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Your Essential Guide to Fleet Maintenance Software

December 30, 2022 Katie Doherty

The Ultimate Fleet Maintenance Software Guide To Help You Implement the Best Fleet Maintenance System for Your Business.

If you’re a fleet manager, chances are some of your biggest hurdles are getting all of your vehicles maintained in a timely and efficient order. Figuring out your maintenance schedule, and finding ways to cut back on fuel costs are another huge part of the job as well. We’re here to fix that.

Thankfully, there is a simple solution. Fleet maintenance software is designed to help you streamline your fleet maintenance process and better manage your maintenance team.

So here’s your full guide on what fleet maintenance software is, what it does, the benefits it provides, how to choose, and how to make the most of your maintenance solutions.

Let’s dive in.

Man inspecting a truck wheel and performing fleet maintenance

Rapid Summary

  • Fleet maintenance software is a set of tools and systems used to manage and maintain a fleet of vehicles, including logging vehicle maintenance, scheduling preventive maintenance, providing alerts and reminders, and keeping DVIRs and maintenance reports in one central location.
  • Benefits of fleet maintenance software include reducing paperwork, integrated expense tracking, alerts and reminders, predicting vehicle lifespan, improving safety, and cost savings through automated scheduling and preventive maintenance.
  • To choose the best fleet maintenance software for a business, consider factors such as the size of the fleet, the types of vehicles, budget, desired features and capabilities, and compatibility with existing systems.
  • Tips for making the most of fleet maintenance software include setting clear goals and objectives, involving key stakeholders in the decision-making process, implementing and training on the software effectively, and regularly reviewing and updating the system.




What is Fleet Maintenance Software and What Does it Do?

Man inspecting brakes - fleet vehicle maintenance

Fleet maintenance software is any set of tools and systems that help to keep your fleet running smoothly on and off the road. This software gives you real-time data that can be accessed digitally.

You can also use fleet maintenance solutions to:

  • Log vehicle maintenance
  • Schedule preventive maintenance
  • Get alerts and reminders for scheduled maintenance
  • Keep your DVIRs and maintenance reports all in one central place




What are the Benefits of Fleet Maintenance Software?

Man inspects the underside of a vehicle

Fleet maintenance software helps you cut down on time and save money. With a comprehensive fleet maintenance solution, you can take your fleet management to the next level.

1) Reducing Paperwork

One way to save time is to eliminate physical paperwork. By incorporating fleet maintenance solutions into your operations, you don’t have to worry about organizing driver logs, maintenance schedules, or driver activity in filing cabinets.

For example, Intellihub is a real-time fleet management solution that provides you with digital reports and logs to help you run a more efficient fleet. Additionally, it breaks down data by driver, vehicle, and more.

2) Integrated Expense Tracking

Maintenance software helps with expense tracking by providing a centralized platform for recording and managing all maintenance-related costs. This includes the cost of individual maintenance hours and parts.

By using maintenance software, you can easily track and analyze your maintenance expenses, identify patterns and trends, and make informed decisions about how to improve your fleet’s performance and reduce costs.

3) Alerts & Reminders

Maintenance software can also provide alerts and reminders through text or email when vehicles have an issue or are due for maintenance. This can help you stay on top of your fleet’s maintenance schedule and address any problems before they become serious issues.

By setting up these alerts, you can ensure that your vehicles are always operating at their best and avoid costly breakdowns and repairs.

4) Improved Vehicle Lifespan

One of the benefits of fleet maintenance software is the ability to keep an eye on and predict vehicle performance and lifespan through DVIRs and maintenance history logs. As a result, you can monitor vehicle health and identify when it’s time to replace your auto entirely.

Workforce management apps that provide daily DVIRs help you stay on top of factors like tire wear, brake pad wear, chassis health, fluid levels and conditions, and other aspects that impact your vehicle’s lifespan.

5) Improved Safety

Safety is a top priority for fleets. Vehicle maintenance plays a key role in ensuring a vehicle has a clean safety record. Poorly maintained vehicles can be a huge risk for your drivers.

Investing in fleet maintenance software can aid in inspections, maintenance reminders, and record-keeping to improve your fleet’s safety.

6) Cost Savings

Fleet maintenance software can help businesses reduce costs in several ways. By keeping track of your maintenance schedule and proactively addressing potential issues, you can reduce the number of repairs needed and avoid costly breakdowns.

Additionally, well-maintained vehicles are less likely to be involved in accidents, which can help reduce the cost of repairs and potential liabilities. By using fleet maintenance software to manage these tasks and expenses, you can more easily optimize your fleet’s performance and reduce costs, helping your business to operate more efficiently and effectively.

7) Minimizing Vehicle Downtime

Downtime on your vehicle can cost you money and waste time for both drivers and managers.

Here’s how fleet maintenance systems can help your team avoid these pitfalls:

  • Provide service reminders for when vehicles need maintenance
  • Custom schedules to integrate preventative maintenance
  • Electronic daily inspections save your drivers time so they can get on the road quicker




How to Choose the Right Fleet Maintenance Software for Your Company

man tightening wheel lugs - fleet maintenance

When choosing fleet maintenance software, you want to first determine the basic metrics of your fleet. Determine what your priorities are and what software will help achieve your goals.

Here are some ideas of what you need to consider when choosing your next maintenance solution:

  • Fleet size and vehicle mix: Consider both the number and type of vehicles in your fleet since these factors can impact scalability.
  • System integration: Another key factor to consider when choosing fleet management software is if it will work with your existing fleet vehicles and toolsets. If not, are you willing to upgrade to make it work?
  • Ease of installation: Do vehicles require downtime for hardware installation? Do technicians need to come out for installation?
  • Your ROI: The amount of money that fleet software saves should outweigh the total costs. Remember that true savings can take time and effort to accomplish, so be willing to put the time into the solution you choose.
  • Schedule a demo: One of the most effective ways to choose your next fleet maintenance solution is through a live demo and/or a test pilot so you can see if it works for your fleet operations.




How to Get the Most Out of Your Maintenance Software

man inspecting an engine bay

With fleet maintenance software, you can track vehicle data and make actionable developments into your fleet plan and help achieve both your short and long-term goals.

Catching Problems Early with Preventative Maintenance

Fleet maintenance software enables you to create schedules that keep track of maintenance needs across your fleet and records them into historical logs so you can always refer to them.

You can also use this feature to decide when to retire a vehicle from the fleet.

Eventually, your organization will have to replace vehicles and equipment. With an organized maintenance tool, you can make decisions on which replacements need to be prioritized.

Driver & Customer Satisfaction

At the end of the day, all fleet management software is designed to make your life easier. Fleet maintenance tools can help…

Optimizing Your Fleet Maintenance Plan

Fleet maintenance systems increase your fleet’s overall efficiency by keeping every vehicle in top shape and lengthening vehicle lifespans.

This means fewer replacement vehicles and more resources being optimized to the best of their capabilities.

Ways you can optimize your maintenance processes:

  • Create maintenance schedules based on data from your vehicles or equipment
  • Receive scheduled reminders when vehicles and assets are due for maintenance
  • Submit work requests digitally, which reduces waste and creates a digital trail of accountability




The Future of Fleet Maintenance Software

Fleet of shipping trailers

The ability to customize and optimize fleet maintenance, fuel consumption, planning, vehicle diagnostics, asset tracking, and more will continue to shape the fleet and telematics industry.

Knowing when to maintain your vehicle versus replacing it is a key challenge for many managers. No matter the size of their fleet. (Pssst. Check out our tips on vehicle replacement strategy.)

Fleet maintenance software will continue to evolve to be able to solve more and more challenges for fleet managers.

So if you’re wondering whether or not fleet management operations are going to rely more heavily on technology and software to streamline their plans, the answer is yes.

Fleet maintenance software will continue to be improved upon and integrated within fleet operations since they’re designed to increase productivity, help vehicles run smoothly, and keep clients and drivers happy.

Expect AI to help with predictive maintenance and vehicle replacements in the near future.





FAQ

Fleet maintenance is important for ensuring vehicles last as long as they should. Poor maintenance will lead to unnecessary maintenance expenses, excessive downtime, lower fleet performance, and could even lead to costly accidents, repairs, and liability suits.

One way to keep track of fleet maintenance costs is by using specialized software. This type of software typically allows you to enter information about your vehicles, such as make, model, and year, as well as maintenance tasks and their associated costs. You can also set up alerts to remind you when it’s time for routine maintenance or when a specific vehicle is due for a certain service.

By using fleet maintenance software, you can easily track and manage your fleet’s maintenance costs in one central location, helping you to stay on top of expenses and identify areas where you may be able to save money.

There are a couple of steps you can take when creating your fleet maintenance program:

  1. Build your maintenance checklist: Make sure you and your drivers know what needs to be inspected before and after each trip and its specific requirements.
  2. Consider your maintenance goals and where your fleet currently stands: Are you hoping to include more preventive maintenance? Are you trying to reduce inefficiencies? Or centralize all of your maintenance data? Next, understanding how each vehicle is doing by running its full diagnostics can help to inform you on which vehicle needs replacing, which needs repairs, and help you form an idea of what maintenance will look like for your fleet.
  3. Establish a maintenance schedule: Now, after gathering all of your data it’s time to implement it into a schedule that incorporates all of your vehicle’s needs. Which vehicles need more preventive maintenance than others? When does a vehicle need to be replaced?
  4. Invest in fleet maintenance software: Keeping your schedules, DVIRs, expense sheets, and historical logs housed in one database keeps your business organized and running smoothly. Which software is aligned with your goals and can be integrated seamlessly into your operations? Look into service providers that are based on customer satisfaction and reliability.




Saving Where it Matters with Forward Thinking

When it comes to choosing the right fleet maintenance software for your operations, it’s important to choose a provider that focuses on reliability and customer input.

At Forward Thinking Systems, we are committed to serving your fleet, no matter the size. We know how much your customers rely on your service which is why we want to serve you. Whether your goal is to cut down on fuel costs, digitize your paperwork, incorporate AI driver coaching, or GPS tracking into your fleet, we’ve got you covered.


Psssst… Want to see how our fleet management tools can help you improve maintenance, repairs, expense tracking, and more?

Grab a free demo.

Do it.

Do it now.

Right down here. ⬇️

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