Maintaining a functioning working fleet of trucks is key to the success of any business that relies on transportation. Whether for a plumber, electrician, a roofing company or a water distribution company, keeping the vehicles maintained, running well and safe are key aspects of the business. Making sure preventive maintenance takes place with the business’s fleet of vehicles is key to keeping its workers on the road servicing customers. Here are three key areas business leaders must always consider when it comes to maintenance for their company’s fleet of vehicles.
Understand the business fleet’s history. Businesses need to research, develop, document and implement the suggested maintenance schedule from each vehicle’s manufacturer. If the business owns Ford vans, it should check with Ford about scheduled maintenance times for all issues for those vehicles, such as fluid replacement, brake checks, spark plug replacement, etc. The same goes with any other manufacturer. This information should then be combined with historical data of service and repairs — especially any repetitive repairs that may arise. While this may be extensive in the initial phase, the offset of reduced costly repairs will provide more efficient working hours for employees to cut down on the time it takes for them to get the job done instead of fixing any issues with their vehicles.
Create a documentation system. After compiling and documenting the suggested schedules for repairs, the business must create a formal documentation trail. This will include the history and projected timing for each vehicle service, whether written or electronic, that must be formally established. Any system without a formal trail of repair documentation, plus someone responsible and accountable for the system signing off on the issue, will fail. The person responsible will vary from company to company but it is crucial that one accountable person within the business takes on the position to do this job. This will ensure the success of any maintenance system repairs for the fleet of vehicles within the company.
Train employees. The final and perhaps the most crucial cog in the maintenance system is training. It is especially critical to focus on those personnel who maintain and/or operate the equipment. This area of prevention will pay off in both short-term and long-term rewards keeping the business’s equipment functioning at their peak ability.
Routine maintenance is by far the least expensive and most cost-efficient method to keep vital and expensive fleets of trucks, vans and other vehicles on the road. No revenue occurs when a business has costly repairs requiring down time for both its equipment and employees.
Sara VanFleet is the owner of DB-Trucks in Glendale, Arizona, a custom truck specialist business with expertise in the construction and repair of commercial trucks such as water trucks, box trucks and fire tenders.
