Every fleet company has a desire to bring the cost of operations down while increasing their profit margin. As a matter of fact, entrepreneurs bring their vehicles to the experts with this as one of their dreams. It all boils down to finding the most effective and best practices on preventive fleet maintenance. This is entirely the role of the fleet management company to plan, implement, and monitor these practices. Below are some of the best practices that will help any fleet management company succeed in these efforts.

Let All Employees Know Who is in Charge

Being in charge means having the authority to make decisions, give instructions, and work as a team with all employees to find solutions. But for this to be effective, everyone must know who the leaders are and what their mandates are. This way, they can help to implement preventive practices and supervise the maintenance work of vehicles.

Create Preventive Maintenance Policies

If you are running a fleet company, it is not good to operate without work SOPs and policies. Employees must read them and sign a contract that abides them to these. Some of these policies should include the best driving habits, accident prevention, and others that are related to similar things. When employees read them and get trained annually on them, the cost of maintenance will drastically come down. You will be surprised that this habit will reduce the fuel and maintenance costs by up to 30 percent.

Rely on Data to Make Decisions

Every managerial decision relies on data today. It can be collected using the technology used in the fleet industry. If these solutions are not available, use manual methods like filling out duty forms, vehicle service cards, mileage covered cards, or any others. However, you can still get these solutions from reputable providers and sellers like EyeRide Online. Their devices will collect data and remit it in real time for report making, thus leading to better decisions.

Have a Checklist

As one part of monitoring the implemented practices, it is crucial to provide the employees with a checklist of what they need to do while working. Although it should not take a lot of their work time, it should cover all areas that promote the preventive maintenance of vehicles. Some of the areas to cover include but are not limited to the following:

·        Start and finish fuel level

·        The physical condition of the vehicle

·        Common vehicle problems

·        Last service date

·        Presence of abnormal sounds

Motivate the Employees

The last strategy for effective preventive fleet maintenance is keeping the employees motivated. First of all, these are the people handling the vehicles on a daily basis. How happy they remain determines what will drive them. Motivation is the best way to use the best driving practices, avoid long idling, and report abnormal sounds on time. As a matter of fact, drivers who are happy develop a special connection with the vehicle or truck they drive.

As a fleet manager, you probably need to look into these points keenly as they will make a difference in your fleet business. With time, the cost will go down and service delivery will get better. Needless to say, you will be running a company full of motivated employees.

 

Author Bio

Erica Swede is a senior manager at a fleet management company that deals with food product delivery. Having been exposed to the current telematics and fleet management technology, she has gained enough experience to write informative pieces related to this industry. Read and enjoy her work which is published on different platforms like this one.