Fleet Maintenance Management

What Is Fleet Maintenance Management

Making sure your vehicles are running well and at peak fuel efficiency is an important goal for fleet managers. No matter how many vehicles are in your fleet, you need to keep them on the road as much as possible. This means avoiding unexpected breakdowns that can cause delays.

But keeping track of vehicle maintenance can seem like an impossible task for fleet managers. Your drivers may or may not notice when a vehicle isn't running well, and some issues are undetectable to drivers until suddenly, their vehicle breaks down. Keeping your vehicles on a regular maintenance schedule is just one more task on your plate.

Things like regular oil changes, tire rotations, and more can extend your vehicles' lifespans and prevent more significant issues from occurring. But keeping track of which vehicles need this preventative maintenance at any given time can be difficult.

Benefits of Fleet Management Software for Vehicle Maintenance

There are three types of fleet maintenance strategies you can follow: reactive, preventative, and predictive. Reactive maintenance refers to repairs being made when a vehicle has already broken down. Preventative means you regularly schedule maintenance based on mileage or months in use to avoid vehicle breakdown. With predictive maintenance, you estimate when to schedule maintenance based on parts' conditions on your vehicles.

Reactive maintenance is simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. However, it is also unpredictable, expensive, and can pose safety risks to your fleet. Not to mention, your vehicles will be out of commission unexpectedly, which can cause time delays and affect the efficiency of your fleet.

Preventative and Predictive Maintenance

Preventative and predictive maintenance strategies keep your fleet running at peak efficiency. With MiX by Powerfleet, you get insight into the engine health of your vehicles so that you can keep unexpected maintenance issues to a minimum. You can set alerts that let you know which vehicles need oil changes, tire rotations, and more. You'll be able to:

• Schedule maintenance technicians ahead of time so that you don't have to wait, and you can plan for vehicle downtime.
• Identify performance trends in the types of vehicles that can inform future purchases.
• Maintain records to use in support of warranty claims if a part wears out too quickly.
• Prevent one part's wear and tear from causing additional wear and tear on other parts.
• Keep track of whether technicians are repairing your vehicles correctly.

With MiX by Powerfleet software you can choose which parameters to track, such as driving hours, mileage, or engine metrics, for the preventative and predictive maintenance for your fleet.

Engine Monitoring and Service Notifications

MiX by Powerfleet software gives you access to engine diagnostics data such as odometer readings, fuel usage, engine temperature, oil pressure, idling, RPM, and true engine hours, to name just a few. Fleet managers often use time or mileage to schedule preventative maintenance. And while this can work, it does have some disadvantages. For instance, if you change the oil on a three-month schedule, whether you need to or not, you may be changing it too often on some vehicles and not often enough on others. With data from your telematics software, you schedule your oil changes and other maintenance based actual usage. Not only does this help you practice preventative maintenance, but it can also predict future occurrences.

MiX by Powerfleet offers you a variety of ways to stay on top of your fleet maintenance schedule, such as:

• Daily and weekly reports on the engine diagnostics of each vehicle
• Notifications based on dates, mileage, or predetermined engine milestones

For instance, you can be alerted when a vehicle's battery voltage falls below a specified level while driving, or you can be alerted on a specified date to check or replace the battery. You can set these parameters up for other things such as tire pressure, odometer readings, and more. Whether you choose to perform fleet maintenance based on mileage, time, or usage, with MiX by Powerfleet fleet maintenance management software, you can set up alerts and schedule maintenance based on the current needs of your fleet.

Management and Improvement of Driver Behavior

Until you have a telematics tracking software that gives you insight into your drivers' behavior, you may not realize how much this behavior affects the engine health of your vehicles. Behaviors such as excessive idling, harsh braking and acceleration, and speeding can increase your fleet's breakdown rate and increase your maintenance costs.

Monitoring for these behaviors and improving driver behavior not only makes your fleet safer, it also helps control maintenance costs. You can also reduce:

• Wear and tear on fuel pumps, filters, and brake pads
• Carbon soot build up in the engine
• Excess strain on the drivetrain components

MiX by Powerfleet can help you monitor detrimental behaviors and help your driver improve them, resulting in less wear and tear on your vehicles.

Estimating Total Cost of Ownership

When you buy a vehicle for your fleet, you need to know the total cost of ownership (TCO) of that vehicle. This means the total cost of ownership from purchase to disposal. Acquisition cost, operating costs, and depreciation all play a role in determining this cost. In many instances, the maintenance costs are the most unpredictable factors in TCO.

The quality and consistency of maintenance throughout a vehicle's lifespan can make a big difference. MiX by Powerfleet can help you make sure all the vehicles in your fleet are regularly maintained so that they have a longer lifecycle, and your TCO is lower.

Organization That Can Benefit from Fleet Maintenance Management

MiX by Powerfleet fleet maintenance software is a game-changer for any fleet. Some examples include:

• Trucking companies can schedule maintenance when their trucks are off the road.
• Car rental services can use fleet management solutions to individualize vehicle maintenance based on rental diver behavior.
• Government agencies can schedule maintenance for general-use vehicles.

Keeping your vehicles well-maintained is key to making sure your fleet has the capability to operate at full capacity. On-time, date-based maintenance will reduce downtime, save money, and prevent future issues from happening. In addition, your well-maintained vehicles give your fleet a professional look that will impress your customers.

Fleet Maintenance Management FAQs

How can fleet maintenance management extend a vehicle's lifespan?

When your fleer vehicles are regularly maintained, they run better and longer. They are less likely to breakdown due to excess wear and tear.

How can fleet maintenance management reduce overall repair costs?

It can help detect issues before they become serious, which can save you money. For example, paying for regular oils changes, based on data and automated alerts, costs less than replacing an engine if you miss something.

How can fleet maintenance management reduce operating costs?

Keeping your vehicles well-maintained can lower your fuel costs and improve the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your fleet vehicles.

How can fleet maintenance management improve vehicle inspection outcomes?

Regular fleet maintenance reduces out of service violations (OOS) and improves your standing with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

What role do drivers play in fleet maintenance?

Since your drivers interact the most, they have a direct impact on the engine health of your vehicles. With MiX by Powerfleet's fleet maintenance management software you can monitor their behavior and help them improve.