Success Stories | Unicef
Sharing vehicles leads to positive results in driving behavior and fleet size.
As humanitarian challenges grow in complexity and scale, so does the need to find common ground and nurture strong partnerships. Fleet sharing is a concept that has been discussed over years, however, nuances between programme activities, budgeting structures, and asset management procedures have often delayed organisations from putting into practice.
With the increase in demand from the member states for greater cost efficiencies and effectiveness of UN business operations, three agencies (UNFPA, UNICEF and UNDP) ran a Proof of Concept (POC) project to determine the appropriateness of the technology, viability, and benefits of the concept of fleet sharing.
The Fleet Sharing POC involved the three agencies pooling their vehicles into a single fleet. The combined fleet was then managed through an on-line booking system combined with a vehicle tracking system. Individuals requiring a vehicle could book a trip in the system and the full details of the trip are recorded by the tracking system. The POC was aimed to test the willingness of the users to adopt the system, the ease of use, the effectiveness of the technology and the quality of the data and analysis delivered by the system.
Beginning in Q3 of 2016, the UN Fleet Sharing POC was tested in five pilot countries: Lao PDR, Lesotho, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Zambia, comprising a combined vehicle pool of 124 vehicles in total.
Immediate Results in Driving Behaviour and Fleet Size
The Fleet Sharing POC demonstrated that pooling vehicles among organisations can result in immediate results – from improvements in driving behaviour to reduction of fleet. UNICEF estimates that adopting this system in vehicle fleets throughout the organisation could cut costs by as much as $4million per year.
With the start-up costs, including hardware supplies and installation, administrative setup and training as well as the monthly service subscription fee – the return on investment (ROI) was realised in a matter of months.
Vehicle utilisation data analysis indicated that fleets were 10-15% oversized before optimisation. By more active moderation of the booking system and proactive combining of trips, the opportunity for fleet size reduction increased dramatically. Reduction in fleet size and an increase in fleet utilisation presented significant opportunities for cost reduction beyond the 10-15% immediately evident.
The use of the alerts to inform drivers and to encourage changes in behaviour resulted in huge improvements. All countries demonstrated high levels of driving behaviour change. For example, Zambia saw reductions of 93% in over-speeding, 65% in harsh acceleration, 53% in harsh braking, and 45% in harsh cornering. The longer term and less measurable benefits which were not analysed during the POC can be expected in terms of improved fuel consumption through better driving behaviours, lower maintenance costs, fewer accidents and greater passenger comfort.
This project won the Fleet Forum Best Transport Achievement Award in 2017.