mud can easily sink the front loader and into the ground and

stick there for a while that results in delays on the operations and ruins the

vehicle. (Bulldozer, 2012)

It cannot travel at great speeds due to their size and produce an incredible amount

of noise that contributes to polluting the environment.

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2- Semi Trailer Truck:

Figure 2:

Source: (Hoobly, 2009).

Length 52 Meters Longs

Number of Axles 6 Axles

Price BD 26,000 (2010 model)

Gallons 70 gallons

It consists of a towing engine with a semi trailer at the back to carry the goods loaded

onto it. It is called a semi trailer truck for a reason and that is because it has a front axle

along with the towing engine and the wheels in the rear end of the truck cannot turn

properly. The semi trailer truck is used to transport wood and wood related products

which will impact the complexion of the truck in terms of:

The length.

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The amount of weight it could bear to transport.

The distance of transport it could travel under these particular circumstances.

For example, most organizations that operate with the semi trailer truck usually

recommend that the length of the truck should be 26 meters long. But since the semi

trailer truck is dealing with the transportation of wood and wood related products, it has

to have the minimum length of 52 meters so it does not fill the semi trailer entirely and

gives it room to distribute the weight properly and not run the hazard of damaging the

truck or the road along the way. It will endanger the driver’s safety as well as the

company’s reputation if he gets fined by the traffic police for ruining the road.

Advantages:

It has a grove through flow design and an extensive sipping which is very useful

in protecting it from solid wet traction.

Withstand a heavy load of equipments and stocks because it is supported by 6

axles that are spread from the front to the back.

The semi trailer can withstand the mud and snow on the roads and move around

easily, and has a greater ability to increase the load capacity.

Disadvantages:

The usual length of the semi trailer is 26 meters and therefore increases the risk of

breaking down on the road and find falling equipment off the trailer.

Compared to the full truck, the semi trailer has a higher chance of being of being

jackknifing due to the fact that it’s not protected by any forms of material

(Dimensions Guide, 2012).

3- Concrete Conveyor Truck:

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Figure 3:

Source: (Andy Wilson, 2011).

Length 36 meters

Weight of Truck 3500 kilograms

Price BD 55,000 (2010 model)

Gallons 40 gallons

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The concrete conveyor truck is tailor made to tackle the logistical obstacles of big

projects whether they are a large office complex, apartments or a hotel. This truck is

divided into two types:

Front concrete conveyor truck

Rear concrete conveyor truck

Both of them posses’ excellent qualities and guarantees the organization a state of the

art machinery and reliability (Atlas Polar, 2010). The front concrete conveyor truck is 36

meters long and weighs in at 3.5 thousand pounds and the rear concrete conveyor truck is

38 meters long and weighs in at 3.8 thousand pounds. This truck gives the driver absolute

control over it from the perspective of accuracy and distance on just about every job site.

It is considered by many experts to be the best conveyor system available currently in the

market without any competitors. With the high level of performance and advanced

technological system it integrates. It is designed to turn long reaches into short work

based on time and effort spent on it and conquers terrain and hands total control and

precision to the person handling it.

Advantages:

They are very simplified and allow greater rotation and precise placements and

require less maintenance than previous truck editions.

Pivoting the discharge harbor vertically to allocate removal for easy cleaning.

The implementation of hi-tensile steel that reduces the weight and at the same

time enhances the strength of the truck itself.

Disadvantages:

Charging the capability of the transmitter via rechargeable batteries and external

transmitter antenna.

Protection of rollers and belt damages can only affect rear concrete conveyor

trucks instead of the front concrete conveyor trucks.

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4- Knuckle Boom:

Figure 4:

Source: (Norwalk, 2012).

Length 25 feet

Amount of Weight Carried 15000 Kilograms

Price BD 48,000 (2010 model)

Gallons 79 gallons

The knuckle boom is a relatively new truck to the market and has only been

introduced recently to Asia and the Middle East to be specific (Atlas Polar, 2012). It has

slowly attracted the interest of the contractors and business owners because they are

getting more familiar with it and observing the benefits it brings to the industry. Its

design looks like a normal crane but the boom bends in the middle and folds down to a

compact size and extends a long way.

Advantages:

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The knuckle boom is very light which leaves space for an increased payload and

enables precise control for the operators.

It can easily be maneuvered in the building site between obstacles which makes it

versatile for the construction workers.

A system called the overload protection system installed into most knuckle booms

that is designed to stop the truck from getting involved into dangerous situations.

Disadvantages:

It is suitable only for level and dry ground as opposed to the mud and snow

conditions from which they cannot operate properly.

Damages on the knuckle boom will trigger advanced regeneration from the fleet

industry which will end up being expensive on the company.

Soil compaction can be disturbed during the road transport that will ruin the

material for building and constructing job sites.

5- Dump Truck:

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Figure 5:

Source: (Volvo, 2010).

Length 15 meters

Price BD 30,000 (2010 model)

Gallons 25 to 30 gallons

The dump truck is considered by many to be the ideal piece of machinery for

construction purposes because it can perform a wide range of tasks efficiently. It also

ensures the safety of the operator’s lives and proper conditions for their environment. The

dump trucks are used mostly to move loose material to building sites without knowing

the size of the required location, they are designed for off road driving on construction

sites so it cuts the distance of long journeys.

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Advantages:

It gives the ability to haul more material at a faster pace for the lowest possible

cost in the market.

A special hinge that is located between the dump box and the vehicle cab that

separates itself from other trucks and hydraulics can steer the entire cab instead of

the typical normal steering.

It is highly adaptable to terrains that make them desirable to the fleet industries as

well as their versatility and durability.

Disadvantages:

The lack of a mixing process over long haul journeys may lead to excessive loss

of slump.

Most trucks should be covered with tarps but it is not integral for the dump truck

(Pavement Interactive, 2012). It will allow water into the dump which will cause

the raise of the water cement mixture and hot weather could cause the water to

evaporate quickly.

The dump truck only has a specific spot to discharge in which makes less

practical than other construction machineries.

Additional vehicles:-

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There exist two types of hire:

Internal hire

External hire

Internal hire is intra vehicle utilization that approaches the business in a thoughtful

and measured manner while external hire is the most common form of fleet supplement

(CILT, 2006 S9). It leaves the cost of the vehicle hire to a minimum price, monitors any

situation that comes along carefully and requests documents of information that gets the

driver to familiarize with the vehicle of his choice during deliveries (CILT, 2006 S10).

The fleet manager must always follow an important rule which is to plan well ahead of

any operation is crucial and vital, for example a vehicle can take a while to arrive to the

company and there must exist a contingency plan for vehicle retention. Other issues that

BMW is advised to consider these elements (CILT, 2006 S10):

Legality

Efficiency

Economic

The loads of the truck have to be carried on safely and securely by broad restraint

systems that also check up on (CILT, 2006 S10):

The weight.

Number of passenger.

Fuel efficiency.

Specifications of the truck regarding engines and gearboxes.

Fuel Management:

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When taking into consideration the fact that BMW is located in Hidd, the thought of

fuel management immediately comes to mind (CILT, 2006 S11). The fleet industry can

obtain a special agency card in cooperation with BAPCO; it displays the serial number

and the registration number of the vehicle when it is refueling. In the end of the process,

the driver receives a receipt that should be kept for security and safety purposes. At the

end of the month, the driver should inform the fleet manager of the agency cards for

reconciliation. It has all the necessary factors and facilities to perform the procedures that

would result in minimizing the consumption of oil as much as possible.

The Hidd petrol station is nearby so the process of refueling with diesel for all the

trucks can be done faster because of its location and the time of the actual process. The

disadvantage in that department would be the lack of petrol stations along the way from

Hidd until after Khalifa Bin Salman Bridge.

The next petrol station is about 20 minutes away from Hidd although in that

distance traffic congestions occur frequently. It makes the trucks vulnerable to

breakdowns and accidents that will damage the vehicle. It has been recommended to

reduce fuel consumption that is largely produced by the transportation related companies,

that fuel gets consumed easily when the truck is driving over 60 miles per hours so

companies need to look out for the speed limit as it is supposed to endure a couple of

trips before it runs out of fuel (Kuo & Wang, 2011).

It is widely known that fuel lasts longer in the city than it does on the highway. It

is recommended that when refueling that it should be done to cover up to five working

days to avoid refueling from an external location along the way. There exists a highly

common problem in the fuel management sector which is employees can easily duplicate

fuel orders that ends up charging the fleet industry on operations they didn’t really need.

These mishaps can just as easily be avoided in the future as companies could hire a

manager exclusively for the purpose of ordering fuel and keeping a record of previous

orders over the past few weeks and months to give an idea on when to order fuel exactly.

Driver responsibilities:

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Discipline should be a rule and a necessity for all drivers working in the delivery

industry. They must ensure at all times the safety of the public while on delivery and

avoid endangering their lives every time the driver goes out on the road. Carelessness

is a habit that should be dropped and removed from the driver’s thoughts as it would

damage his reputation as well as the company’s reputation and serves to paint a poor

image for clients and investors interested in cooperating with the industry.

According to many experts, one of the primary objectives for the driver is to

launch a flexible infrastructure that is measureable by most standards involved in the

logistics industry for the company that he is representing. The driver should also

adopt result driven approach which means that the driver should experiment different

plans and routes for different destinations of delivery and the method that benefits the

company the most should be implemented instantly (Peters & Lossau, 2011). The

driver should always ensure of a full tank of diesel or at least a decent amount that

could bare the required journey the driver is supposed to take. The driver should be

careful of someone pilfering his fuel from his tank; it could be a person within the

company or outside it (CILT, 2006 S11).

The important thing is to check up on a regular basis to ensure a healthy and fully

filled tank and not have any leaks of the sides or at the bottom. The driver could

follow simple regulations and instructions by the company to avoid accidents on the

road or conduct himself in a proper manner when an unfortunate accident occurs that

could be his fault or the fault of others. The company could probably set a certain

speed limit for the driver on road from which he shouldn’t exceed as it makes the

truck hard to control for the driver (CILT, 2006 S11).

Advice could be given on the best possible route to take to a certain location as

there could be detours or traffic congestions that would delay the delivery along the

way, a traffic congestion could cause the driver to get frustrated and not focus entirely

on the road which leaves him prone to accidents and scratches on his truck without

him even noticing.

The efficient vehicle utilization:

33

• Vehicle utilization:

It is waste of time and money if the vehicle is empty or not fully loaded at any

time on the road, or any vehicle is not performing well. To avoid such these problems and

to improve the vehicle utilization, the fleet manger must use some tools such as GPS,

Vehicle Employment Chart and Tachograh. However, all of these tools cannot benefit the

company unless it contains accurate information in it. Analyzing this information will

allow the fleet manger to measure the driver’s performance, improve the service’s quality

and maximize both driver and load utilization (CILT, 2006 S8).

• Time utilization:

Vehicle Employment Chart is a tool used for documenting all the fleet activity

and its usage of time. The fleet manger can use this chart to plan for vehicles’

maintenance according to mileages, fulfilling and accomplishing the legal requirements

as well as making the maximum utilization of Vehicles (CILT, 2006 S8).

• Loading utilization:

The efficient use of vehicle is to be loaded to its maximum each time being on road.

In other words, making the best value of the available assets. Sometimes it can be

difficult because it mostly depend on the customer’s volumes. A good advice for low

demands is that the fleet manager should collect them together into one load.

Loading utilization can be calculated by using the load factor that is the percentage of

actual payload carried in the vehicle to the maximum vehicle’s load capacity.

Good to know, If the fleet manger feels that the available vehicles are not enough to

cover the increasing demands, he/she must consider using hired vehicles for short term

before deciding to buy new ones (CILT, 2006 S8). Most companies in Bahrain use hired

vehicles for seasonally demands.

34

4) Maintenance

Maintenance is important for running fleet; it is the process of maintaining

vehicles to keep it in a good condition. As for any fleet management department, the

recommended trucks should be taken care of to keep it running and good for a long

period of time. In addition, there are many rules that are required for each company to

keep trucks maintained because it is related to safety such as; the traffic officers check on

the trucks if they are maintained or not, if they are not, the officers have the right to issue

a high fine. Moreover, the operating license requires trucks to be serviced on a regular

basis from time to time and to keep the records and receipts so that the fleet manager can

show an effective system of maintaining their trucks. Furthermore, the maintenance

operations aspects must be approved by the General Directorate of Traffic and Licensing;

which means any alteration no matter how small it was requires approval. All the workers

of the maintenance area should know and understand the consequences of the

commitment failure to guarantee that the vehicles are safe at all time (CILT, 2006 S4).

There are some points that need to be taken into consideration for maintaining the

types of trucks recommended which are (CILT, 2006 S4):

Legal Obligation:

It is compulsory on every fleet company to follow the legal obligations. The

operator or the driver should check the truck before driving it to make sure it is in a good

condition for driving, and the driver should be able to write a report about the vehicle

state so that the company knows when and what part must be maintained. In addition, the

reports must be kept for at least 15 months. Trucks that are not in a good state for driving

must be stopped from using it on the roads.

35

Service schedule:

Each truck must be maintained and requires a service schedule, for our trucks that

we’ll be using; each truck will have its own service schedule that will have the dates of

the services that the trucks did and the kind of service. Moreover, a continual checkup

each truck that our company has and it’s a must. However, the inspection will be for each

part of the truck like tires, engine, brakes and more. Additionally, the checkups can be

done in two different ways and they are regular servicing and periodic inspection. The

services happen by time or miles, like for example: our trucks will have the checkups by

date, like every 3 months, or it can be by miles like every 5000 mile they check the truck.

Furthermore, servicing and inspection are the two main elements that may help the

organization to find the flaws of the trucks and to fix it; therefore, this will reduce the

cost of maintenance because the sooner the problem in the truck is fixed the lower cost it

will be.

36

Vehicle checklist:

Vehicle checklist paper must be made and carried by the drivers of the fleet manager;

each truck has its checklist. This checklist consists of the vehicle conditions and updates

for the trucks.

Figure 6:

Source: (Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, 2012).

Vehicle defects reporting:

37

The drivers must write every flaw in the vehicle to find and fix it quickly. These

flaws will be reported by the drivers with the daily checkup for the trucks, they must

report the exact problem of the vehicle that should be maintained and those reports

should be kept. All reports and lists for each truck will be kept separately to view it

anytime that an accident happen to see where was the error that made the truck go wrong

on the road and try to be careful for the future checkups and maintenance.

Breakdown procedures:

Whenever the truck breaks down there are some procedures that the driver should

follow, for example, when the vehicle has a problem; the driver should stop aside and use

the hazard caution to warn other drivers on the road, and then call the police for help if

anyone is harmed. Afterwards, the driver should identify the truck’s problem and call the

person who is responsible for fixing the flaw and the most important thing is that the

driver should lock the vehicle and secure the load carefully and wait for help.

Figure 7:

Source: (truckers assist, 2012).

Type of Maintenance (in-house/external):

38

It is recommended for any company to provide two kinds of maintenance. The first

kind of maintenance is in-house which is the company’s workshop which is located in

Al-Hidd next to BMW. This workshop has some spare parts for the trucks and the

equipment that is needed to fix any truck like truck batteries, oil, filters, tires and the

reason for having an in-house workshop is to make it faster and much more easier for the

trucks to be maintained and they will be able to finish the trucks without any delays and

could control the inner fleet management. In contrast, the disadvantage of the in-house

maintenance is that it is going to cost more money for hiring employees for maintaining

the trucks and also the truck parts that is going to be imported from out of Bahrain. Also,

the company has some future plans like expanding the warehouse and in-house

maintenance area to avoid putting pressure on them and to retain the business. However,

the cost of the in-house maintenance is expensive but it profits the company (CILT, 2006

S5).

Additionally, BMW can provide external maintenance that will help the in-house

maintenance to maintain the trucks and to keep them roadworthy, safe and in a good

condition. The external maintenance will be in the Volvo garages that will maintain the

trucks.

Cost:

The external fleet maintenance costs less than the in-house maintenance; the external

maintenance will be having all the spare parts and the equipment that is needed to

maintain and check the truck, but sometimes they need to order some parts from out of

Bahrain for the trucks. The location of BMW external maintenance garage is located in

Salmabad. Also, the cost depends whether the truck is going to be maintained in-house

or external maintenance, and whether the spare part and equipment are provided or is it

going to be imported to Bahrain.

39

In addition, the way of using the truck’s gear affects the truck and its condition such

as reducing the speed and increasing the torque; this operation in the truck or gear

consumes a specific amount of power which considers as losing watts. However, gear

losses are the resistance and the roughness of it moving which reduces the competence of

the gear. Moreover, there are some gears that are designed for efficiency and some which

operates for lower efficiency than others (Maintenance technology, 2012). On the other

hand, drivers should use the truck and truck’s gear properly so that they do not ruin it and

change it every time; using it in a proper way to keep it for a longer time.

Spare parts:

It is recommended for garages of maintenance to buy the original parts for the trucks

which is more expensive but will last longer, because even if the unoriginal parts are less

costing but it will not last for long time due to its poor quality so it will be needed to

replace them in short periods.

Some repairs are impossible or difficult to be fixed and in some cases the cost of the

repairs may be higher than the spare part price, in this condition the spare part is

considers non-repairable, once a part in a truck fails at working it will be removed from

the truck because it will be a waste (D. Banjevic & A. Jardine, 2012).

40

5) Safety

General legislation:

• Seat belts:

Wearing seat belts is a simple measure to protect the driver’s safety. A crashed trucks

study in Australia has proven that concept. The study includes 205 of heavy truck’s

drivers that have been involved in Crashes. Only 20 drivers were using the seat belts. The

results showed that no one of them was killed or had serious injuries, but few had minor

ones. However, less than 50 % of drivers whom did not use a seat belt were killed or had

injuries (Preece, 2002). Unfortunately in Bahrain if there is a tuck crash the report will

not show whether the driver was wearing seat belt or not because of honesty issue as one

traffic inspector said. However, the fine of not wearing the seat belt is only BD 5.

Seat belt use and the level of injury:

Figure 8:

Source: (Preece, 2002).

41

More than 50% of trucks drivers do not wear seatbelt even if their companies

required it. Carl-Johan Almqvist, a safety manager of Volvo Trucks, explained some

potential reasons behind drivers not preferring to put seatbelts. First, many drivers thinks

driving a truck is safer than small car because of its low speed and they are safe enough

to not wear seat belts. Second, seat belt is restricting the driver from using the side mirror

as well as being uncomfortable during the long trip (N. Dakota University, 2010).

Moreover, the driver feels inconvenience when doing multi-drop deliveries (Preece,

2002)

The fleet manger is responsible for enforcing all the drivers to wear a seatbelt and

about punishment action that the company will used against non-compliance drivers. The

punishment action must be progressive as in the example below.

Figure 9:

Source: (CILT, 2006 S7).

• Tires:

It is important to do regular tires checks in order to ensure that the vehicles are

roadworthy, legal and safety. If the tire condition did not meet the law requirement

constantly the operator's license will be canceled in UK. However, in Bahrain they only

hang the operator temporary form the business until the operator pays all the fines that

will be determined in the court.

The driver or fleet manger can check the safety of tires by looking in the side wall of

the tires if there are any damage in it such as cracks, holes and lump,then it must be

42

First time inform the driver about the policy

Second time Give the driver a formal warning

Third time Suspend the driver temporary and aware him

Fourth time Fire the driver from his job

replaced. Another inspection concern is tread depth; the legal limit of tread depth for

heavy truck that is over 3.5 tones is at least 1 mm. this can be done easily by using a

depth gauge (tyresafe.org) or by using a coin.

The Tire pressure must be checked because the improper inflation will result in

building up the internal heat which leads to tire blowout. If that happen, the driver will

loss the vehicle’s control and that is very dangerous to the driver and other road users. On

the other hand, the correct pressure tires can reduce the fuel consumption and therefore

reduce operating costs as well as decrease carbon emissions (tyre safe, 2012). The driver

can check the pressure by using pressure gauge which is worth BD 5 (DMV, 2012).

Another way is to notice the solid mark that the tire makes on the road. Look to the figure

10.

Figure 10:

Sources: (TVE tyres, 2012).

43

The General Directorate of Traffic and Licensing in Bahrain imposes a fine of BD10

for any truck with illegal tire condition and there are unpredicted campaigns that are done

on the road to check the quality of truck’s tires. The driver will receive from the traffic a

free brochures and books about the important of checking tires as well as wearing

seatbelts.

Vehicle weight:

Both drivers and fleet manger should know the maximum axle and GPW of all the

trucks to avoid overloading on the road that can result on many Consequences such as

causing hazards for driver and other road users, possibility to lose the operator’s license

or receiving expensive fine.

• Vehicle weight terms:

Here a table of some terms that fleet manger should know about;

The most common terms used in the fleet management.

Figure 11:

Sources: (Cornwall Council, 2012).

44

Vehicle plates:

All the trucks must have one or two plates which show the maximum weight allowed

for each axle and the total weight for the whole truck. The first one is the manufacturer’s

plate that is usually placed under the bonnets and it shows information like the name of

manufacturer, serial number, weight limits for each axle and the maximum gross

construction weight (GCW) which is the total weight of the vehicle with its load that

including the weight of spare tire, water and fuel (Cornwall Council, n.d). To explain

GCW more, the GCW to normal concrete truck can be 70,000 pounds. However, when it

is empty it weighs 30,000 pounds.

The second one is the Ministry Plate that is issued in Bahrain by the general

directorate of traffic after registration of the truck and it’s the only plate that is required

by Bahrain traffic, and this plate shows the maximum allowed axle weight as well as the

gross permitted weight in the country which is usually lower than the manufacturer’s

design.

Figure 12 Shows Bahraini heavy truck plates.

Figure 12:

Sources: (Khaled Mohamed, 2012).

45

• Axle weight:

Another way that makes the truck overloaded is by exceeding any axle weight

limit that is written in the vehicle’s plate. The axle weight can be defined by the

maximum weight that can be transmitted by any axle of the vehicle.

The fleet manger must know that it is possible for the total axle’s weights can

exceed the GPW. Moreover, if the entire axle were loaded to its maximum, there will be

a big chance of GPW to be overloads. Both fleet manger and drivers must be aware that

the weight is under control (CILT, 2006 S6). Sometimes, it can be complicated to

calculate the axle weight of the vehicle; In that case the fleet manger can use special

websites for this. However, most of websites require a subscription fees or the fleet

manger can use computer software such as “Load Xpert; Axle Load Calculation” that

cost BD37.800 (loadxpert, 2012).

Figure 13 Photo screen for computer software that create a load plan.

Figure 13:

Source: (softtruck.com, 2012).

46

This problem mostly occurs to multi drop drivers whose loads weight is reduce after

each delivery. Although the fact that both GVW and axle weights are inside the permit

legal limits. However, when the goods in the back of the truck are unloaded which used

to create a balance between the front and rear axles, all the weight will be placed in the

front axle and that could create a problem of overloaded in that axle. In that case the

driver must re-distribute the load while the deliveries are made (CILT, 2006 S6).

According to Julius Brauer, sales engineering manager at “Get Vendio”, it is

important to distribute the Weight equally on the truck for various reasons. He explained

his point “if there is too heavy weight on truck’s front axle, it will be hard to steering as

well as maneuver. There is a possibility that the brakes will not work well” (Deierlein,

1993).

Truck driver’s health:

According to surveys that ware done in 1997 for more than 500 truck drivers

regarding their health, the results discovered some common symptoms such as

(truckertrucker, 2012)

Ringing ears.

Neck pain.

Low back pain (as well as back injuries).

Hypertension (high level of blood pressure).

Hemorrhoids (because of sitting for long time).

White finger.

Obesity.

The driver can avoid getting sick or tired by (Benstowe, 2008);

Eating healthy.

Drinking a lot of water.

Exercising and walking (at least one hour).

47

Visiting a doctor on a regular basis.

Quite smoking.

Safety regulations:

Fleet manger and driver must make sure to be informed of up to date safety

regulations and recommendation that are set by the government (FMCSA, 2012). The

safety rules are created to help in;

• Rules protecting the driver:

The driver will experience fatigue in some point. However, to minimize any risk

he should take regular breaks while driving, get plenty of sleep, have good ventilation

and eat healthy, that will not impair his driving. There are many rules that concerns about

the maximum driving hours and the need to have a driving log. For instance, the Hours-

of-Service rules, HOS, suggest that truck driver is able to drive maximum 11 hours and

then take rest for at least 10 hours. In Bahrain, the legal driving hours is 8 hours and the

truck driver must take rest for 8 hours before driving again.

• Rules protecting other road users:

If the truck is loaded with dangerous goods or hazardous materials it needs a

special license from the driver. The fleet manger must follow specific rules to make the

roads safe for everyone such as ensure the truck have hazard warning labels on it that can

been seen from a distance of 50 feet and known what are the emergency response

procedures that must be taken (California Highway Patrol,2012).

• Rules protecting businesses or companies:

Every company wants to continue their business and preserve a good reputation

by following the rules that are set by local or international organizations. Such rules are

about maximum allowed weight, designing routes for different truck’s sizes, avoid

sending trucks in rush hours in the country, for example in Bahrain trucks are not allowed

to drive in congested roads from 6 am to 7am and from 1 pm to 2 pm according to an

48

officer working in The Directorate of Traffic. In addition, giving the drivers training and

providing them with the latest tool to help them, as well as insuring that they are not

driving under the influence of alcohol (Alice, 2005).

• Other regulations:

The rules of truck safety are continually developing. The fleet manger can take a look

of the latest rules by visiting the official website of Federal Motor Carrier Safety

Administration that offers general rules for drivers, companies and trucks.

49

6) IT

IT is an important aspect in fleet management, each company need it for storing and

managing the information, reducing the use of papers and to ease to find the information

needed. Fleet management needs several programs in IT, fleet management software,

database, remote vehicle disabling systems, route planning devices and websites, and

tools for monitoring vehicles utilization.

Fleet management software:

Fleet management software is a computer system that helps in accomplishing series

tasks in the management of all aspects of fleet of vehicles, it encompass all the operations

from vehicle acquisition to disposal. It is a difficult information system that has a

function of gathering, storing, processing, monitoring, reporting on and exporting

information. This information can be brought from external sources like the Driver and

Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and internal sources like human resources or finance

department in the company (Imagic, 2001).

The fleet management software is capable of managing events, processes and tasks,

for example it notify the fleet manager of tax and insurance due dates, routine

maintenance, scheduled maintenance and driver license management. Moreover, there are

other functions such as:

• Tracking vehicles.

• Fuel management.

• Labor information.

• Spare parts management.

Fleet management software can be developed or changed by the company according

to their needs or it can be purchased. It is hugely necessary for a company to have fleet

management software especially if it has large amount of vehicles that must follow the

50

legislations and regulations of the country. There are a lot of fleet management software's

such as manager plus, collective fleet, dossier fleet maintenance management software.

One of the best fleet management software's that can be used for a construction

company is RTA Fleet Management Software for Construction Fleets because It is made

to fulfill the Construction fleet management needs; it takes into consideration the

reliability, cost, safety, and availability of the equipments. In addition RTA Fleet

Management software is not expensive, it costs only BD 25. The RTA Fleet Management

software has several features like (FleetManagementSoftware, 2010):

Figure 14:

Source: (CitySupplierDirectory, 2012)

• Fleet utilization.

• Tool tracking.

• Equipments cost accounting and reporting for all of them. Details of the

equipments can be classified according to the customer, location, shop, job

site, class, department and model. The reports are for the use of fuel, repair

cost and other purposes that can be find quickly and in an accurate way.

• The use of fuel and consumption reporting, it helps in keeping track of the

fuel expenses and provide billing information that help in the recoup of the

fuel costs.

51

• Pump tanker, and tank tracking and reporting.

• Reducing the use of papers. It gives schedules of jobs in the shop and tracks

the sick time and vacations.

• Parts inventory and purchasing tracking. There are a lot of features in the parts

inventory model; some of them are consignment parts, image storage, part

categories, and vendor tracking.

• Tire cost and tracking. It gives different information about tires like the

maintenance, cost, size, and image and treads type. It also gives a report with

full tire history.

• Reports on the fleet status.

• Dashboard monitoring tools for performance and equipment issues.

• Time clock and technician accountability. Through the software the shop and

labors time can be managed and training needs can be identified.

• Preventative maintenance and tracking for the equipments. The software

allows tracking the maintenance schedules in an easy and flexible way. It can

be tracked by fuel, house, dates, miles or kilometers and other measurements.

• Warranty recovery and repairs notifications. This feature notifies the manager

if there is a particular repair that is warranty repair.

• Remote work orders.

• Road calls tracking and job site repairs.

There are steps and instructions for using RTA fleet management software in the

appendix.

Database:

A database is required to retain all the

information that is needed for fleet management

and to make it easier to get. The fleet manager

can keep information about the fleet of vehicles

and their utilization, for example, the

52

Figure 15:

Source: (Microolap, 2012)

maintenance dates and times, data on hired vehicles, and vehicles insurance information.

The database should be accurate, organized and up to date in order to be useful, so it will

need to be revised in the case of adding new vehicles to the fleet (CILT, 2006 S8). There

are a lot of advantages of database; some of them are (BusinessLink, 2012), (Anjard,

1994):

• Fast Queries: searching for information in a large amount of data will be faster

than other software's like Excel.

• Multiple users: database can be accessed by multiple users in the same time.

• Portability: a database with the proper settings can be accessed from anywhere

in the world by using the internet, so if an employee is away from the office

he can get to the database anytime he want.

• Longevity: database and information are available all the time as long as the

company wants.

• Reduce paper use and the storage cost because the company needs to have a

records of previous years.

Accidents database:

Accidents can give bad impressions about the company so Accident databases can be

useful in terms of reducing the number of accidents through identifying the drivers with

the bad records, the dates with the risks, and analyzing the types of accidents which is

important for training the drivers and applying a strategy for reducing the accidents risk.

This database can store information such as: (Murray, Whiteing, 1995).

• The driver's name, age and gender.

• Vehicle registration number.

• Vehicle age and type.

• Trailer registration number, age and type.

• Day, date and time.

• Location.

53

• Weather conditions.

• Cause of accident and description.

• Unloaded of loaded.

• Costs.

• Tyre mileage.

The effectiveness of the database depends on the use of the fleet manager or the

employees, if they are using the database in the proper way then it will organize the work

and make it easier to find information, but if the database is not used in the correct way

then there will be no use of having it so the company will need to train the employees to

use it efficiently.

Remote vehicle disabling systems

Remote vehicle disabling systems are useful for the control and security of the

vehicle; it gives the remote users in their location to prevent an engine from starting,

movement of a vehicle and stop or slow a vehicle. Moreover, it has another feature which

is a remote panic and emergency notification system for the driver to notify the company

In the case of emergency so they get alerted and take an action

(FederalMotorCarrierSafetyAdministration, 2012).

54

Figure 16:

Source: (Blogs, 2012)

Route planning

There are number of ways for route planning that can help in planning and organizing

the routes for the vehicles to minimize the time and vehicles utilization. Some of the

ways are:

• Using online mapping sites that include road route planner as part of their

functions. For example: Intermodal Journey Planner, Google Maps, Bing

Maps & Directions, and TomTom Route. Planner.

55

Figure 17:

Source: (Talkandroidphones, 2012)

• Route Planning Softwares like GPS tracking capability which gives the

dispatcher the ability of reduce mileage, plan more fuel efficient routes, and

prevent un-planned stops. In the other hand this system is very expensive, this

will affect the relationship between the fleet manager and the driver because

the manager will not trust the driver on the GPS because of its high cost, but it

is recommended strongly because it can take the company to higher level of

success (Garmin, 1996).

Tools for monitoring vehicle utilization:

Monitoring is important to the progress of the vehicles utilization and to the

company's operations and delivery process so the fleet manager have to know the use of

the vehicles and the driver deployment (CILT, 2006 S8). There are some tools that have

advantages in using for instance:

• Maximize the driver utilization.

• To sure of having the best fleet levels.

• Keep up the high quality of service.

56

Figure 18:

Source: (Greenroom, 2012)

• Maximize load utilization.

• Minimize the number of miles.

Some of the tools and systems that are used for monitoring are:

• Individual computerized utilization systems.

• Tachograph which is a device that is used for tracking the vehicle; it is fitted

to a vehicle to record the distance, speed and the drive mood. It includes a

sender unit mounted to the vehicle gearbox, the tachograph head and a

recording medium. All Vehicles that are manufactured since the first of May

2006 are fitted with digital tachograph head. Another type of tachograph

heads is analogue. The recording medium for the digital tachograph heads are

digital driver cards that contain a microchip with flash memory. The recording

medium for analogue tachograph heads are wax coated paper discs

(EuropeanCommision, 2011).

IT needs electricity to manage and deal with the softwares and database so the

company should have generators as a backup electricity to avoid crippling the job. Each

company must use IT in Fleet management because it plays an important role that helps

57

Figure 19:

Source: (lontex, 2012)

in the success of the company because it helps in increasing the efficiency of the work,

make it professional and reducing the cost.

In conclusion, BMW hired consultants to recommend them the best fleet

management guide to have a better control of fleet operations and succeed in their

business, fleet management is the control of vehicles and workers that work for the fleet

management department or basically everything that is related to fleet management

including all the operations.

Moreover, this report included the human resources which are the responsibility

of hiring suitable workers for each job based on their qualifications. For starting any

business, operating license must be provided by the fleet manager and the drivers should

not be employed without having driving licenses. Also, choosing the best trucks for the

right business is what the company should consider; we recommended 5 types of trucks

that are suitable for this business.

In addition, maintenance is a very important aspect to keep the trucks operating

perfectly for a long time, two types of maintenance were recommended for this company

which are in-house and external maintenance. Furthermore, safety requirements were

mentioned and also some software, databases and systems which are required for BMW.

58

Conclusion

Adam, A. (2004). Trucking rules and regulations: Reference guide to transportation.

Delmar Cengage Learning.

Alibaba. (2012). Retrieved 26 May 2012 from

http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/trade/100208241-1-major-clamp-trucks-

bahrain.html

Atlas Polar. (2012). Retrieved 24 May 2012 from

http://www.atlaspolar.com/material-handling-equipment/knuckle-boom-trucks.html

Atlas Polar. (2010). Retrieved 24 May 2012 from

http://www.atlaspolar.com/pdfs/Mixveyor-All-Model-Brochure.pdf

Bahraini plate. (2012). taken from Khaled Mohamed Abdulrahim

Benstowe. (2008). “LONG DRIVING HOURS AND HEALTH OF TRUCK

DRIVERS” Retrieved from http://archives.njit.edu/vol01/etd/2000s/2008/njit-

etd2008-006/njit-etd2008-006.pdf

59

References

Big Money Talks: Gearbox Efficiency. There's Money To Be Saved, (2012)

Retrieved from http://www.mt-online.com/may2012/big-money-talks-gearbox-

efficiency-theres-money-to-be-saved

Blogs. (2012). Retrieved 12 June 2012 from http://blogs.totalpda.co.uk/wp-

content/uploads/2009/07/tomtom-route-planner.jpg

Bowman, Z. (2010, April 13). Study: Half of all European truck drivers don't wear

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all-european-truck-drivers-dont-wear-their-seatb/

Business friendly Bahrain. (2012). Retrieved 29 May 2012 from

http://staging.bahrain.com/work-permits.aspx

BusinessLink. (2012). Retrieved 25 May 2012 from

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Figure 20:

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69

Appendix

Figure 21:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011).

70

Figure 22:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011).

71

Figure 23:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011).

72

Figure 24:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011).

73

Figure 25:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011).

74

Figure 26:

Source: (Docstoc, 2011)

75

Task Responsibility

Cover page Ali Obaid

Table of content Fatema Ashoor

Executive summary Latifa AlAlawi

Fleet Management Mohammed AlMahmood

Human resources Fatema Ashoor, Sakiena Mahdi, Ali Obaid

& Mohammed AlMahmood

Operating license Ali Obaid

Regulations and control of operations Ali Obaid

vehicles Mohammed AlMahmood

The Efficient vehicle utilization Sakiena Mahdi

Maintenance Latifa AlAlawi

safety Sakiena Mahdi

IT Fatema Ashoor

Conclusion Latifa AlAlawi

References Fatema Ashoor, Sakiena Mahdi & Ali Obaid

Appendix Fatema Ashoor

The report format Fatema Ashoor & Latifa AlAlawi

Proof reading Fatema Ashoor & Sakiena Mahdi

76

Table of tasks