MANY utility fleets are not working their vehicles hard enough or in the most effective way, meaning they are costing their businesses hundreds of thousand of pounds in unnecessary costs, an asset management company has warned.

Companies are missing out on savings of between 6%-15% because fleets are not specifying the right vehicles for the task, are not taking advantage of economies of scale and are not maintaining and assessing vehicles often enough, according to management firm AssetCo.

The firm, which manages vehicles with ancillary equipment such as generators for clients including Transco and BSS as well as a number of public sector fleets believes there are major efficiencies not being made by many utility companies.

Paul Reilly, group managing director of AssetCo, said: 'Our work with utilities organisations such as Transco is showing that significant gains can be made by undertaking effective equipment planning, procurement, monitoring and assessment of performance and operational effectiveness.

'Not only does this enable our clients to predict operational costs – and even reduce them – but also achieves greater job satisfaction among staff where equipment and vehicles are available when they should be, and able to do the task they were specified for.'

AssetCo claims one of its clients has seen a 'major reduction in costs' after fitting its 6,000-strong fleet with tracking devices, which enabled it to ensure vehicles were being used in the correct manner.