How Fleet Maintenance Software Improves Trucking

Many variables are involved in the use and maintenance of large fleets of vehicles including data regarding fleet use, servicing, and parts and equipment needed to carry out that servicing. Because so much information is involved in optimally maintaining a fleet, an effective fleet maintenance program, bolstered by fleet maintenance software, is mandatory.  To achieve superior fleet management practices, it is important to understand how fleet maintenance software improves trucking.

Below are a few of the advantages to using fleet maintenance software in your company:

  • To track maintenance needs and overall fleet condition – Vehicle maintenance can be overlooked amidst all the other everyday tasks required to keep a fleet profitable. However, with fleet maintenance software, keeping track of maintenance needs and vehicle condition becomes much easier. Fleet maintenance software also conveniently keeps track of the different characteristics of each vehicle in your fleet.
  • To maintain a high CSA score – In 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implemented a program to measure compliance, safety, and accountability at trucking and bus companies. Such companies are now given a CSA score, and keeping this CSA score high is important not only to avoid corrective government intervention, but also to establish a good reputation among potential clients. Fleet maintenance software easily tracks compliance with the factors involved in the CSA score computation.
  • To maintain profit – Fleet maintenance software lets you know what you have in terms of inventory, parts, and supplies. Unfortunately, more often than one would think, fleet assets are overlooked, which cuts back on profits and efficiency. With fleet maintenance software, you are constantly aware of what your inventory includes, so you manage your fleet to its full potential.
  • To reduce costs – One example of how fleet maintenance software improves trucking is cost reduction. This software allows a manager to pinpoint and address high-cost areas that are detracting from a company’s bottom line. Fleet maintenance software allows you not only to track, but also to thoroughly analyze data that affect your fleet and diminish its potential. Companies that implement fleet maintenance software are able to pinpoint their most significant issues quickly and easily.
  • To increase efficiency – Maximizing efficiency is key to improving the bottom line in any business. With fleet maintenance software, identifying those tasks that account for most of your labor costs and determining if a certain task is taking too long are possible. For example, if mechanics servicing your fleet vehicles require two hours longer than recommended to rebuild a transmission, the fleet maintenance software will identify this so you can address the issue appropriately.

Those who manage a fleet of vehicles but have not yet taken advantage of the many benefits fleet maintenance software offers are likely to experience both lost time and lost money. Once it is understood how fleet maintenance software improves trucking, an appropriate fleet maintenance program can be implemented in accordance with the unique needs and makeup of a truck fleet.

A push towards outsourced fleet maintenance is likely to happen as departments devoted to fleet maintenance become increasingly independent and their efficiency increases with their autonomy. The sooner a firm takes advantage of the improvement fleet maintenance software brings to trucking and gives fleet maintenance adequate attention, the sooner advantages such as those mentioned above are enjoyed.

While the benefits listed above are some of the major advantages of fleet maintenance software, this list is by no means comprehensive. Have you recently implemented a fleet maintenance program in your fleet? What are some additional benefits that it has brought to your firm?

About The Author

Robert J. Hall is president of Track Your Truck, a leading provider of GPS vehicle tracking software and systems for small and mid sized companies.