As a fleet manager, you know an efficient fleet brings long-term success and sustainability, while fleet issues cause expensive downtime.
With the UK government pushing for 100% of new car sales to be zero emission by 2035, fleet management should expect new legislation for their vehicles to follow. Managing a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) improves your operation’s sustainability, but it also comes with its own unique challenges. Dealing with these challenges is where resilience planning comes in. By preparing your fleet for disruptions, you keep your fleet ready for anything.
What Is Fleet Resilience Planning?
Resilience planning is your process for dealing with fleet disruptions. Events like weather, energy supply issues or infrastructure problems can interfere with fleet charging and operation. Having plans in place ensures your fleet can work around these events without significant delays.
In 2024, EV adoption is growing rapidly. Thanks to lithium batteries’ 20% power consumption savings during charging and other features, electric forklifts and other vehicles are becoming a fleet staple. While EVs offer excellent efficiency and sustainability, their growing popularity means adjusting operations to fit their needs. Resilience planning is critical for protecting your fleet from downtime and maintaining productivity no matter the external environment.
How to Add Resilience Planning to Your Electric Fleet
Meet your fleet needs with planning adjusted to your operation. Each fleet is different and faces unique challenges — your resilience planning should fill in your fleet’s gaps.
Start your planning by looking at your operation’s current weak points. Is there limited access to charging stations? Do you often deal with harsh weather? Is the local power grid vulnerable? Once you have these weak points, you can start working on strategy. Some resilience planning strategies include:
- Diversification: Your charging structure needs diversity. If one event can take down all your charging points, your fleet could see serious downtime. While public EV infrastructure is an excellent step in improving sustainability, it might not always be functional. Incorporating on-site charging solutions like solar power or battery storage systems reduces the need for public networks.
- Smart software: Smart software collects real-time data on maintenance, charging and performance. This data allows you to set maintenance schedules and catch problems before they lead to breakdowns.
- Contingency plans: Make contingency plans for potential emergencies. You might stock hybrid vehicles or diesel generators for these situations. Planning for grid outages or energy shortages lets you keep your fleet running through challenging events.
- Maintenance schedules: Maintenance is a necessity for any fleet. Good maintenance prevents downtime and maximizes vehicle life. Get your fleet on a preventive maintenance schedule to stop wear and tear from creating productivity issues.
How Does Resilience Planning Benefit Electric Fleets?
Implementing resilience planning helps your fleet and drivers. With the right EV strategies, you can keep your fleet in top condition while avoiding breakdowns or outages. Enjoy these benefits when you invest in resilience planning:
1. Better Fleet Performance
Maintenance schedules help your vehicles avoid downtime while boosting their efficiency. When fleet managers skip maintenance, vehicles see the effects of wear and tear build up. Over time, this wear affects performance, reduces battery life and causes breakdowns. When a breakdown happens, your vehicle could be out of commission even longer than usual if the problem is severe enough.
Maintenance keeps everything in top condition. Instead of having your fleet off the road for serious repairs, they get the occasional rest with maintenance. Fleet vehicles will spend less time off the road, which means more productivity and less downtime.
2. Reduced Operator Stress
Resilience planning also reduces operator stress. Dealing with charging issues and breakdowns creates hazards for your operators. When they know the fleet is well maintained and they have backup power solutions, operators can drive with more peace of mind. Resilience planning lets drivers know they won’t be stranded and that you put their well-being first.
3. Lower Fleet Costs
Resilience planning can also mean lower fleet costs. With reliable charging and regular maintenance, you reduce breakdowns and downtime. Avoiding significant repairs and lost productivity is a significant cost saver for your fleet. Spending a little extra on maintenance and diverse charging will benefit your bottom line in the long run.
Stay Prepared with Resilience Planning
As EV adoption continues to rise, resilience planning is a must. More EVs on the road means more potential outages due to demand or complications. Fleet managers need to stay prepared for anything with careful resilience planning. A good resilience strategy protects your fleet and operators while improving sustainability. No matter the challenge, your resilience planning will keep your fleet competitive and productive into the future.
Author: Evelyn Long, Editor-in-Chief of Renovated Magazine
