Your vehicles are one of your fleet’s top investments. Taking proper care of them is integral to managing a productive business. Without a proactive approach to fleet maintenance, you risk compromising your employees’ safety, failing FMCSA Annual DOT inspections, and paying for costly emergency repairs and unplanned downtime. That’s why the health of your vehicles is a good overall indicator of the health of your business.
How Can Fleet Maintenance Help Extend Equipment’s Lifespan?
Getting the most out of your vehicles means being vigilant about preventative maintenance. It’s been shown that proper maintenance extends equipment’s longevity. Routine maintenance, such as rotating the tires, maintaining proper tire pressure, changing engine oil, and replacing transmission fluids, can extend the life of the vehicles in your fleet. While it’s recommended that most vehicles follow the service schedule provided by the vehicle’s manufacturer, fleet vehicles need more frequent care due to their high mileage.
How Can Regular Fleet Maintenance Reduce Overall Repair Costs?
While you may think getting vehicles serviced constantly would be a drain on your budget, it’s less costly over time than delaying service until a problem arises – you’ll pay less for frequent oil changes than you would to replace a whole engine, for example.
Maintenance features in GPS fleet tracking software provide reports outlining detailed information on the status and condition of every vehicle across your fleet, alerting managers to potential problems so they can be addressed before becoming serious. When an issue is detected, a mobile fleet mechanic can be there in a few hours to fix the issue before it becomes worse.
How Can Regular Fleet Maintenance Reduce Operating Costs?
Here’s another reason to keep up with routine maintenance: neglected equipment means higher fuel costs. A poorly maintained engine can consume up to 50% more fuel, and under-inflated tires may reduce mileage by as much as 10%, also contributing to wasted fuel. When poor maintenance leads to repairs, you lose money every day a fleet vehicle spends in the shop instead of the road where it belongs. A mobile fleet service can have your vehicle ready within a few hours without it ever leaving your shop.
Following organized maintenance schedules also means vehicles stay in prime working condition longer, increasing their resale value. When you decide to sell a fleet vehicle, buyers are likely to pay more for a vehicle they know has been well-maintained, so it’s important to keep thorough records of every oil change, tire pressure adjustment, etc., done to your vehicles if you plan to sell them.
How Can Fleet Maintenance Improve Vehicle Inspection Outcomes?
Truck fleet maintenance improves your standing with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as well. According to the FMCSA, there were 5.5 million roadside driver and vehicle inspections in 2016, and 630,028 of them resulted in at least one out-of-service (OOS) violation. The top ten violations included several easily prevented through regular maintenance, demonstrating yet another way getting vehicles serviced regularly is a net positive for your business. Since carriers are not allowed to operate the vehicle until the issues are corrected after an OOS violation, that means lost time, productivity, and profit in addition to having to pay the penalty.
It’s also important from a liability perspective, as you may end up on the wrong side of an insurance claim or civil suit if a post-accident investigation finds poor maintenance as the cause of an accident. For example, poorly maintained brakes that fail to stop the vehicle, which results in hitting another vehicle.
What Role Do Drivers Play in Fleet Maintenance?
As the people who interact with your vehicles most, drivers have a critical role to play in fleet maintenance. It’s important to train them thoroughly on how to conduct pre- and post-haul daily inspections not only to satisfy Department of Transportation (DOT) inspection report requirements but also so drivers learn to identify warning signs that something may be wrong and detect problems early.
Fleet Advisor: Denver’s Premier Mobile Fleet Maintenance and Repair Service
A mobile fleet maintenance service, which can travel to your location to service your vehicles, is a solution worth exploring if you often find there’s no time to perform maintenance yourself. With a mobile fleet maintenance service, like the one provided by Fleet Advisor, you can ensure your cars are inspected and serviced regularly, which can save you a fortune on costly repairs down the road.
Go to shop for all your fleet maintenance needs in Denver and the surrounding areas. Our years of experience have led us into this venture, a one-stop shop for all your fleet’s needs.