10 Cost-Effective Maintenance Tips for Fleet Managers

1. Create a Preventive Maintenance Schedule

Prevent avoidable vehicle breakdowns and costly repairs by taking a proactive approach to fleet maintenance: prioritize preventive maintenance. By being proactive, you can stay ahead of normal vehicle wear and tear while minimizing downtime due to extensive repairs.

Furthermore, some warranties require regular maintenance tasks. Missing these periodic appointments or not having your fleet serviced at an approved location can mean you void your warranty. That means creating a preventative maintenance schedule that is fully compliant with your warranties is key to saving you money, reducing major repair costs, and boosting vehicle performance.

Most fleet maintenance programs should include items like:

• Tire pressure checks
• Fluid level checks
• Brake inspections
• Oil changes
• Tire rotations
• Fuel system checks
• Steering system inspections
• Windshield wiper checks
• Electrical system inspections

2. Automate Reminders

Having many vehicles means effective fleet maintenance management can be difficult… but not impossible. Streamline fleet operations and keep vehicles running smoothly by automating notifications for vehicle maintenance. This practice saves you not just time, but also offers significant cost savings since you lessen the chance of missing regular inspections and maintenance work. It also helps you catch minor issues before they escalate into major problems.

One of the best ways to automate reminders is using a dedicated fleet management software solution.

3. Invest in Fleet Management Software

The right fleet management tools can make it easier to keep track of maintenance planning, fuel usage tracking, security features, driver training planning, and more.

Popular fleet management solutions include:

• Fleetio
• FleetUp
• AUTOsist
• Motive (formerly KeepTruckin)
• Samsara

4. Keep Track of Maintenance History

Detailed maintenance records are vital to keeping your fleet running smoothly for a few primary reasons, including:

1. Ensuring compliance with most warranties
2. Ensuring compliance with most regulatory entities
3. Easy tracking of your entire fleet’s costs
4. Making fleet vehicles more appealing on the resale market
5. Making identifying potential issues easier

5. Find the Most Efficient Routes

Reducing route times means reducing fuel consumption and mileage on vehicles, both of which translate to reduced overall operational costs.

Fleet management tools that include route optimization software include:

• OptimoRoute
• Route4Me
• Verizon Connect
• MyRouteOnline
• Motive

6. Install Tracking Equipment

Quality GPS tools mean you can easily track vehicles in your fleet, helping you better track fuel usage and driver behavior as well as offering you valuable insights into predictive maintenance costs and route optimizations.

Many comprehensive fleet management tools also come with GPS tracking capabilities, including Motive, Samsara, Fleetio, and Verizon Connect.

7. Prioritize Good Driver Behavior

Vehicle health is important, but even the most finely tuned vehicle is useless without a good driver behind the wheel. Driver performance can affect your bottom line, not to mention pose significant liability risks if drivers are poorly trained or overworked.

Make sure sure your fleet drivers:

1. Complete driver training courses and have a commercial driver’s license (CDL)
2. Adhere to Hours of Service regulations to prevent fatigue
3. Minimize distractions while driving
4. Pass all state and federal drug tests
5. Have access to safety equipment like first-aid kits, flares, and roadside warning triangles
6. Know where spare tires and tire jacks are located
7. Know how to complete basic daily and weekly vehicle inspections
8. Have a quick and easy way to notify you, the fleet manager, of any potential concerns

8. Track Fuel Consumption

Tracking fuel usage is an important metric for fleet management. It can tell you if your drivers are taking extended routes or engaging in fuel-wasting behaviors as well as indicate if there is something wrong with your commercial vehicle.

Manual mileage recording is a time-consuming option that carries the risk of lost documentation, delays, and more. Using a dedicated fleet management tool like Samsara or Fleetio can streamline this process and integrate it into a comprehensive, all-in-one fleet management system.

9. Create a Checklist for Drivers

Set up your employees for success. Create a helpful checklist for your drivers to protect them, other people on the road, and your investments.

Checklists should include:

• Daily vehicle inspection items, like tire pressure checks
• Weekly items, like power steering fluid checks
• Room for notes
• Sections for all parts of vehicle maintenance, including electrical systems, brake systems, and exterior inspections

10. Get Savings on Fuel

Fuel expenses will always be part of overall fleet operating costs. Just because fuel expenses are unavoidable doesn’t mean there are ways to reduce that burden, however. Using a quality fuel card means you can earn significant fuel discounts, improving your overall bottom line.

Motor Transport Alliance offers a fuel card that’s perfectly tailored to the trucking industry, offering benefits like:

• Easy integration with other fleet management tools
• No contracts or annual fees
• Discount on fuel at hundreds of Love’s Travel Stops
• Discounts on tires and maintenance
• Real-time fraud protection measures

Fleet Maintenance FAQs

What’s the best fleet management software?

The best fleet management software will vary based on how many vehicles you have in your fleet, budget, and specific needs. That said, the following options are popular options for being one-in-all fleet management solutions, including tools for scheduling maintenance, tracking fuel consumption, and GPS tracking:

• Motive (formerly KeepTruckin)
• Fleetio
• Samsara
• Verizon Connect

How to do fleet maintenance?

There is no single one way to do fleet maintenance. It’s a combination of preventive maintenance schedules, reactive maintenance events, driver training, and more.

Investing in a solid fleet management tool can help streamline operations, so you can keep track of all major fleet maintenance items in one place. Some of those major fleet maintenance items include:

• Creating proper maintenance schedules
• Using the right fuel cards to reduce fuel costs
• Investing in driver safety training
• Keeping records of fleet vehicles and drivers
• Using the most efficient routes

What is the biggest challenge in fleet management?

Some of the largest challenges when it comes to managing fleets include:

1. Managing people. Vehicles can be complicated, but humans can be even more so. Ensuring you hire safe drivers who are also easy to work with should be a top priority. It saves you time down the road as well as cuts costs due to rehiring and training.
2. Managing fleet expenses. Cost control is a major concern for most fleet managers. Investing in quality tools, using the best fleet fuel card, and creating a proper maintenance program can help reduce these costs.
3. Adhering to safety regulations. Commercial vehicles and drivers have additional safety regulations to adhere to in order to reduce safety hazards. Your job as a fleet manager is to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to not just vehicles, but also drivers and insurance.

What are the KPIs for fleet management?

Major key performance indicators (KPIs) for fleet management include:

• Fuel efficiency
• Cost per mile
• Maintenance costs
• Fuel expenses
• Repair costs
• Vehicle downtime

Who performs a preventive maintenance service?

Investing in quality fleet maintenance services can drastically improve vehicle life span and improve safety. Your chosen fleet maintenance provider should be a certified automotive technician, ideally one that is covered under your equipment warranty.

What are some essential fleet maintenance tips to reduce downtime?

Creating a comprehensive fleet maintenance schedule that all drivers and fleet managers know in and out is perhaps the single-best way to reduce downtime as it reduces the odds of time-consuming, extensive repairs.

What are some cost-effective tips for maintaining a vehicle fleet?

Cost-effective tips for maintaining a fleet include:

1. Creating a preventative maintenance schedule
2. Investing in the right management tools
3. Prioritizing driver training
4. Getting a fuel card, like the Motor Transport Alliance card powered by QuikQ