If you’re a fleet manager, you know the importance of fleet vehicle maintenance better than anyone. However, you also know the challenges of keeping up with your vehicles’ maintenance. Many fleets are turning to on-site fleet vehicle maintenance to cut costs and improve their maintenance procedures. Maybe this sounds like a significant change, but it also has immense benefits. Let’s go over some of these benefits now.
No. 1: Improves Efficiency
Employing preventative maintenance is critical in ensuring your fleet’s efficiency. You won’t get very far if you have to worry about breakdowns or equipment failure. Minimizing these issues boosts your productivity and keeps your workers doing what they do best: working! Furthermore, conducting maintenance at a convenient time for your business allows you to schedule downtime so your jobs don’t grind to a halt while you wait for service.
No. 2: Reduce Vehicle Downtime
If you have to transport your vehicles to a shop for maintenance, you waste a lot more time than you would if you had a maintenance shop in-house. You want to keep your equipment in the game as much as possible, and on-site fleet maintenance allows you to do so. Have access to your vehicle sooner by employing on-site vehicle maintenance.
No. 3: Reduce Stranded Driver Pay
Paying drivers to deliver vehicles to the shop wastes money and time your business doesn’t need to waste. Wouldn’t it be much easier if your driver could just bring the vehicle to the shop instead? On-site maintenance takes a lot of time out of the equation and will save your business significantly on costs in the long run.
No. 4: Save on Costs
Overall, the goal of on-site maintenance is to save your organization on costs. Because this maintenance method is more efficient, prevents breakdowns, and reduces unnecessary driver pay, you’ll find that you save lots of money that would otherwise simply be going down the drain. What manager doesn’t want to save money, after all?
Other Benefits of Fleet Maintenance
Many businesses skimp on fleet maintenance when they are looking to save money, but this is not a sound idea. There are many benefits to keeping up with regular fleet maintenance to consider.
- Keep your drivers safe. With all the dangers drivers face, their vehicles should not endanger them. If your fleet is getting into accidents due to brake failures and tire blowouts, it is time to update its maintenance procedures.
- Improve your vehicles’ lifecycle. Routine maintenance can significantly lengthen the lifespan of the vehicle and its parts.
- Save money on repairs. If you focus on preventative rather than reactive maintenance, you will substantially reduce your spending on vehicle maintenance.
- Save on operational costs. Regular maintenance reduces the time your vehicle spends off the road.
- Combat rising fuel costs. Preventative fleet maintenance is one of the best ways to save fuel costs.
- Improve customer service. You can plan around your routine maintenance needs, ensuring that vehicles in the shop don’t greatly hinder your business’s operations and that you can still satisfy your customers’ needs.
- Make decisions with real data. With maintenance data at your disposal, you can easily make decisions that improve your fleet’s vehicles and ensure that you won’t have any major maintenance issues in the future.
- Maintain compliance with federal regulations. Maintenance inspections should match up with DOT inspection checklists to ensure fleets are never unnecessarily docked.
- Attract drivers to your business. Without safe vehicles, it won't be easy to attract new drivers to work for your business; without drivers, your business can’t operate.
- Improve your business’s reputation. When businesses are involved in accidents, it reflects negatively on them. Your fleet will significantly reduce accidents by implementing a maintenance program and ensuring its vehicles are in top shape.
Learn More About Fleet Maintenance
Our blog has plenty of information about fleet maintenance that can help you decide how to tackle the issue for your fleet. You’ll find articles on fleet maintenance plans, cost savings, and maintenance trends that will help you guide your fleet. Keep up with our blog for more details.
