Tag: fleet maintenance

Fleet Maintenance Can Extend the Life of Your Vehicles

Fleet Maintenance Can Extend the Life of Your Vehicles

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on Fleet Maintenance Can Extend the Life of Your Vehicles

Fleet vehicles are critical assets and represent a massive investment to your organization. For these reasons, it’s essential to make sure they’re taken care of in the short and long-term with proper fleet maintenance to keep operations running smoothly. 

In this article, we’ll discuss some easy tips to stay on top of fleet maintenance and keep your vehicles on the road where they belong.

Prioritize Preventative Fleet Maintenance

Preventative fleet maintenance is key to the proper care of any vehicle. By staying on top of it, you can ensure that your fleet always has regular support and avoids future problems. 

The easiest way to ensure preventative maintenance is to create a set schedule that is respected by your entire fleet maintenance team. 

By keeping all of your vehicles’ maintenance timelines on record, it becomes much easier to oversee and gauge operational needs, repair costs and vehicle health over the long term.

One of the most common approaches is digitizing maintenance reports through fleet management software, such as ZenduMaintenance. 

This digital solution allows you to run your entire fleet maintenance operation more effectively and efficiently, with tools such as:

  • Work order management
  • Preventative maintenance scheduling
  • Inventory and parts management
  • Purchasing
  • Custom reporting
  • Maintenance cost accounting

These tools make it possible to document and monitor preventative maintenance in a centralized calendar, making the process of ensuring vehicle health easier and more accessible.  

Know Your Fleet

Understanding the vehicles you manage can offer major insight into their specific needs, making the process of fleet maintenance much easier. 

One of the easiest ways to access these insights is to take the time to go through your owner’s manuals. While they may seem tedious, they’re the key to fully understanding and properly caring for every make, model and machine you operate. 

Owner’s manuals contain lots of valuable information you can incorporate into your fleet maintenance strategy, including the recommended fluids, parts and schedules for each system you operate.

A combination of fleet management software and managed services can provide a complete 360-degree view of your fleet, including vehicle health. Managed services connect you with industry-leading consultants to help you analyze your fleet’s performance and help you optimize operations. 

With the right platform in place, you can access vehicle data, manuals and more in one convenient place, making it simpler than ever to get the information you need without having to hunt it down. Such intuitive guidance and support makes getting to know your fleet a breeze. 

Operate Your Fleet Responsibly

The way vehicles are driven and handled on a regular basis plays a large role in how long they ultimately last on the road. 

From giving engines enough time to warm up before a trip to handling starts and stops smoothly, there are a number of ways drivers can help extend the life of your vehicles.

Teaching these best practices to your team and monitoring their implementation should be a key area of focus – not only will it help you keep an eye on how vehicles are being driven, but it can also be a valuable coaching opportunity for your staff. 

Operational effectiveness and efficiency should always go hand-in-hand, and by placing an emphasis on both, you can help your team members understand how their behaviour impacts the health of your fleet.

Proper fleet maintenance includes checking tires regularly.

Check Your Tires

Tires are not only responsible for keeping things moving, they’re also the first  line of defence against the impact of potholes, curbs and other obstacles. Left unchecked, problematic tires can contribute to a number of problems such as alignment issues and decreased fuel economy.

For these reasons, it’s crucial to check them regularly for wear, damage and proper inflation – not only for their own longevity but for the lifespan of your vehicles.

Regular tire maintenance can help prevent and mitigate many of the issues that can arise from neglect and keep your vehicles on the road longer.

Keep Things Clean

Dirt, grime and buildup on vehicles isn’t just unsightly – it can also contribute to their overall decline. 

When operators fail to keep their trucks clean on a consistent basis, they open the door for long-term wear and tear. This is especially true when it comes to the undercarriage, where grime can quickly lead to corrosion if left unchecked.

Washing vehicles should be considered part of your regular fleet maintenance. When done correctly and on schedule, it can actually save you money by preventing bigger issues from arising down the road. 

Regardless of your business’ size, the health of your fleet should always be top priority. By taking the time to implement these basic tips, you can help keep your vehicles on the road and operating at full capacity for a long time.

 

 

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Maximizing Effective Fleet Maintenance

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on Maximizing Effective Fleet Maintenance

It’s no secret that fleet maintenance is essential to the operation of any fleet. It serves the pivotal function of addressing its overall state and is key to ensuring that vehicles are on the road and making money as much as possible.

But that’s not to say all ways of performing fleet maintenance are the same –  there are definitely better ways to optimize efficiency. After all, a well-oiled machine is one that’s running as close to its potential as possible.

In this post, we’ll discuss how effective fleet maintenance can help you run a leaner, meaner operation – and save money in the process.

How Fleet Maintenance Improves Efficiency

The first thing to understand is that fleet maintenance and fleet efficiency are two sides of the same coin. Just as you wouldn’t expect a car to run without gas, you can’t have an effective fleet without properly maintaining it.

Proper maintenance helps to ensure that your vehicles are running as efficiently as possible. This, in turn, saves you money on things like fuel, repairs, and even vehicle replacement.

What Is Effective Fleet Maintenance?

To understand how to optimize your fleet, we first need to know what effective fleet maintenance looks like.

At its core, effective fleet maintenance is a proactive process, rather than a reactive one. It means staying well ahead of repairs with regularly scheduled check-ups, implementing best practices, and using high-quality parts and products. 

The right solution will help minimize downtime and keep your vehicles on the road, whether by tracking maintenance records or scheduling future appointments.

There are a few key benefits that effective fleet maintenance provide:

  1. Helps to avoid breakdowns: By catching problems early and addressing them head-on, you can help to avoid larger issues down the road. This not only saves you money in repairs, it also keeps your vehicles on the road and keeps your organization profitable.
  1. Increases fuel efficiency: Regular maintenance helps to keep your vehicles running smoothly, which can lead to increased fuel efficiency. This lowers your overall operating costs and helps you save money at the pump.
  1. Improves vehicle lifespan: Properly maintaining your fleet extends the life of your vehicles. This not only saves you money on replacement costs, but it also minimizes downtime.
  1. Reduces repair costs: Because small problems have a tendency to snowball into larger, more expensive ones, addressing issues early on can help to reduce the cost of repairs. 
  1. Boosts productivity: Automating your fleet maintenance processes helps keep your fleet running smoothly, minimizes downtime and maximizes productivity. 

Tips For Optimizing Your Fleet Maintenance 

Schedule Regular Inspections

By scheduling regular inspections, you can catch problems early and prevent them from turning into larger issues. This helps to keep your vehicles on the road and minimizes downtime.

Use High-Quality Parts And Products

Using high-quality parts and products helps to ensure that your vehicles are running smoothly. This, in turn, increases fuel efficiency and extends the life of your vehicles.

Keep Accurate Records

Keeping accurate records is essential for effective fleet maintenance. This helps you to track maintenance history, schedule future appointments, and troubleshoot problems.

Automating these processes by digitally recording your maintenance data is the most time-efficient and cost-effective way to ensure data accuracy and easy access.

Develop a Preventative Maintenance Plan

Developing a preventative maintenance plan helps you to stay ahead of the curve and avoid problems before they start. This includes things like regularly scheduled check-ups and using operational best practices.

Work with a Fleet Maintenance Partner

Fleet maintenance is critical for any fleet-based business, but it’s only effective if done correctly. 

An optimized maintenance program will result in fewer breakdowns, increased fuel efficiency, improved vehicle lifespan, reduced repair costs, and boosted productivity. All of this leads to a lower total cost of ownership.

Whether you’re tracking records, scheduling appointments or just want to stay organized, working with a fleet maintenance partner can help to take your program to the next level. 

Your consultants at GoFleet can provide expert advice, and around-the-clock support. Contact us today.

 

 

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The benefits of telematics during the labour shortage

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on The benefits of telematics during the labour shortage

When it comes to transportation of goods and services, truck drivers are the adhesive that holds the supply chain together. Given their importance, finding, hiring, and retaining truck drivers has proven to be more difficult than ever.

Once thought of solely as a system for improving operational efficiency, there is now opportunity to leverage telematics for driver retention.

By the end of this article, you will gain insight into the present trucking industry, and how the use of telematics can make a big difference with the current labour shortage.

What is ‘telematics’?

In broad terms, telematics is a field that combines telecommunications and informatics. Informatics involves the working of computer systems – the science involved in the processing of information, its storage, and retrieval.

When you apply this combination to vehicles, telematics becomes a highly sophisticated computing system that can track all aspects of the vehicle, from electrical, mechanical engineering to software engineering.

The use of telematics in the context of vehicle use often involves the following:

  • Using telecommunications to send, receive and store information to help control remote objects.
  • The combined use of telecommunications, and informatics to control and monitor vehicles that are on the move.
  • The use of GPS to help with the navigation and live tracking of vehicles.

Telematics acts as a single monitor for all the different sensory and electrical features of your vehicle, all the while providing instant information on a single vehicle, or an entire fleet, on demand and in real-time.

The trucking industry’s labour shortage

According to a recent report from the American Trucking Association (ATA), the shortage in truck drivers hit an all-time high of over 80,000 drivers in 2021.

The most prevalent causes were:

  • Demographics – The average age of current drivers is above 50, leading to more retirees and fewer hires year over year.
  • Fewer female drivers – According to the same ATA report, women only make up 7% of the overall existing drivers.
  • Lack of new drivers – The availability of potential drivers on par with a truck carrier’s hiring standard is extremely low.
  • Lifestyle –The lifestyle of the average truck driver is another important factor that deters people from choosing truck driving as a profession. Long hours, irregular meals and sleeping patterns all contribute to the decline.
  • The pandemic – Among the many people that were temporarily laid off due to COVID, most did not come back.

This labour shortage will be acutely felt for a long time and may persist until the trucking industry increases its bandwidth to allow younger drivers into the fold and/or improves its hiring and training practices.

Mitigating the labour shortage

There are two parts to managing the labour shortage. The first and most self-evident is to make the driving profession more lucrative and attractive to potential drivers, including:

  • Offering fair wages with extra benefits, including solid health insurance and pension plans.
  • An increase in freight rates.
  • A refresh in the truck industry’s branding, making it an appealing and viable career path.
  • Better work schedules and route assignment for improved work/life balance.

The second solution would be the adoption of technology. Telematics has massive potential to help your workforce mitigate the labour shortage while providing attractive solutions that make everyone’s job easier in the short and long-term.

How telematics can help

Telematics has the power to improve the working conditions of your existing and future drivers in a very significant way.

The benefits of telematics from a business perspective

  • Improves productivity and efficiency: The data collected by integrated GPS found in most telematics systems can be used to optimize routes, which reduces the overall time spent on the road, reduces delivery times, and improves fuel usage.
  • Reduces operation costs: All the improvements listed in the previous statement help reduce operational costs. Moreover, since telematics tracks and keeps records of virtually everything that has to do with the vehicle, there are opportunities to identify potential issues within your vehicles before they happen, thus improving operational costs and maximizing fleet efficiency.
  • Automates payroll management: With the time and distance data provided by telematics, it becomes easier to manage payroll without having to worry about clerical errors.
  • Streamlines telecommunications: Telematics systems help you seamlessly streamline all forms of end-to-end communication within your business operations, from customers to drivers.
  • Offers proactive maintenance and repair alerts: The diagnostics data provided by telematics can help you maintain your fleet and keep everything in working order. Issues can be flagged to your driver while also alerting your repair centre, preventing break downs before they happen.
  • Attracts and retains drivers: This is the most important benefit given the subject of this article. Vehicles fitted with telematics technology will always prove to be more attractive, and the many features that the tech offers, especially in them being engaged, and not disconnected over miles of long lonely road, will certainly help in their retention.

The benefits of telematics from a driver’s perspective

  • Improves safety and compliance: The built-in driver monitoring software encourages drivers to comply with all regulatory driving standards. This goes a long way in avoiding, and preventing accidents, ensuring the overall health, and safety of the drivers.
  • Opportunities for real-time coaching: Virtually everyone develops bad driving habits over time. Whether it’s harsh braking, frequent acceleration or failing to use a turn signal, telematics can identify these occurrences and alert both you and your driver to these behaviours as soon as they happen, giving you an opportunity to correct and coach in real-time.
  • Increases job safety: Contrary to popular belief, telematics isn’t the digital, overbearing “Big Brother” that everyone thinks. There are lots of ways to introduce telematics to your drivers that frame it as a benefit; less in-cab surveillance and more of an insurance policy that helps prevent accidents, exonerate your drivers and keep them safe.

Conclusion

While there is no singular solution to fix the entire trucking industry, an organized business that leverages telematics data not only lures prospective employees, but it can also help your organization use your existing drivers and vehicles more efficiently while keeping them safe on the road.

For more information, contact your GoFleet consultant and ask us how we can keep you and your staff in the driver’s seat.

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The Top10 KPIs that drive efficient fleet maintenance

Posted on | by Alexis | Leave a Comment on The Top10 KPIs that drive efficient fleet maintenance

Maintaining an efficient fleet management system is key to keeping your vehicles on the road and your business running smoothly. From fuel efficiency to vehicle wear and tear, there are so many variables to consider that the maintenance of your fleet can seem daunting.

However, by regularly monitoring the metrics offered by key performance indicators (KPI), you can quickly identify and address issues before they become major problems. Here are the top 10 KPIs for managing your fleet maintenance more efficiently.

Reduce Fuel Costs and Emissions

Fleet managers face a constant challenge to reduce fuel costs and emissions while maintaining a safe and reliable fleet. A key performance indicator for driving more efficient fleet maintenance management is reducing the amount of fuel used by your fleet. There are many ways to achieve this goal, but some methods are more effective than others.

One way to reduce fuel costs and emissions is to keep your fleet in a state of good repair. This means fixing any broken or malfunctioning parts as soon as possible. A well-maintained fleet uses less fuel, which reduces emissions. Regular maintenance also helps prevent breakdowns, which can cause costly delays and have a negative impact on your business’ performance.

Another way to reduce fuel costs and emissions is to choose the right vehicles for your fleet. Consider the types of trips your vehicles will be performing and select the fleet that is suited to those tasks.

Finally, fleet managers can also reduce fuel costs and emissions by using smart driving techniques, including consolidating trips, avoiding excessive idling, and using the right gear for road conditions.

Improve Driver Safety

One major key performance indicator for more efficient fleet maintenance management is improving driver safety. By reducing the number of accidents and incidents on the road, companies can save money on repairs, insurance and downtime for their vehicles.

Some ways to improve driver safety and, in turn, fleet maintenance management include:

  • Training drivers on safe driving practices. This can include how to handle a vehicle in different types of weather conditions or how to respond to unexpected situations on the road.
  • Installing safety features in vehicles, such as collision avoidance systems or lane departure warnings.
  • Encouraging drivers to take breaks regularly and get enough sleep. This will help them stay alert while behind the wheel and reduce the risk of getting into an accident.
  • Monitoring driver behaviour and providing feedback. This can help identify issues early on before they lead to accidents.

Enhance Customer Service

Average response time measures the amount of time it takes for a service technician to respond to a customer request. Reducing the average response time can help improve customer satisfaction levels and instill faith in your business.

Another measurement is customer satisfaction rate, which identifies the percentage of customers who are satisfied with the service they receive. Improving the customer satisfaction rate can help improve retention and generate revenue.

By tracking and measuring these KPIs, organizations can identify areas where they need to make improvements and take the necessary steps to improve their fleet maintenance management process.

Optimize Fleet Maintenance Schedules

There are a number of KPIs that you can use to optimize your fleet maintenance schedules. One of the most important is vehicle uptime. By ensuring that your vehicles are in service as much as possible, you can improve overall fleet efficiency.

By optimizing your maintenance schedules, you can improve vehicle uptime and reliability, while reducing the overall cost of ownership for your fleet.

Finally, by ensuring that your vehicles are reliable, you can minimize the number of unexpected breakdowns and keep your fleet running smoothly.

Minimize Vehicle Downtime

The best way to manage fleet maintenance is by minimizing vehicle downtime. This can be done by tracking key performance indicators such as mean time to repair (MTTR). This measures the average time it takes to repair a vehicle after it has gone down. The lower the number, the more efficient your fleet maintenance management is.

Other KPIs that can help you manage fleet maintenance include vehicle availability and vehicle utilization. Vehicle availability measures the percentage of time a vehicle is available for use, while vehicle utilization measures how often a vehicle is used.

Reduce Inventory Costs

One way to reduce inventory costs is to drive more efficient fleet maintenance management. By taking a proactive approach to fleet maintenance, businesses can avoid unnecessary repairs, keep vehicles on the road longer, and save on inventory costs.

Lower Vehicle Maintenance Costs

There are a number of ways that you can lower your vehicle maintenance costs and drive more efficient fleet maintenance management. One key way is to track your vehicle maintenance KPI. Some of the most important KPIs to track include:

For example, vehicle repair costs measures how much money you are spending on vehicle repairs. The lower the amount, the more efficient your fleet maintenance management is.

Technician Productivity

Fleet managers must track technician productivity in order to ensure that vehicles are being maintained efficiently and cost-effectively. Productivity tracking can help identify inefficiencies and areas where technicians could improve their efficiency.

Some of the more common KPIs to measure technician productivity include:

  • Number of vehicles serviced per technician per day
  • Percentage of vehicles serviced within the manufacturer’s recommended time frame
  • Number of work orders completed per technician per day
  • Percentage of work orders completed on time

Enhance Driver Productivity

By tracking driver productivity, you can reduce wear and tear on vehicles and improve the overall safety of your drivers. Some important KPIs to track in fleet maintenance management include:

  • Driver productivity, measured in terms of miles driven per hour, or number of deliveries made
  • Vehicle uptime, or the percentage of time that vehicles are in use compared to the total time they could be used
  • Maintenance costs, including both routine and unexpected repairs
  • Fuel efficiency, measured in terms of miles per gallon or liters per kilometer
  • Number of accidents or incidents, measured through safety reports and insurance claims

Overall Equipment Effectiveness

It’s important to track the effectiveness of your fleet maintenance management system with an Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) KPI.

OEE measures how effectively your fleet maintenance management system is operating. It takes into account the availability, performance, and quality of your vehicles. By tracking OEE, you can identify areas where your fleet maintenance management system needs improvement and make changes that will improve its overall effectiveness.

There are a number of factors that can impact OEE. Some of the most important include:

  • The availability of vehicles
  • The performance of vehicles
  • The quality of vehicles

All of these should be considered when tracking OEE. By doing so, you can get an accurate picture of how well your fleet maintenance management system is performing and make the necessary changes to improve its efficiency.

By understanding the key performance indicators that are most important to fleet management, you can focus your time and resources on improving those areas. This will help you achieve better results for your business and improve your bottom line.

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How CMMS Software Can Ensure Proper Fleet Maintenance

Posted on | by Burhanuddin | Leave a Comment on How CMMS Software Can Ensure Proper Fleet Maintenance

How CMMS Software Can Ensure Proper Fleet Maintenance

Fleet managers often overlook maintenance procedures as well as maintenance solutions because of the challenges that come with introducing a new software solution to the fleet. Managers need to research vendors, go through sales processes, justify the cost and then train their team. What fleet managers don’t realize is the potential of Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) solutions and how they can prevent issues that would otherwise create great challenges for fleets to deal with.  

 

Mistakes That Can Be Avoided by Leveraging Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) Solutions

Automation

Remaining on top of fleet maintenance tasks is challenging, independent of the number of mobile assets. Fleet managers using outdated processes to manage vehicle maintenance spend a long amount of time manually entering data and trying to get in touch with mechanics.

Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) software automates fleet maintenance tasks to maximize efficiency. Fleet managers can put together maintenance workflows to eliminate manual data entry, improve communication, reduce downtime and control expenses. 

Automating fleet maintenance saves countless hours by streamlining maintenance tasks. Whether a fleet manages their fleet maintenance in house or outsources it to a third party, CMMS allows you to automate tasks to improve fleet uptime. 

 

Expenses and Reporting

Computerized maintenance management software is most important for its ability to aggregate all fleet data and provide hard numbers for analysis and improvement. Measuring the success of your fleet maintenance program is imperative, as vehicle maintenance is the largest ongoing cost for fleets. 

This type of software provides valuable insight into the maintenance program by providing a service history from repairs completed to detailed cost reporting. Fleet managers can create and share reports regarding key data that includes: 

  • Service line items and cost summaries
  • Lifetime service costs by asset
  • Downtime Reporting
  • Scheduled vs unscheduled maintenance
  • Most common service activities across a fleet
  • Vehicle operation costs
  • Total fleet operating cost by month

Software solutions like this provides a deep look at a fleet’s performance and automatically calculate a fleet’s true total cost of ownership (TCO). By automating fleet maintenance processes, fleet managers have the time to analyze the reports and determine the best strategies to improve operations.  

 

Integrations

Fleets utilize a GPS and telematics system to track vehicle location or use fuel cards for ease of use and fuel perks. Pairing these tools with CMMS software, like ZenduMaintenance, or otherwise known as ZenduMA, can boost fleet maintenance procedures. It will allow fleets to capture all fleet data in one place and get a complete view of a fleet’s overall health. 

Using computerized maintenance management system software will allow the capturing of odometer readings, making it easier to keep up with maintenance tasks. The telematics tools being used can also send diagnostic trouble codes and engineer fault alerts to the CMMS software, so the fleet will be alerted immediately. 

 

Mobility

The problems with fleet maintenance on paper and spreadsheets is the lack of visibility and communication across a fleet. Whereas, using a mobile app will help managers track and manage their fleet independent of the location. It allows operators to conduct mobile inspections in the field to instantly notify fleet managers of any issues. Using a CMMS software with a mobile app, users can view and access real time maintenance data including:

  • Vehicle specs
  • Service and renewal reminders
  • Inspection results (DVIR)
  • Work orders
  • Service history
  • Engine fault alerts
  • Parts and inventory levels
  • Repair requests
  • Vehicle recall notices
  • Maintenance costs

 

Ease of Use

CMMS software like ZenduMA is one that is intuitive and simple to use. ZenduMaintenance uses a dashboard for users to view all fleet maintenance data at a glance, as well as easy to use features like streamline work order creation and performing vehicle inspections through clicks and swipes. 

To begin using a computerized maintenance management system, fleets should first bulk upload the Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) into a VIN decoder. Almost immediately, over 90 vehicle specifications are instantly populated into CMMS for creating service schedules based on Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) recommendations. 

 

How ZenduMaintenance Is A Great CMMS Option To Be Considered

The biggest challenge with proper maintenance to take place is the extensive amount of work required by the fleets, which is why ZenduMaintenance is a great option to be considered. It provides fleets with work order management, preventive maintenance scheduling, inventory, and parts management, purchasing, custom reporting and maintenance cost accounting tools. 

ZenduMA is great when it comes to preventing downtime, faster repairs, increasing fleet visibility, and providing real time vehicle diagnostics. When discussing the diagnostics provided, it automatically captures odometer readings, engine hours, voltage, temperature, fuel consumption, power takeoff (PTO) and tire pressure, directly from the vehicle engine control unit (ECM).

It specializes in creating custom list views and reports with the advanced filtering system to improve your equipment reliability, streamline processes and reduce costs. Good maintenance means good business, and ZenduMA will ensure your fleet follows proper maintenance procedures and improve performance while saving on costs by solving problems before they worsen. 

Implementing proper maintenance procedures is hard because maintenance procedures often tend to get overlooked, but the story is different with CMMS software. Implementing a strong maintenance management program is quite the challenge – especially given how complex the logistics industry has become, but the ROI is worth it. To learn more, GoFleet is readily available to help you deal with your pain points. Contact us today.

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Don’t Let Poor Fleet Maintenance Slow Down Your Businesses

Posted on | by Victoria Gole | Leave a Comment on Don’t Let Poor Fleet Maintenance Slow Down Your Businesses

Keeping your fleet in good shape all-year-round can help you maximize productivity and avoid unexpected vehicle breakdowns or service delays. Meaning vehicle maintenance is an essential branch of fleet management. 

The core idea of a maintenance program is identifying and addressing “small problems” through routine inspections and repairs before they turn into big ones. Preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance are some of the most common maintenance practices adopted by most businesses, but we want to elevate the existing maintenance strategy to a whole new level. Doing this will deliver a superior and streamlined experience to fleet maintenance teams. 

 

Why Do Businesses Need To Step Up On Fleet Maintenance Management?

Failing to run a proper fleet maintenance program could be fatal to vehicle based businesses. Poor maintenance could lead to frequent vehicle breakdowns, safety concerns, service disruptions, and poor customer satisfaction. Unreliable service could discourage your valuable customers and clients from engaging with your business again in the future. 

You don’t want to lose a big deal or valuable partners because of trying to save a little on fleet maintenance. That’s why it’s more important than ever to invest in a reliable and intelligent Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to protect the corporations’ long-term viability and financial sustainability.

 

Improve Vehicle Uptime

Downtime can be crippling to businesses, with costs quickly adding up the longer a vehicle is off the road. Even a single vehicle that goes out of service can have an immeasurable impact on the entire fleet operations. Fleet managers have to redistribute tasks and mobilize additional human or asset resources to recover productivity losses. Therefore, it’s necessary to create a comprehensive maintenance plan for the fleet to ensure vehicles remain operational and stay on the road as long as possible. 

An unexpected vehicle breakdown could also delay shipments and services. Customer delivery may be delayed, and important deadlines may be missed. Time-sensitive, temperature-sensitive, and perishable goods are also at higher risk of quality degradation, leading to customers rejecting the load. It will be a major loss for the business, and it will disappoint customers who didn’t get their shipment in time. If this situation happens often, customers might lose trust and confidence in businesses, and they may switch to other service couriers. 

Businesses cannot afford to experience frequent vehicle breakdowns or lengthy vehicle downtime. That’s why businesses need to adopt preventive maintenance strategies to reduce the likelihood of equipment failures. CMMS is a reliable maintenance tool supporting the monitoring and tracking of vehicle health status and reminding technicians to conduct routine part inspections periodically. Only through frequent inspections and proactive monitoring can the technicians identify the faulty units early and address the issues before it happens. 

 

Reduce Operational And Maintenance Costs 

Fleet managers might be hesitant about the initial investment cost of the CMMS. They might be unsure or uncertain whether the investment can be justified. But if you look at the fact that many small problems can quickly grow into more serious and costly maintenance issues if the problem isn’t detected and addressed early, you might want to rethink your decisions. 

Additionally, just consider how much additional money businesses need to pay if a small vehicle malfunction, such as a flat tire, leads to collisions and roadway accidents. It will not only threaten employees’ and drivers’ health and safety but also result in companies paying huge fines, insurance premiums, or legal issues. As the winter season is fast approaching, it is now more important than ever to ensure vehicles are in the best shape all the time to embrace harsh weather conditions. 

Adopting a CMMS can help businesses save money in multiple aspects of the operations, both directly and indirectly. For example, oil changes are among the most important vehicle maintenance routines that every driver or technician must perform. Most vehicles need an oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles to keep the engine running efficiently at peak performance and remove particles and sludges accumulated in the filter and tube. However, it will be quite difficult for humans to keep track of the oil change routines and intervals for all the fleet vehicles, especially if the fleet size is relatively large. This is where the CMMS system truly shines as it accurately logs each vehicle’s mileage since the last oil change and reminds maintenance technicians when it’s the time to conduct the oil change. Routine changes and getting the right kinds of oil can improve vehicles’ gas mileage by 1-2%. That doesn’t sound like much of an improvement, but if your businesses own a large fleet, every small saving will accumulate and become quite significant over a long period. 

 

Enhance Drivers’ Safety And Improve Drivers’ And Customers’ Satisfaction

Drivers’ safety is at the centre of everything we do. Vehicle malfunctions such as flat tires and faulty brakes could lead to serious consequences threatening drivers and other road users’ safety. Most businesses are unaware of an accident’s true costs as they only prepare for the direct costs of an accident. Some of the most common hidden costs include loss of labours, downtime of injured workers, maintenance costs for the damaged assets, cost of hiring and training a replacement worker, cost of any fines related to the accidents, and many more. These hidden costs can add up quickly and become a huge financial burden for any business. However, if the business owns a CMMS that can alert fleet managers about the vehicle issues beforehand, all those extra spendings can be avoided. 

Poorly maintained vehicles will also affect drivers’ morale and productivity. Drivers will be offended if the vehicle assigned to them is not properly maintained because it will create hindrances in their work. There is nothing more frustrating than a vehicle unexpectedly breaking down during a route and drivers are forced to wait for roadside assistance. This could result in a significant disruption to the service workflow, as it will delay the onboard shipment, and customers might not receive the deliveries in time.

 

Unique Advantages Of The CMMS

By implementing CMMS, businesses can achieve higher efficiency and control over the assets. The highlight of the CMMS is bringing a high level of automation and digitalization to the entire maintenance process. From wirelessly capturing data from vehicles’ onboard sensors to automatically creating and assigning work orders when issues have been recorded, CMMS is the ultimate tool in designing a well-managed preventive maintenance program. 

An intelligent dashboard helps fleet managers utilize assets more efficiently and easily schedule planned maintenance. It can also streamline the entire vehicle parts and components purchasing procedures, as the system can track parts inventory and help you directly order parts to replace faulty units right within the dashboard. 

The smart calendar feature displays all the maintenance events and progress in a simple and intuitive user interface, so fleet managers can stay on top of all the maintenance events and not miss any critical alerts. The best feature of the CMMS is that the system can generate over 100 types of highly customizable maintenance reports detailing all the fleet and maintenance data. This is especially useful and valuable to the fleet manager as they can gain real-world insights into fleet performance, identify risk factors, and take appropriate actions to mitigate risks. This could also simplify the company’s internal reporting procedures as the management team could also access these maintenance reports and assess the fleet’s overall status. To provide even more flexibility to businesses, the CMMS is compatible with a wide range of third-party Application Programming Interface (API), allowing users to customize the system to fit their needs.

To conclude, dedicated fleet maintenance software is an essential piece of equipment for any businesses that are looking to improve fleet efficiency and make real cost savings over the long run. If your business wants to get on board and is looking for innovative ideas and solutions that can bring your fleet operations to the next level, work with one of our industry-specific specialists to see how we can create a maintenance software system like ZenduMaintenance personalized just for your business. 

Competing With E-Commerce Delivery Giants

Posted on | by Anna | Leave a Comment on Competing With E-Commerce Delivery Giants

With so many products available on the internet, there are varying factors that influence consumers with completing online purchases. While price, quality and features are a few factors, it’s important to note that delivery time is a large factor. In fact, 50% of respondents of a recent survey conducted by Toluna found that due to an unsatisfactory delivery option, they abandoned their cart and decided to go with an alternative option that delivered sooner. As some businesses can’t risk losing customers over delivery options, they must do everything they can to stay competitive with e-commerce delivery giants. One thing that businesses must do to stay competitive is to utilize telematics solutions to their advantage.

 

ASAP E-Commerce Delivery: The New Norm

ASAP delivery has been an ongoing revolution for consumers as, over the years, it has been perfected and desired. Two ASAP delivery giants to focus on normalizing this is Amazon and Walmart as they both cater to this quick e-commerce delivery need. Recently, Walmart was reported to have made its same-day delivery option available for approximately 75% of the United States while Amazon similarly delivers to approximately that same amount within 24 hours. 

Below we discuss some ways that transportation and logistics businesses can compete in the age of Amazon Prime or 24-hour delivery services by using innovative telematics solutions.

 

Real-Time Tracking 

One way to stay competitive with companies who offer ASAP e-commerce delivery is to use a telematics solution, as previously mentioned. Specifically by utilizing real-time tracking features to provide consumers with up-to-date information about shipping. This stems from the theory that the more information you provide to your customer, the more that they will trust you and as a result, do business with you. So even if you are unable to compete with the quick turn around of shipping time of other businesses, you could still stay relevant to consumers as you are honest and transparent (a quality that many look for in a business).

 

Route Optimization 

Another way that small business owners can stay competitive in an age that relies on ASAP e-commerce delivery is to take advantage of route optimization. Specifically by using telematics information to help maximize their efforts while scheduling routes. With telematics solutions, dispatch managers have been able to successfully take into consideration and communicate traffic, weather and other delays with drivers so they can coordinate around such issues. Ensuring that businesses are always offering their consumers the quickest and most efficient delivery options. Not to mention, dispatch managers can better group deliveries and add to deliveries within the same geographic location. Making their efforts more optimized in regards to time and resources used.

 

Fleet Maintenance 

The final way that many small businesses can compete with e-commerce delivery giants, is to ensure that their fleet is always in peak working condition. Meaning, drivers and vehicles are always ready to work. Not only does this include having enough delivery teams to complete shipments regardless of the season or shipment demand, but completing preventative maintenance so breakdowns on the road are reduced. Using telematics solutions that focus on preventative maintenance allows fleets and vehicle conditions  to be automatically monitored for current errors. Additionally, telematics solutions can automatically complete and schedule preventive maintenance with algorithms so drivers are not surprised by engine errors or breakdowns. Essentially keeping fleets in peak working conditions to maintain productivity.

Since consumers are always looking for the best and quickest options when it comes to buying online, businesses must do what they can to compete with e-commerce delivery giants. While these are only a few ways that even small businesses can see benefits from, it’s important that dispatching managers always stay on top of new technology trends that can help them.

If you’re interested in learning more about how your business can boost its delivery options by using IoT and telematics solutions, contact us today!

ELD’s – How to Choose the Right Solution

Posted on | by Anna | Leave a Comment on ELD’s – How to Choose the Right Solution

Currently the transportation sector is undergoing major changes as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) are creating regulations to better the transportation industry. The main topic of discussion is the new regulation which encourages being ELD compliant. This mandate looks to enforce the use of Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) in commercial vehicles. While ELD systems are already enforced throughout the United States, Canada is following suit by enforcing the widespread compliance of such electronic logbooks.

With the deadline to become ELD compliant quickly approaching, it’s important for drivers and fleet managers to review whether or not they actually are compliant, and if they’re not, to begin to take the right steps to obtaining an electronic logging device. 

 

Temporary Compliance Under The Grandfather Clause 

 

Even though commercial fleets within the United States are already required to meet ELD compliance, Canadian fleets will soon be under similar regulation. At the moment, electronic logging devices are not mandatory for all vehicles if the vehicle was using an AOBRD (Automatic On-Board Recording Device) prior to December 18, 2017. If an AOBRD was used prior, the drivers will not be forced to implement ELDs until the mandatory start date of June 12, 2021. However, if no AOBRDs were put into use before December 18, 2017, carriers and drivers will be required to use ELDs as of December 16, 2019. 

 

While there are additional specifications to this regulation depending on the daily use or age of the vehicle, it is always recommended that fleets perform additional research to ensure that they are compliant.

 

Not ELD Compliant? Under The Grandfather Clause? – What You Should Do 

 

If you’re part of the many who are noticing that your fleet will not be compliant come December 16th, or June 2021, it’s critical that you begin to take the right steps to becoming compliant. Or in other words, look for a solutions provider. However, depending on your business, there will be different features that you should pay attention to when investing in an ELD. Specific qualities will not only allow you to stay ELD compliant, but improve your business overall. 

 

Key Factors In Considering How to Choose an ELD Solution 

 

Vehicle Flexibility 

When researching electronic logging devices, it’s important to confirm that the device you’re investing in will work in any type of vehicle. Ensuring that an ELD can be used in nearly any commercial vehicle guarantees that your business can grow and that the device can continue to be used. Ensuring that you will be complaint in the future and that the technology is well worth the money you are spending. 

Simple Installation And Use 

When you’re adopting new technology, it’s critical that the tools you’re implementing are easy to use or install. Devices that are focused on user experience mean that your fleet will embrace it rather than dread it. As well, when a new tool is easy to use, you’re more likely to see positive results from it as there are no excuses to not use it. 

Affordability 

While researching a product, it can sometimes be hard to not be discouraged by the price. However, when it comes to ELDs, you’re investing in the future of your business. Meaning, you aren’t only spending money to better your fleet, but often, the solutions will help you save money in the long run! 

Mobile-Friendly 

With technology advancing, it seems as though everything can and should be synced to smartphones. With that mindset and the ability for many solutions providers to do this, it’s critical to confirm that your ELD is mobile-friendly. Ensuring that your solution has smartphone connectivity will make it simple to use and easy to implement. 

Consistently Evolving 

In addition to ensuring that an electronic logging device can be used on any vehicle, it’s also important to confirm that the device is agile. Purchasing an ELD that is continually evolving will guarantee that no matter how regulations or business goals change, it will be a worthwhile investment.  

Leverage The Cloud

Using an ELD that is cloud-based will only benefit you as a fleet driver, owner, or manager as data can be accessed from anywhere. No longer will you need to wait for drivers to provide you with paper documents or wait until you’re provided access to files, everything can be obtained through the cloud. While remote access to data is a major advantage of using cloud-based ELDs, there are additional benefits;

  • Increased reliability as data is continuously backed up and stored, 
  • More reliability as there is no pairing process required,
  • Better battery life as power consumption can be reduced,
  • Better compatibility to various platforms such as Android and iOS, 
  • Easy document access so showing compliance is simple, 
  • And consistent coverage regardless of cellular coverage. 

Expandability 

It is critical that you are unlimited with the data you’re gathering from ELDs. With this said, expandability (or having unfiltered access to data) is a focus that many are unaware of until they need it! Being able to easily share data to third-party vendors or being able to use integrations through third-party solutions is a feature that needs to be highlighted as it can help make fleet management much easier! 

Customer Service 

When you’re using any service or buying any product, it’s important to do business with a company who aims to achieve positive customer interactions every time. If you forgo doing business with a customer-focused organization, you may run into problems in the future. With this being said, while you’re researching your next ELD, let us know. We always strive to ensure that our customers are happy not only with the solution they’re investing in, but the experience they’re having!

GoFleet Promo Offer Free Go Device and Harness with ELD SolutionWith the deadline to be ELD compliant quickly approaching, be sure to take advantage of our GoFleet Promotion that can save you hundreds today! 

 

 

 

Thank you Robin Kinsey, HOS/ELD Training Specialist for the valuable insight via Geotab.

Part 2: Common Useful Reports – Maintenance & Fuel Reports

Posted on | by Jimmy Song | Leave a Comment on Part 2: Common Useful Reports – Maintenance & Fuel Reports

One of our biggest client requests is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, fleet managers use maintenance & fuel reports to minimize fleet downtime and fleet fuel expenses.

Maintenance & Fuel Reports

Two of the biggest fleet cost drivers are maintenance and fuel. Maintenance cost includes repair and replacement costs, as well as lost productivity. Fuel costs, on the other hand, are predictable operational costs.

Some of the key maintenance & fuel reports include Engine Light Warnings, Fuel Trends, and Idling.

Engine Light Warning

Engine lights are a vehicle’s first indicator for trouble. For instance, engine lights might indicate that a mechanic needs to inspect a vehicle’s engine or air flow. If left unattended, vehicles can encounter major issues and stop working.

However, the issue with many fleets is that some drivers do not report issues. Fleet vehicles ultimately belong to the business and unfortunately, some drivers ignore engine light warnings because it isn’t their personal vehicle.

engine light warning

A useful report in this case is % Days with Engine Light On. This report measures engine light warnings during a given time period. Therefore, even when drivers are not reporting issues, mechanics will still know which vehicles need further checkup.

Fuel Last 3 Months

Another budget controlling initiative outside of controlling maintenance expenses is reducing fuel expense. Fleet managers are responsible for optimizing fuel costs. As a result, many fleet managers plan and implement strategies such as no-idling rules, driver contests, or fuel replacement.

All of those ideas are great. Nonetheless, the key question for many fleet managers and their performance evaluations is, “are my ideas working?”. This is why fleet managers measure and monitor trend reports. These reports are useful because they paint a long term picture of a fleet.

fleet fuel reports

For instance, here is a fuel report for the last 3 months. Overall, the fleet is experiencing lower fuel costs. However, over the past month, there was a slight increase in fuel expense. This is useful information for the fleet manager. Is there an increase because there is more business? Or, should the policies be re-evaluated?

Idling

Speaking of fuel policies, one of the most common and effective ideas is reducing idling. Unfortunately for many fleets, idling is a major concern. For instance, on my way to work, I noticed at least 3 idling vehicles.

In response, a lot of fleet managers create and monitor a zero idling policy. Idling Reports are a great tool for this objective. To illustrate, view the Idling Report above. Fleet managers can use this report to identify idling patterns and follow up with driver coaching.

Enjoyed our blog on maintenance & fuel reports? Check back with us for our next report set – driver safety!