By Jay Palter | September 12, 2024
Managing a vehicle fleet is a demanding job. Every day, fleet managers deal with vehicle reservations, responding to emergency requests, and trying to keep their maintenance schedules on track. And those are just some of the day-to-day operational tasks. Then there are the longer-term responsibilities, like budgeting, procurement, and lease management.
In short, keeping a vehicle fleet running smoothly is both time-consuming and expensive. Fortunately, implementing a fleet key management system can streamline operations, reduce inefficiencies, and even lead to a leaner, more cost-effective fleet.
Just by managing keys? Well, no. That’s because a fleet key management system is designed to offer insights and control over every workflow involving your vehicles, from operation to fueling, servicing, purchasing, and retirement.
This article outlines how fleet key management systems work and offers straightforward implementation best practices any organization with a large or small fleet can follow.
What is a Fleet Key Management System?
A fleet key management system is an automated solution designed to control, monitor, and track the use of keys for vehicles within a fleet. A system typically comprises secure key storage cabinets integrated with sensors and computer tracking technology. Those help ensure that only authorized personnel can access vehicle keys. The A fleet key system not only logs who takes a key and when, but it can also trigger alerts for overdue returns or unauthorized use.
Fleet key management systems offer more than security, though. Most importantly, they’re designed to help improve operational efficiency. The system reduces manual administrative tasks, like managing key signouts and returns. It streamlines vehicle assignments and can rotate signouts to distribute mileage, even among your leased vehicles. And perhaps most importantly of all, it ensures fleet managers have real-time insights into vehicle usage. This data helps fleet managers optimize their resource allocation, reduce driver and vehicle idle time, and ensure vehicles are properly maintained.
Learn More: The Evolution of Fleet Management Solutions.
What am I Risking With Manual Fleet Key Management?
Of course, your fleet won’t fall apart overnight, but small inefficiencies can add up quickly. Without an automated system in place, fleet managers face time-consuming processes for logging, issuing, and tracking keys. Human error can creep in everywhere through miscommunications, misplaced keys, and delays in vehicle assignments.
Those errors can increase the risk of theft or loss of vehicle keys, leading to potential unauthorized vehicle access and misuse. If a key is lost or stolen, replacing the key can be costly, and the vehicle might be rendered unavailable, impacting fleet operations. In cases where a vehicle is stolen due to poor vehicle key management, the costs multiply. There are direct financial losses from the stolen vehicle, legal liabilities, potential insurance premium hikes, and reputational damage that can affect client trust.
Implementing a Fleet Key Management System Will Streamline Your Fleet and Workday
With a fleet key management system, drivers can access keys securely 24/7 without needing a fleet manager present, and all transactions are automatically recorded. This system also helps track missing keys, reducing search times and preventing costly key losses. By optimizing when vehicles are available, many organizations are able to centralize and reduce their overall fleet size without compromising performance.
These systems also provide precise fleet key tracking of key transactions, offering real-time insights into vehicle availability and usage. Managers can use audit reports to monitor which vehicles are out, track mileage, and log damage or maintenance issues. This enhances driver accountability and helps control rising vehicle maintenance costs by identifying responsible parties in case of damage or unauthorized use, minimizing "mystery miles" and reducing misuse.
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Learn How the Fleet Services Division of the City of Saint John reduced the size of its fleet and saved over $155,000 annually.
Fleet Key Management Best Practices
Implementing a fleet key management system requires more than simply installing some hardware. To ensure a smooth transition and maximize the system’s benefits, we recommend breaking down the process into three key phases: pre-installation, installation, and post-installation.
Each phase comes with its best practices to ensure your system is set up correctly and runs efficiently from day one. With proper planning, implementing your fleet key management system can be seamless and effective, setting you up for long-term operational success.
Pre-installation
The success of your vehicle key control system deployment is heavily influenced by the groundwork you lay before any hardware is installed or software is configured. While it might be tempting to jump right into purchasing the most advanced or cost-effective solution, it’s important to remember that fleet key management systems are deeply integrated into your organization’s daily operations.
So, if key distribution becomes unreliable or slow, it can disrupt your entire operation. Careful pre-installation planning ensures your chosen system aligns with your long-term goals and operational needs.
Build Consensus on Your Strategic Goals
It’s crucial to recognize that the effectiveness of any vehicle key management system extends beyond just the hardware and software. You’re not just buying a product, you’re forming a partnership with a vendor who should fully understand your organization’s values, specific use cases, business objectives, and operational environment. Before moving forward, ensure both you and your system provider have a clear understanding of these factors.
Evaluate Your Current Practices
Start by assessing your current key management system to identify any gaps or inefficiencies. This evaluation will help you understand where improvements are needed and guide your choice of system features.
Assess your current fleet key control performance
Choose a System That Enhances How You Want to Work
Focus on key features such as security, scalability, and integration with existing workflows. You want to ensure the system can grow with your needs and effectively integrate into your current operations.
Installation
During the installation phase of deploying a fleet key management system, your goal is to ensure a seamless transition from the old system to the new one.
Installing the new system in parallel with the existing one allows for a gradual migration, minimizing disruptions and ensuring continuous operation. This also gives staff time to adapt and become familiar with the new system before fully phasing out the old one.
During this gradual migration, training sessions can be conducted incrementally, ensuring all users are comfortable before the full switch. Adding users in stages can also help accommodate staff with flexible schedules. If a hard cutover is necessary, it's important to begin loading user data well in advance, especially for systems with biometric access, to avoid delays.
Modern key control systems for fleets often integrate seamlessly with other security systems, providing advanced analytics and reporting tools for improved access tracking and security insights.
Post-installation
The work isn’t over once the fleet key management system is installed and users are scanned into the system. In the days immediately following installation, continuous system monitoring is crucial. Fleet key systems may require adjustments to ensure optimal performance, and early detection of any issues will allow for quick resolution. Live training is essential for a smooth rollout, but recorded training sessions are also beneficial.
Learn More: 9 Objections to Smart Fleet Management Systems and How to Overcome Them.
Monitoring and Analytics
After installation, it's vital to implement ongoing monitoring and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure system success. Regularly reviewing reports on asset usage, key access times, and overall system efficiency helps ensure the system is meeting your operational goals. This data provides insights into areas for improvement and can highlight security breaches or inefficiencies that need to be addressed.
Applying a few best practices goes a long way
Every organization is different. Every fleet is different. That means every fleet key management system must be customized. By following just a few simple best practices from pre- to post-installation, your organization will be much better when you’re ready to use your new key system.
Are you having trouble getting data on how often staff use different vehicles?
A smart fleet key management system can make your fleet operations more efficient and save you money.
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