The lack of a fleet maintenance plan can cause countless losses and affect the company's development. It is no wonder that managers are increasingly concerned about avoiding high and unnecessary costs.
Therefore, knowing how to structure planning represents the first step towards progressing operations, as you can understand the life cycle of vehicles.
More than that, prevent accidents. After all, a survey of the Federal Highway Police (PRF) revealed that mechanical failures or defects are among the main causes of traffic accidents in the country.
So, creating a fleet maintenance plan is a key step to ensuring that your drivers arrive safe and sound at the end of the journey.
On the other hand, we know that the task can be complicated for managers. Therefore, we have gathered crucial information to make this process as simple and efficient as possible.
What is a fleet maintenance plan for?
What are the benefits of a fleet maintenance plan?
What to avoid when defining a fleet maintenance plan?
How to create a fleet maintenance plan?
How to optimize your fleet maintenance plan with a management system?
What is a fleet maintenance plan for?
Maintaining a fleet of vehicles is more than a routine task, it is a crucial strategy to ensure efficient, safe operation, cost control and the preservation of company assets.
In this sense, a fleet maintenance plan plays a vital role. In the end, its main objective is to avoid mechanical failures, breakdowns and, as a result, accidents.
These situations not only pose risks to the lives of drivers, but can also negatively impact the safety of those around them. Therefore, investing in maintenance is, in fact, ensuring the company as a whole.
Furthermore, the maintenance plan provides a valuable opportunity to record all activities related to vehicles and machinery.
In this way, these records become a valuable source of data, allowing detailed analysis of fleet management conditions. Based on this information, it is possible to make informed decisions and implement continuous improvements over time.
Its importance becomes even more evident when we take into account that maintenance represents 30% of the operating cost of a fleet, as demonstrated by National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT).
Therefore, an effective maintenance plan is a safety measure and a vital strategy for maintaining the company's financial health at the same time.
🔔 Reading suggestion: Predictive, preventive and corrective maintenance: what they are, main differences and which is the best choice for your fleet management
What are the benefits of a fleet maintenance plan?
Good fleet management, which includes a comprehensive maintenance plan, is essential for any company that depends on transportation.
In addition to preventing accidents, regular maintenance also helps to avoid fines resulting from vehicles in inadequate conditions, for example.
Over time, it is natural for vehicles to wear out, influenced by driving behavior, route and frequency of inspections.
Therefore, a fleet maintenance plan considers not only corrective intervention, but also preventive maintenance, extending the useful life of vehicles and optimizing operational efficiency.
One of the crucial points is precisely the ability to detect failures before they become more serious problems.
By taking a proactive approach, the company is able to carry out precise interventions, exchanging parts or carrying out minor maintenance, which results in a significantly lower investment compared to repairing a complete breakdown.
This anticipation not only reduces costs, but also reduces vehicle downtime, as it is possible to analyze and identify which parts require replacement most frequently.
However, a fleet maintenance plan surpasses the financial and operational benefits, because it also guarantees the safety of drivers on the roads and highways.
What to avoid when defining a fleet maintenance plan?
Well, understanding the importance of a maintenance plan to optimize costs and ensure operational safety is crucial for any manager.
However, the real effectiveness of this process is often compromised by common mistakes that can be avoided. Let's explore the main ones and how to avoid unnecessary losses:
Poor fuel management
Understanding the fleet's fuel consumption is essential for carrying out preventive maintenance and avoiding excessive expenses.
This is because the absence of an adequate plan can result in a lack of critical information about vehicles that consume more than expected.
Without this knowledge, it is impossible to act proactively to correct problems and avoid waste.
🔔 Reading suggestion: Fuel card in fleet management: optimize your expense control
Use of low quality parts
Although a fleet maintenance plan allows you to purchase parts in advance, it is important to remember that saving more than necessary on components can lead to higher costs in the future.
In other words, Materials of questionable quality put the integrity of the vehicle and the driver at risk over time.
On the other hand, investing in reliable parts from the beginning can result in long-term savings and avoid headaches.
Ineffective tire management
Tire management directly impacts fuel consumption and the vehicle's useful life. After all, traveling with worn or bald tires is a big trap, which compromises the safety and efficiency of the vehicle and increases the risk of fines and accidents.
That said, A solid fleet maintenance plan should include regular checks and replacements when necessary.
How to create a fleet maintenance plan?
The efficiency of a fleet maintenance plan is directly related to its organization and execution. To ensure an effective process, it is crucial to follow a clear and logical roadmap, as represented in the following steps:
Carrying out a vehicle survey
Primeiro lugar em, Start your plan with a comprehensive survey of all fleet management vehicles.
Compile a detailed maintenance history for each, highlighting areas that require immediate attention. This provides a clear view of priorities, guiding next steps.
Setting a budget
Having the information collected in hand, Determine a budget that covers all necessary changes and maintenance.
In addition to parts and materials, include investments designed to improve fleet safety and operational efficiency, as this ensures a sustainable and comprehensive fleet maintenance plan.
Choosing the appropriate type of maintenance
Identify which of the three types of maintenance available best aligns with the specific needs of your fleet management, it could even be an alternative like sustainable maintenance. This will promote a more personalized approach, maximizing the effectiveness of the plan by preventing problems before it is too late:
- Preventive or scheduled maintenance: carries out a planned and technical intervention to check the condition of the vehicle's main items, in order to avoid accidents, mechanical failures or unforeseen events in advance.
- Corrective maintenance: occurs after the problem and generally presents a higher cost, in addition to increasing the chances of loss, as it removes the vehicle from circulation and interrupts the operational flow.
- Predictive maintenance: uses technology as an ally to prevent future problems and focuses on prevention, although its initial investment may seem higher, a management system makes it possible to monitor the fleet's performance and identify problems in advance.
Preparation of a strategic schedule
With the budget and type defined, create a schedule for carrying out your check-ups. Also establish specific dates for each activity, assigning responsibilities to each vehicle.
This organization is essential to ensure that maintenance occurs in a planned manner, minimizing impacts on day-to-day operations.
Continuous monitoring of productivity indicators
When completing each stage of the fleet maintenance plan, closely monitor productivity and performance indicators. In the same way, Structure detailed reports to analyze areas that require improvement.
Record the average task execution time to extract valuable insights and optimize future processes.
🔔 Reading suggestion: TCO and ROI: two indicators that make a difference in fleet management
How to optimize your fleet maintenance plan with a management system?
By understanding the importance of creating a fleet maintenance plan, you are on the right path to ensuring constant performance and ongoing quality of your operation.
But if you're worried about adding yet another task to your busy routine, don't worry. There are tools that can enhance the effectiveness of your planning.
Golfleet is a fleet management system that has solutions designed for managers who seek greater control over their operations, as is the case with vehicle maintenance module.
To save time, increase productivity and reduce costs, This add-on combines automatic review plans and schedules with alerts and data:
- Revision plans guided by the manufacturers of each vehicle
- Customization of plans for the entire fleet, group of vehicles or individually
- Service status by vehicle and date
- Estimates and history of corrective or preventive maintenance costs
- Definition of schedules and alerts for managers or drivers
- Detailed history with the possibility of attaching images, documents, reports and receipts
Our commitment to Golfleet is to enable the precise identification of the main aspects that require improvements, always based on data, providing efficient management and strategy for your fleet.
Make our fleet management system your partner on the journey towards operational efficiency:
