5 Fleet Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Fleet Running

Fleet managers all over the world know that fleet maintenance works in two ways: scheduled and unscheduled.

Of course, the method that offers the least amount of headaches and expenses is scheduled maintenance, because these fleet repair appointments allow you to fix minor maintenance problems before they become big ones. Scheduled preventative maintenance prevents and detects problems before these issues become serious and expensive.

Even so, staying on top of all maintenance issues is a real challenge for fleet managers. The solution is to remain aware of all of your fleet maintenance needs so you can reduce those unwanted unscheduled fleet maintenance costs. Just follow these 5 effective fleet maintenance tips, and you’ll be ahead of the game.

Fleet Maintenance Tips to Follow

Delegate the Task

Decide on who will be in charge. Vehicle maintenance does not take care of itself, or just because everyone assumes someone else will take care of it. Define someone for the responsibility of fleet maintenance scheduling. This can be the driver, an assistant or even the manager. One of the key factors to success when it comes to improving your fleet maintenance process is to put someone in charge of monitoring the maintenance of each vehicle.

The Maintenance Checklist

Another important task to meet all 5 fleet maintenance tips is to create a maintenance checklist. By creating a checklist for the person in charge of maintenance, you can make sure no vehicle maintenance gets overlooked.

We’ve put together a list to help you:

✓ Check all major functionalities (fuel, brakes, auxiliary brake, exhaust, engine noise, etc.)
✓ Check cabin controls
✓ Check rims, wheels and tires
✓ Check fluid levels
✓ Check hose connections
✓ Check all lights
✓ Check cabin comfort controls
✓ Check exterior and interior lights
✓ Inspect undercarriage
✓ Check horn, and safety features
✓ Look for leaks
✓ Check brake wear
✓ Check CV joint
✓ Inspect belts

Preventative Maintenance is Crucial

Do not wait until your fleet vehicle breaks down to perform maintenance. That is inefficient and leads to more expensive solutions, and besides, it creates scheduling nightmares. Be proactive and schedule all preventative maintenance for your vehicles. You’ll find these scheduled maintenance appointments to be more effective and they give you time to fix problems before they cause problems with your business.

Use Technology

One of the best maintenance tips anyone can give you is to use software to manage your maintenance tasks. Fleet maintenance software programs offer important data such as mileage, prior maintenance dates, part replacements, and all other maintenance done to the vehicle. This software allows you to stay on top of all maintenance needs and makes scheduling and keeping track of maintenance tasks much easier. Plus, when you go digital you can get automatic alerts informing you of needed maintenance for your fleet.

Ask Your Driver

No one understands the vehicle better than the driver. Ask your drivers about maintenance and what they think is needed to keep the vehicle running well. Check with the mechanics and maintenance professionals as well. Ask them to help you create the maintenance checklist that every driver should run through before getting on the road.

Taking care of your fleet is a crucial part in avoiding vehicle downtime. Note that one of the most critical elements of these fleet maintenance tips is getting the right maintenance management software to integrate with your existing fleet systems. Maintenance management systems have alerts built into the solution and will help you become totally proactive in maintaining your fleet vehicles.