Data Doesn't Do Diddly....By Itself

Many organizations have spent huge amounts of money on Fleet Management Information Systems (FMIS) because we all know that "Data is King".  We need to measure, quantify, gather information. Unfortunately, too many of these well-meaning operations have data that doesn't do anything because data doesn't do diddly by itself.

What should data do for us?

• Show us what we do well
• Show us what we do not do very well
• Show us what we do often
• Show us what we do regularly (on a schedule)
• Show us what costs a lot of money
• Show us what saves us money

What should we do with data?

• Analyze how to do more of what we do well
• Research how to get better at or outsource what we do not do well
• Understand why we do things often whether that is a good thing
• Plan for what we will do regularly
• Look for improvements in process or procedure that may save us more money

The bottom line is data doesn't do anything. It is the result of what we do. We need to use the data to measure and analyze what we are doing in quantifiable terms to identify potential improvements. 

What does data show you? What are you doing with that knowledge?