The term used for vehicles that don't belong to a company but are, however, used for business travel. It may include such vehicles that are bought via employee ownership schemes, privately rented vehicles, or those that are owned by employees. When driven for business, frequently in return for a cash allowance or the cost of fuel, such vehicles are considered to be "grey fleet" and thus fall under the umbrella responsibility of the employer. 

Since grey fleet vehicles aren't in ownership of the company, the fleet managers are faced with a complicated set of issues when it comes to dealing with the safety of the fleet. For starters, employees may have already established their service policies and insurance, but their vehicles aren't covered under these policies for company travel. 

Everything You Need To Know In Regards To Fleet Management

Fleet management is the term used for managing the fleet and all of the asset details from start to finish. This allows businesses to reduce their costs and improve their efficiency and it also ensures compliance across the fleet. 

Managing the commercial vehicle pool can be quite a challenge. Add this challenge to the external influences and fleet managers have little control over such things as legislation, the uncertainty of the market, and costs. It can quickly become challenging. 

What's The Purpose Of Fleet Management?

If your business is using such vehicles for commercial reasons, you'll want some kind of professional fleet data management. The goal of the operation will be controlling the lifecycle of commercial vehicles as well as the reduced associated risk and improving the efficiency. This will help to increase productivity and ensure compliance with legislation. Employee vehicles that are used for work should also be included in the process. 

Legal Obligation

Employers must ensure that vehicles that are used for company business regardless of who owns them, are safe and appropriate for such use. This includes tax and insurance. 

All In The Detail

Business insurance isn't normally included with a car insurance policy unless it is specifically requested. It's the driver's responsibility to have the proper insurance policy, the employer needs to check out the certificate of insurance and ensure that all of the business miles are covered. 

Time To Enforce

Grey fleet mileage reimbursement rates are frequently higher than that of alternative modes of mileage claims and travel. At best, their estimate or worse, exaggerated. 

Environmental Impact

Grey fleet vehicles are typically older than those of a company-owned fleet. Grey fleet can often contribute to the bulk of the transport CO2 emissions in many organisations. By tackling grey fleet vehicles, it can greatly reduce organisations carbon footprints and it can contribute toward reaching their CO2 target. 

Change Perception

It's important to consider alternative methods to grey fleet business travel such as phone or video conferencing, car rentals, car leasing, car clubs, fleet management, or public transportation. It's important to encourage employees to consider such alternatives and not to assume that driving is always the answer. 

Manage The Vehicles As If They Were Company Owned

Documenting and storing the data for vehicles is tantamount to the management of the grey fleet. This includes the registration details, the age of the vehicle, and proper insurance. Storing the data and helping to have regular vehicle checks will help to keep the audit trail open and the entire fleet compliant. This is the first step in resolving the issues that are grey fleet-related.