How to Reduce Fleet Maintenance Problems

Your job as a fleet manager or fleet owner is complex because you have to manage preventive maintenance, service history, multiple service dates, manufacturer recalls and track the costs of many vehicles in your fleet. This work is more complicated when the data is spread across multiple systems, spreadsheets and paper documents.

Trying to manage an entire fleet of assets without the help of technology can leave you overwhelmed with data and fighting an uphill battle. The Fleetio app can be used as an essential database to store, access and analyze your fleet data giving you the opportunity to enhance efficiency and deliver peace of mind.

Fleetio enables an efficient process from maintenance incidents to resolution, all while providing detailed data at every turn. Connecting GPS Trackit telematics and Fleetio creates a comprehensive solution, surfacing critical information from telematics devices to automate preventative maintenance workflows.

Connecting your existing GPS Trackit solution to Fleetio provides a seamless process where telematics data can be automatically captured in Fleetio, making it easier to keep up with preventative maintenance and respond quickly to vehicle issues.

• New engine fault codes detected by your GPS TrackIt devices trigger email notifications alerting you of the fault and allowing you to create an Issue in Fleetio with one click.
• Easily view the vehicle’s current location within Fleetio.
• Maximize productivity and avoid duplicating efforts with a secure transfer of data from GPS TrackIt to Fleetio.

Average Fleet maintenance Costs Vary with Vehicle Age

According to the American Transportation Research Institute’s Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking for 2017, commercial semi-truck maintenance can average $15,000 per year.   Maintenance and repair costs will be higher on an older truck versus those costs associated with a first-year truck. The yearly maintenance and repair cost of a 2012 model-year sleeper is $23,100. However, maintenance and repair costs on a 2019 unit were just $2,070 in the first year, a savings of approximately $21,000.

Fleetio is Made for Fleet Managers and Maintenance Managers

With increasing repair and maintenance costs for each truck in your fleet as they age, it makes sense to track each vehicle’s lifetime costs on one platform. This gives you the insight to find individual problem vehicles, control vendor and parts costs, and reduce maintenance costs.

Fleetio can automatically generate preventative maintenance (PM) schedules based on manufacturer recommendations and gets PM intervals automatically from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). You can also use Fleetio to customize service tasks, intervals and due soon thresholds based on how your vehicles are used.

The biggest benefits that fleet managers see from Fleetio include an overall reduction in maintenance spend. Some customers cite cost reductions up to 50%. Track and manage every aspect of your fleet’s maintenance from reminders to reporting.

Fleetio streamlines the operations process and makes administrative duties much more manageable. This saves time and money for managers responsible for the assets.

AAA Increases Profitable Up Time of Tow and Service Trucks

AAA has been a prominent figure in the roadside assistance, towing, and auto service industry since 1902. AAA’s fleet requires reliable vehicles to serve its customers. To keep its fleet running, AAA adopted Fleetio to enhance visibility and productivity across its entire fleet maintenance process to avoid costly downtime.

Before Fleetio, the Oregon/Idaho division relied on drivers to report issues directly to leaders via paper forms and notes, without any standardized solution to communicate. With 60 vehicles and 90 team members, it was a difficult process to manage and contributed to tremendous delays in communication and downtime. It simply wasn’t a sustainable solution.

With Fleetio’s mobile app with electronic vehicle inspection forms, drivers can quickly conduct inspections from their mobile devices and submit the completed inspection report electronically, where a manager receives a real-time notification for the submission. “The difference is now we can see what’s happening. We can monitor the drivers and technicians and how quickly they’re doing the inspections. All the information’s there (in Fleetio) and you can see it from everywhere.”
— Ian Lomax, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor AAA Oregon/Idaho.

Since onboarding Fleetio, the company has seen a tremendous improvement in its failed vehicle inspection items. Based on all inspections, AAA Oregon/Idaho has an inspection failure rate of less than 0.25 percent, indicating vehicles are operating at near-optimal performance and are spending more time on the road serving customers in need.

Zerorez Reduced Time and Costs for Inspections and Maintenance

Fleetio decreased vehicle downtime through automated maintenance reminders and quick issue resolution for Atlanta-based carpet cleaning franchise, Zerorez. Zerorez employs a hard-working night crew of maintenance professionals to conduct inspections and perform maintenance tasks on 47 Chevy vans. Since the company relies on vehicle-mounted equipment to transport its cleaning equipment and supplies on-site each day, the fleet is integral to Zerorez’s business operations and success.

Zerorez technicians devoted about 10 minutes per vehicle at the beginning of their shifts to inspect each van and record any issues using paper-based forms. To save time, some technicians would mark all items as “passed” without thoroughly checking vehicles. As a result, vehicle issues would pop up causing unexpected downtime. When a vehicle was in the shop, jobs were lost or had to be coordinated using another vehicle.

Zerorez quickly recognized that an electronic inspection solution must be easy to use and mobile. Thus, when Fleetio introduced the mobile inspections feature of its fleet maintenance software, Zerorez immediately jumped onboard.
Fleetio Inspections met all the criteria for Zerorez’s ideal inspection solution:

• Use on multiple devices at once
• Take and upload photos
• Add specific instructions to forms
• Access inspection history for individual vehicles

Since using Fleetio Inspections, Zerorez has reduced time spent on vehicle inspections by 65% compared to paper-based inspection forms.
Fleetio Inspections have enabled Zerorez to improve fleet uptime and fulfill all necessary routes 99% of the time. Drivers experience fewer maintenance-related delays, and the business is able to run smoother.

If you’re struggling with repair and maintenance data scattered across several systems or you need a unified view of all service issues for your fleet, then Fleetio is the cleanest solution. You can learn how GPS Trackit seamlessly integrates with Fleetio to securely transfer data and ensure you are getting the alerts you need in real-time to manage your maintenance.

Sources:

https://www.fleetmaintenance.com/shop-operations/data-and-telematics/article/21090705/vehicleserviceproscom-do-you-know-your-fleets-total-cost-of-ownership