How To Keep Track of Fleet Maintenance

Fleet management involves the process of keeping all your business vehicles in order so that they are safe to use, fuel costs are reduced and the right vehicles are at the right job sites. Some people use paper forms and spreadsheets to keep track of vehicle maintenance, however, this is time-consuming and limiting. Some businesses don’t even manage their own fleet well, meaning a lot of things can go wrong. Consistent maintenance of your fleet is the best way to keep everything running smoothly and up to date. 

The best way to manage your fleet is by installing fleet management software that can give you a better grasp of vehicle operations. This way you have a record of all your vehicles, where they are at all times, and even your team’s behavior whilst they’re on the road. If a team member is dangerously driving, speeding, and constantly idling, it can cause considerable damage to your vehicle. Fleet management software can determine who is contributing to vehicle wear and tear and more damage can be prevented. It also can track the number of kilometers traveled from each vehicle, so you can see alerts and know when each vehicle needs their service. 

If you’re struggling to be consistent with tracking your fleet maintenance, we’ve got you covered! We’ll run you through how to keep track of fleet maintenance. 

Why Is Fleet Maintenance Important?

Learning how to keep track of fleet maintenance is essential for your business to save operational costs. Carrying out weekly vehicle inspections will help identify whether something needs to be repaired before it gets worse. This minimizes the possibility of expensive repairs and the vehicle’s lifespan. 

Also, consistent fleet maintenance means your drivers are safe when on the road, reducing the likelihood of accidents caused by any vehicle errors or malfunctions. 

When you know how to keep track of fleet maintenance, it makes life as a business owner a lot easier. A lack of maintenance leads to breakdowns, broken parts, and less fuel-efficient vehicles that need to be replaced sooner.  A vehicle that’s in working condition can increase your fleet’s efficiency as you can avoid operational delays or repairs that could take days to fix. It can even be something simple as performing maintenance during a lunch break, increasing your productivity for the day.

Types of Fleet Maintenance

1. Scheduled Fleet Maintenance 

Scheduled fleet maintenance is when tasks are scheduled and assigned to a service, whether it’s one-off maintenance or recurring. This can involve routine services, adjustments, and inspections. The main objective of scheduled maintenance is to minimize any vehicle malfunction and breakdown maintenance. The less wear and tear of assets means a longer lifespan, reducing the number of repairs and saving your business money. 

2. Unscheduled Fleet Maintenance

Unscheduled fleet maintenance occurs when there happens to be no actual plan in place for a service or repair ahead of being required. Unscheduled maintenance is typically the consequence of unexpected malfunctioning within your fleet and only happens where there is a breakdown. Given their unexpected nature, this type of maintenance is generally more expensive as they include extensive “downtime”. Examples include roadside tire replacement or the repair after a vehicle is towed. 

In addition to maintenance, there are also repairs that are much more costly and can mean longer times without a vehicle on the road. Repairs can come as a result of a crash, lack of maintenance, excessive use, or faulty machinery. Maintenance can help mitigate most of these, and better driver behavior can reduce the need for frequent servicing, as well as reduce the possibility of your team causing a crash. 

Fleet Maintenance Planning 

Knowing how to keep track of fleet maintenance is essential for your business in keeping up to date with the well-being of your vehicles. This prevents any further maintenance and can end up saving you time and money, increasing your business’ efficiency. 

When planning your fleet maintenance, you should know what will be covered in the check-up/maintenance. Reading your vehicle’s manual is a great place to start and will help you create a vehicle maintenance agenda. Things to look at can include oil changes, suspension, engine, brakes, etc. Fleet management solutions can also help with this checklist. 

Preventative fleet maintenance is a joint responsibility between the driver and technician. Drivers should be monitoring their vehicle’s tires, brakes, etc. so that they can pick up any errors in the vehicle’s performance. Technicians can carry out more detailed observations of the vehicle for preventative maintenance. It’s best to give them a checklist of what needs to be looked at in case they focus more on breakdown maintenance. 

Technology has taken over! In this case, employing technology in organizing fleet maintenance is a more efficient way of keeping track of your fleet’s status. This allows you to make more productive decisions for your business, instead of manually filling out sheets and wasting your time.

How to Keep Track of Fleet Maintenance?

When learning how to keep track of fleet management, there are a lot of things to consider to make the job for you a lot easier.

Developing a checklist is essential for preventative maintenance. It’s a great way to tick off things that need to be looked at and what needs to be focused on, whether it’s fluid leaks, mirrors, cooling systems, seat belts, etc. 

Keeping an accurate record of all maintenance and failures in the fleet means you can track what needs to be looked at and possibly repaired. 

Another important way to maintain your fleet is to make sure your team members are driving safely on the road and not contributing to vehicular failure. Examining their performance will help you see if they are excessively idling, braking harshly, speeding, or exhibiting any other dangerous driving behaviors. This will reduce wear and tear on the vehicle as you can identify the team member and train them to help improve their driving skills. 

Installing a fleet management system helps fleet managers make quicker, more efficient decisions. This reduces the stress and hours you’d normally waste manually filling out paper forms and spreadsheets. 

Software like Locate2u is perfect if you’re wanting to take the load off whilst keeping your fleet’s performance in tip-top shape. It’s a platform that can save you time and money, whilst improving your business’ efficiency. This software allows you to know exactly when a service is due. It can measure kilometers traveled since the last service and send an alert. This means you don’t have to worry about checking the odometer or if your team is borrowing the company vehicle for too many personal trips. 

The Best Fleet Maintenance Software Available

If you’re wanting to learn how to manage fleet maintenance then Locate2u is just for you! 

Locate2u is an outstanding fleet management software available for businesses in any industry who are looking to improve their efficiency. It’s an all-in-one platform that includes route optimization, booking management, GPS tracking, and real-time tracking.

 Locate2u’s route optimization generates the most efficient routes that take into consideration your driver’s schedule and how many stops need to be completed. Optimizing your routes can reduce your fuel consumption and improve ETA. 

With Locate2u’s booking management, you can store all your bookings in one location, allowing you to keep track of the status of each booking. Whether it’s pending, en route, or having arrived at the destination, you can see every stage as it happens.

Another feature Locate2u offers is GPS tracking. GPS tracking devices allow you to know where your fleet is at all times, increasing your business’ security and productivity.

If Locate2u sounds like the perfect fit then download our free demo, or click here to learn more. 

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