Winter is coming: is your fleet ready?

Although the sun is still shining, the chilly mornings are starting to creep in. My Fleet Hub has some support to get your car maintenance in winter in shape, and with advice from the Institute of Advance Motoring to prepare your cars and fleet.

It’s important to keep the windscreen clean

Try to get scratches, abrasions and chips fixed as colder temperatures can make the damage worse. Keep the windscreen washer topped up with a more concentrated screen wash mix to ensure it doesn’t freeze in action. And don’t forget your de-icer

Check tyres

The legal limit of a tread depth may be 1.6mm but anything under 3mm will see a potential fall off in grip and braking performance.

Planning for really bad weather can take a lot of time and thought. We understand that managing a commercial fleet is more challenging than ever. That’s why we are introducing a free, one-stop solution to deal with the never-ending list of problems you face: MyService.Expert is a service, maintenance and repair dashboard where you can manage any work, including MOT that needs to be conducted on your vehicles.

For a pre-winter check up, why not try it? Car maintenance in winter is crucial. It just takes three steps to register and it’s completely free to book any of the integrated services included in the system, to help service, maintain and repair your fleet. Once your vehicles details are in place, the user-friendly dashboard allows access to a nationwide garage network with great savings on fleet servicing, maintenance, repairs and MOTs, at the right price for your vehicle.

There is no joining fee, plus you can save a lot of money on tyre replacements too, this winter.

winter driving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, here are eight essential tips to improve your car maintenance in winter:

  1. It’s always best to keep an ice-scraper and can of de-icer in your vehicle as the British weather is so unpredictable, and can be sunny one day and frosty the next.
  2. Carry an empty fuel can with you. Don’t carry a full or partially full one as this is a fire hazard and if it has recently had fuel in it, flammable vapour may still be present.
  3. You never know when you’ll need a first aid kit, so keeping one in the boot of your car is always handy for either yourself, or another road user if you’re first on scene at an accident.
  4. If you’ve broken down on the side of the road, the last thing you want is to be cold and unable to see your way around the dark. That’s why we advise drivers to always keep a torch and set of batteries in their vehicle, along with warm clothes, a blanket and a high visibility jacket. And don’t forget food and drink to stop your energy levels from dropping – bottled water is a must.
  5. The battery on a car can go flat at any time. Make sure your vehicles have a set of jump leads so your driver can start your engine with help from another driver’s vehicle.
  6. Keep a spare pair of sturdy shoes with a good grip. You’ll need these to turn the wheel brace when changing a tyre, or to push your car if you’ve broken down, or even just to change shoes if there’s a sudden weather change.
  7. An item that’s often overlooked is the reflective warning triangle. This gives you extra security for a number of reasons such as breaking down in the dark. Put it out in accordance with the rule from the Highway code 274 which advises to “put a warning triangle on the road at least 45 metres (147 feet) behind your broken-down vehicle on the same side of the road, or use other permitted warning devices if you have them. Always take great care when placing or retrieving them, but never use them on motorways.”
  8. Last but not least a quick survival kit in the boot. Spare clothes, a torch, mobile phone charger, some emergency rations such as water, chocolate and a tow rope and shovel to help yourself and others.

Car maintenance in winter can be tricky, but, with these steps, we hope you can get prepared in time.

Scaffolding company constructs fleet savings with fuel cards

Scaffolding company constructs fleet savings with fuel cards

Fuel cards can benefit any business that operates company vehicles and one of our latest clients is living proof of that.

Manchester-based 3D Scaffolding prides itself on delivering safe and innovative scaffolding solutions that have facilitated major projects.

A flexible and cost-efficient fuel solution is essential and that’s precisely what Fuel Card Services delivers.

Those aren’t our words though, it’s the view of the company’s fleet decision maker Jan Hartley, who said: “Fuel Card Services provided an extremely swift setup and were very helpful throughout the whole process.

“They really saved us money.”

Jan was impressed with the level of customer service from her account manager Robyn Hartley too, adding: “We had a query after setup and Robyn sorted it immediately.”

Ellie Baker, brand manager at Fuel Card Services, commented: “This is yet another success story to add to the constantly increasing number of happy clients.”

Fleet driver with thumbs up

Mileage Count: Miles & Miles

Mileage Count App

Three words that are guaranteed to upset fleet managers: counting mileage and expenses. Business mileage is the most commonly claimed expense for UK companies – and it’s growing. (So too is all the administration of it.) My Fleet Solutions presents MileageCount: a smart, automated system for recording and reporting every mile of every journey in any vehicle. Accurate, dependable, and effortless, its all-in-one software makes it easy to record, manage, process and submit mileage records for all owned, leased and “grey” vehicles used for your business.

MileageCount is the simplest way to save the most time, money and worry on the miles your company must account for.

How to Count Mileage for Work

Every company mile matters. Estimates, mistakes, private and unrecorded journeys won’t do. You can’t afford to hope all forms are complete and accurate. And with MileageCount you don’t have to. Counting mileage is automatic and accurate, maximising savings and minimising exposure to fraud. MileageCount then makes it easy to manage all reporting, shrink expense claims, reduce fuel spend, ensure duty of care, and more.

Save Time

Research shows 54% of drivers take over two hours to submit mileage claims every month. 10% take over eight hours! That time spent filling out forms means time lost working. MileageCount makes it easy for drivers to record and submit their business mileage, and easy for fleet managers to check and approve their mileage claims.

Save Money

Saving admin time saves money, reporting with accuracy avoids costly over-estimations, and clear data helps identify ways to streamline operations. Our research figures show that MileageCount can reduce business mileage claims by up to 21%. And businesses can start counting mileage and the savings as soon as it’s implemented, from as little as £3.50 per month per driver.

Save Worry

HMRC requires complete, accurate mileage reporting. Every journey incorrectly reported and mile over claimed isn’t just unnecessary expense, it risks HMRC investigation. If HMRC find your records are inaccurate, fines can date back years. MileageCount could help you avoid all fines related to mileage records. Developed in conjunction with Big 4 accountancy expertise, it’s the easiest way to ensure compliance through accuracy

Save More

Legislation governing vehicles and drivers also requires you to stay on top of servicing, licences, tax and insurance. MileageCount saves you from all these administration headaches too, and helps you manage all your Duty of Care requirements with ease.

Get in Touch

For further information and enquiries – contact our friendly team today.

Photo: baona/iStock

Limo chauffeur firm values Fuel Card Services’ flawless customer experience

When it comes to luxurious travel, it doesn’t get much better than being driven about by a chauffeur.

Acres of space, legroom for days, surrounded by all the latest tech and premium materials; for those who can afford it, there isn’t any other way to travel.

However, no matter how plush and extravagant the interior is, it goes without saying that a car without fuel is useless and that’s where Fuel Card Services plays an instrumental part in the day-to-day operations of Robinson Chauffeur Service.

More widely known as RCS of London, the specialised chauffeur car hire firm needs a lot of diesel to serve its high-end clientele, spending roughly £2,000 a month fueling its fleet of five limos.

For Vince Robinson, owner of RCS of London, the attentive account managers and excellent service delivered by Fuel Card Services means there is no reason to even consider any other fuel card providers.

“Our account manager Donna Grimshaw has been a real asset to me when sorting through the fuel account info and in sending me itemised lists for each cardholder,” explained Vince.

“Donna is always positive and supportive and reacts quickly to all requests.”

The RCS boss added that Donna has helped overcome billing issues and streamlined certain processes with a new account system.

As one of Britain’s largest independent agents of fuel cards, Fuel Card Services works to help minimise fuel costs for 55,000 organisations who pump around 1 billion litres of petrol and diesel every year.

Find out more about how Fuel Card Services can help you slash your monthly fuel spend

 

Photo: baona/iStock

Photo: chinaface/iStock

Older employers less likely to monitor driver behaviour than younger bosses

Close to a quarter of employers don’t monitor employees who drive for work, according to new research reported by Fleet News.

The study, commissioned by workforce management company BigChange and road safety charity Brake, highlighted a generation gap with older bosses more likely to not bother keeping tabs on their employees’ driving.

More than half of employers (54 per cent) aged over 55 with responsibility for company drivers don’t do anything to monitor or manage driver behaviour. This is despite nine in ten (87 per cent) citing road safety as an important concern.

In contrast, the number of employers failing to monitor driver behaviour dropped to almost one in 20 for business leaders aged 18 to 34. This means young bosses employing company drivers are nine times more likely than older leaders to take steps such as implementing vehicle tracking, license checks and random drug and alcohol testing.

Cyber over driver safety

The study also revealed that cyber security was a more pressing concern than road safety for business leaders.

Some 57 per cent of leaders considered road safety to be ‘very important’ to the operation and reputation of their organisations. This figure rose to 63 per cent when asked about cyber security matters.

Martin Port, chief executive of BigChange, seemed particularly worried by this last point.

“More than 500 people are killed every year in the UK in crashes involving someone driving for work, yet businesses believe cyber security to be more important than road safety,” he said.

“[They] are more likely to spend time and money reducing the risk of being hacked than they are to cut the chances of their people killing someone in the course of their work.”

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns at Brake, added: “People have gone to jail for failing to manage their company drivers properly, yet an alarming number of organisations take no steps whatsoever to monitor their activities.”

Jenny Smith, product manager for Tele-Gence, commented: “This research uncovers some really intriguing factors surrounding driver monitoring.”

Vehicle tracking plays a crucial part in fleet management. Tele-Gence offers improved safety for your drivers, security for your vehicles and reduces costs across your fleet. A remarkably flexible, fully customisable system that can be totally tailored to your fleet requirements. It’s easy to use and supported by a dedicated UK-based team to help you manage your fleet effectively.