If your business depends on a fleet of cars to operate, you need to ensure the vehicles are in good shape so they spend more time on the road and less time in the shop.
Many small and mid-sized businesses believe they can manage their fleet maintenance manually, but too much can fall between the cracks when relying on spreadsheets.
Fleet maintenance software is a system that will reduce downtime and increase uptime. Without it, your operations will be subject to preventable disruptions.
Consider these four important ways your business will lose out without a fleet maintenance platform.
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1. Unplanned Downtime Will Disrupt Operations
One unfortunate consequence of improper maintenance is unplanned downtime. Vehicular breakdowns can result in downtime that prevents workers from doing their jobs. But when using a quality digital platform, you can monitor maintenance due dates, address chronic issues such as low oil, and stay on top of things.
Paper-based forms and scattered notes are not the best methods for keeping track of fleet maintenance. It’s too easy to forget things or to prioritize other things.
A fleet maintenance platform can, however, circumvent this by sending reminders for service and tracking diagnostic codes. It’ll ensure that maintenance is a top priority. The software can even alert you to possible mechanical failure before it leads to downtime.
2. Growing Repair Bills Will Erode Profits
When vehicles are not serviced properly, minor problems will morph into major ones requiring expensive repair work. For instance, annual brake service is relatively inexpensive. However, it can cost a small fortune to replace calipers, rotors, and brake pads if a lack of proper service accelerates wear and tear of the braking system.
A fleet maintenance platform will give you complete visibility into your fleet’s maintenance history and status. You can automate reminders for oil changes, filter replacements, tire rotations, and other key maintenance tasks.
The right software will help you see repair patterns across your whole fleet. If you find that one car seems to require more work than others, you can examine the causes. It might be due to, for instance, driver behaviors that increase wear and tear.
3. Fuel Inefficiency May Suffer
Fuel costs are one of the largest repeat expenses for any business that operates a fleet. Without maintenance management, your trucks can quickly start burning more fuel than they should due to dirty filters, low tire pressure, or misuse of the vehicles.
A car maintenance system will help you keep track of each car’s fuel use and alert you to abnormal variances from the norm. With such variances identified at an early stage, you can order maintenance or driver training before the matter evolves into a major problem. For example, if the miles per gallon of a vehicle drops very quickly, it may signal a mechanical failure or careless driving style.
If you’re not keeping an eye on it, fuel inefficiency can cost a small fortune annually. And with fuel prices fluctuating, it isn’t always easy to see the difference without having good, long-term numbers. Fleet maintenance software offers that level of transparency so you can keep an eye on one of your biggest variable expenses.
4. Safety And Compliance Risks Will Increase
When maintenance history is dispersed across paper records or spreadsheets, it is hard to prove compliance with safety regulations or identify recurring problems that can put drivers at risk.
A fleet maintenance platform will maintain full records on every repair, service, and inspection. It’ll also ensure that all of the vehicles are in compliance with regulatory and safety requirements.
Without such records, you’ll be vulnerable to fines, liability lawsuits, and higher insurance premiums.
A fleet maintenance platform is an investment in long-term savings, efficiency, and sanity. It’ll allow you to automate and digitize maintenance management, protecting your fleet from surprise downtime, exorbitant repair costs, and compliance headaches.
Businesses that skip fleet maintenance software often end up paying far more in hidden costs than they would for a reliable platform. The difference is not whether you’ll pay, but when and how much.
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