“A stitch in time saves nine” happens to be a philosophy that if taken seriously saves the person or a business for that matter all the hassle in the world.
Timely intervention and prevention is a practice that is implemented and celebrated across industries with high turnover in terms of profits and ROI.
A well-maintained fleet of vehicles thrive in the business longer, spend less time to carry out everyday tasks, cost lesser to stay operational, consume less fuel, are less susceptible to breakdown and save a business both time and money.
Aforementioned are a few valuable tips every fleet business should abide by to optimise fleet vehicle performance.
1. Implement An Automated Fleet Inspection System
A solution that automates vehicle inspections is the first of many steps in keeping fleet vehicles running healthy. Pre-planned maintenance such as oil, tyre changes and engine checks must be performed regularly. Custom alerts indicating actions to be taken can be set up using a fleet management system. The costs incurred to run these operations get levelled in the long haul of things when the fleet vehicles run for longer durations than expected with lesser breakdowns.
2. Collate Vehicle Reports For Better Insights
Apart from orchestrating regular vehicle inspections, establishing effective communication with drivers is the key to keeping the assigned vehicles healthy. If equipped with the right set of tools like access to a fleet management software, drivers can regularly conduct tasks like checking tyre pressure, oil changes and also can record information on how the fleet vehicle is performing while on the road and on the job. Driver reports generated on a regular basis can offer a lot of insights on the health of a given fleet vehicle and the vehicles can be tuned accordingly to yield the best operational performance possible.
“A fleet business shouldn’t rest on laurels of the past and always look towards the future.”
3. Use The Right Vehicle For The Intended Job
Master of all trades and jack of none is a saying that doesn’t work if you are in the fleet business. Assigning a vehicle to carry out tasks that it isn’t designed for, leads to increased wear and tear, reduced productivity and accident-prone events that may involve the vehicle and the designated operator. A fleet operator should always determine the right use for a vehicle to promote enhanced functionality.
4. Understand The Science Of Tyre Tread
Tyre condition in terms of tyre wear and tyre pressure has a huge impact on the overall driving experience and vehicle performance. Other factors that get impacted based on how the tyres are performing include vehicle handling, fuel economy and running wear and tear. Based on the terrain, weather conditions, driving styles and tyre tread, one can adjudge as to how quickly or how long tyres on a fleet vehicle will last before degrading completely. Upon involving both the driver and a fleet management system to monitor changes in tyres, a fleet business can make necessary changes to improve tyre life longevity, in turn progressing the overall efficiency of the fleet vehicles.
5. Expand Driver Education & Behavioural Coaching
The drivers should be educated about driving and maintaining the fleet vehicles efficiently which includes errands like tyre pressure monitoring, oil checks and tread wear. The drivers should also be coached against harsh driving behaviour that includes excessive cornering, harsh braking, speeding and prolonged engine idling.
6. Invest In A Fleet Management Software
Fleet management software is a cloud-based application that can help a user track and furnish all the task incentive processes that help keep a vehicle or a business fleet operational and functioning at an optimal level along with trackable and diagnosable data metrics. A fleet management software can help with functions like vehicle management, driver management and vehicle tracking in real-time.
7. Plan For The Future
A fleet business shouldn’t rest on laurels of the past and always look towards the future to determine and explore avenues through which the bottom line can get the much-needed boost.
A fleet business should always implore the possibilities of investing in newer solutions, expand reach beyond the generic norms, explore opportunities beyond the current portfolio and always be versatile to revamp. adapt and reinvent itself based on the current market and technological trends.
With Linxio, maintaining your fleet vehicles is easier through our future-ready telematics solutions that offer real-time GPS tracking, geofencing alerts and notifications, digitised logbooks and better driver communication.
