Fleet maintenance should be a top priority for fleets of any shape, size, and industry, and a good fleet manager is always seeking out fleet maintenance tips to get their fleet running more efficiently and saving money on repairs. There are many benefits of fleet maintenance, but how do you achieve having a fleet with vehicles in the best shape? We’ll provide some tips on how to keep your fleet in great shape, your drivers safe, and save some money along the way.
1. Prioritize Preventative Maintenance
Preventative maintenance is the practice of providing regular and routine maintenance to your vehicles and assets in order to keep them running smoothly and avoid unplanned downtime that costs money and hinders productivity. In order to properly prioritize preventative maintenance, you’ll need to have a maintenance plan in place. There are important steps you need to follow to implement a maintenance plan. To learn more about this, read our blog post, “Fleet Maintenance Plan & Checklist.” It will go into detail about how you can create a fleet maintenance plan to follow so your fleet is always in its best shape.
2. Know Your Cost of Ownership
Naturally, your maintenance costs will rise as your vehicles begin to age. If your maintenance begins to cost more than the value you get out of your vehicle, then you’ll want to consider lifecycle management for your fleet so that you can replace those vehicles with newer vehicles. There are many methods for lifecycle management, all of which achieve different goals for your fleet but that ensure your fleet is well-maintained and efficient. Check out our blog article, “How Azuga Keeps Your Fleet Vehicles Operational and on the Road” for tips on lifecycle management.
3. Check Your Fleet’s Tire Pressure
You’d be surprised how much tire pressure affects your vehicles. It factors into vehicle handling, tire wear, and fuel mileage. Driver safety relies on proper tire pressure, so you should always check your vehicle’s tire pressure before you send your drivers on a trip. It’s easy to check and makes such a significant difference in a vehicle’s functionality. Make sure that your drivers know how to check tire pressure and how important it is to do so regularly. If you instill the importance of tire pressure and vehicle maintenance in your drivers, it promotes a safety culture that helps your fleet remain safe and efficient.
4. Ensure Drivers are Properly Trained
Driver behavior has a surprising effect on vehicle lifespan. If drivers are constantly hard braking or speeding, it can cause unnecessary wear and tear on a vehicle that causes more need for maintenance and can even shorten its lifespan. It’s crucial to ensure drivers are properly trained on good driving behavior, and that their good driving habits are tracked using telematics or dashcams. Be sure to regularly communicate policies and expectations to your drivers so hey are aware of what is expected of them.
5. Invest in Fleet Management Software
Fleet management software is a necessity when it comes to keeping up with your fleet’s maintenance. Tracking maintenance logs and maintenance needs for dozens of vehicles can be near impossible without proper technology on your side. With fleet management software, you will always know when your vehicles are in need of maintenance. Furthermore, it’s easy to pull up a vehicle’s maintenance log and see what maintenance has already been performed so you can see if there are continuous issues that need addressing. Fleet management software makes the maintenance process easy once you have a maintenance plan in place.
Optimize Your Fleet’s Maintenance Plan Today
Azuga offers state-of-the-art fleet maintenance software that will help you keep track of maintenance needs for all of your vehicles. Get maintenance alerts, store maintenance logs, and schedule routine maintenance all through your fleet management software. See how you can take control of your fleet’s maintenance by trying out a demo today.
