Your fleet of cars, trucks or any other work-related vehicles is a considerable asset to your organisation, so it’s important that they are cared for effectively.
However, the more vehicles of different types you run, the harder it can become to independently keep up with their maintenance and paperwork.
This can become a real source of stress when added to the day to day pressures of business. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.
The importance of vehicle fleet management in these cases is clear.
It’s likely that someone will already have recommended fleet maintenance or management to you if you own a company that relies to some degree on the running of two or more vehicles in order to operate.
So what are the advantages of fleet maintenance and management, and why might you decide to choose this option?
In this piece, the automotive specialists at Dronsfields will first of all answer the questions “what is the purpose of fleet management?” and “what is the benefit of using a fleet management system?”, then explore this service further to help you decide whether this option is right for your purposes.
What is Fleet Maintenance?
The tasks involved in fleet maintenance and the time they take can vary depending on the types of vehicles involved and the complexity of any maintenance issues that they may have, but in most cases, it will include:
- – Brake inspections and testing
- – Oil changes
- – Tyre pressure, tread checks, realignments and changes
- – Fluid checks and top ups
- – Engine diagnostics
- – Interior and exterior cleaning and bodywork repairs
- – Electrical work and tachograph repairs
What Is The Benefit of Using a Fleet Management System?
The precise benefits of fleet management will depend on your service provider. They often include a range of functions such as financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics & driver management to name but a few.
However, the general advantages of fleet maintenance and management are more clear. Arranging a system whereby your vehicles can be regularly checked will vastly improve the safety of the vehicles you run – meaning that the employees who drive them will be safer too.
One of the major benefits of fleet management systems is that your company will be able to more easily keep a record of all maintenance that has been undertaken on each vehicle and arrange for it to be accessible to all relevant members of staff. This will come in particularly handy when your vehicles are due for an inspection, or if you decide to sell one.
You can also automatically track your vehicles’ individual mileage, fuel consumption and engine hours. This will help you to work out when your vehicles are due to be serviced.
A further benefit of fleet maintenance that is closely managed is that you only need to retain one set of paperwork for your whole fleet, and you can arrange for all of your vehicles to be serviced at the same time to save stress and reduce your workload.
How can Fleet Maintenance Reduce Overall Repair Costs?
Organising preventative maintenance at regular intervals means that your company will save money by fixing problems the moment they arise, rather than allowing them to develop into major issues that may prove very expensive to fix, or may even write off a vehicle.
It’s possible to save money in smaller increments through effective fleet management too. If the engines of any of your vehicles are poorly maintained, for example, that vehicle may consume up to 50% more fuel than if it were functioning properly. If their tyre pressure is insufficient, that may also result in a reduction in mileage of up to 10%.
The importance of vehicle fleet management and maintenance cannot be understated. Angela Dronsfield of Dronsfields says “One thing I would recommend above anything else is ensuring that your company’s fleet is regularly maintained and serviced.
You want to make sure that the vehicles that your employees are driving are safe for the roads. Fleet servicing will also save you time as a fleet manager than getting vehicles individually maintained as and when you believe you think they need it.
As a company, your employees’ health and well-being should be one of your top priorities, and therefore ensuring the vehicles they drive on the road are well maintained is fundamental.”
The benefits of fleet management go on and on. In general, the method allows companies to remove or minimise risk associated with investment, improve efficiency & productivity; reduce their overall transportation and staff costs and comply with government legislation.
It’s clear that there are many benefits of fleet maintenance and management that can be harnessed by business owners. See here for further information on Dronsfields’ fleet management services.