[The Continuance] (Part 2 of 2)

Cooling Pack Vests 

Sunburn is what happens when the sun heats your skin up too much for too long. Heat stroke, on the other hand, is what happens when a team member's core body temperature rises too high. If you are dealing with a constant risk of heat stroke or your company is located somewhere with occasional record-high hot temperatures, keep a few cooling pack vests handy.

In the peak of the hot summer season, there is one issue that every fleet manager and field service business needs to consider: Keeping your teams cool and safe. Even if the AC in the vehicles works perfectly, client locations are not always guarantee-ably cool. 

Many businesses need vehicles to function. Field services is the most notorious for needing a fleet of work trucks, vans, and even some cars to send out all over the region. However, other businesses need vehicles regularly as well. 

The summer is the peak of tourist season in most regions and almost every city in the US sees a surge of vacationers when the weather gets warm and the kids are out of school. This is a great time for the city's economy as tourists fill your hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and museums bringing business and spreading vacation cash around. 

Does your field service fleet provide roadside assistance? Drivers who run into trouble on the road often need to pull over and call for professional help in a variety of situations. Mechanics, tow truck operators, and locksmiths often find themselves called out to dangerous roadside situations where it is necessary to render assistance as cars rush by at 60 or more miles per hour.

To lease or buy a truck is sometimes a tough call that businesses and individuals have to make. Companies have to make the right fleet management, acquisition, and financing decisions to grow and save their money. Likewise, individual owners need to assess the benefits of leasing vehicles before making financial commitments that may prove unnecessarily costly in the long run. 

The methods behind fleet management are changing fast in the digital era, especially in finding technologies to bring more managerial convenience. More advanced software is playing a big part in better managing electrician, plumbing, or home service companies with fleet vehicles.

Now that you're starting an electrician or plumbing business, have you considered how you're going to manage your fleet vehicles? Whether you bought them or leased, it's important to consider how you're going to track those and other assets.

Running a business that requires repair or deliveries in the field is going to mean a significant investment in fleet vehicles. While you perhaps want to invest in a large fleet eventually, your status as a startup may only require anywhere from one to five vehicles to start.

After investing money in opening a plumbing business, you're going to have to make some decisions soon about fleet vehicles. This can become more challenging than you think, especially when you have to decide whether to lease or buy.