Preventive care and maintenance are mission-critical to keep your commercial fleet up and running. You lose valuable time and money whenever a driver suffers a breakdown and increases your liability for damaged goods and road danger.
While you may already have a maintenance checklist for your team to review every morning before they head out, always look for ways to update and improve this process. As vehicle technology changes, so will care requirements to maximize the life of your fleet. Read on to review critical areas of managing your commercial vehicles effectively.
Fleet Inspection Roles
It doesn’t matter how clearly you have a maintenance schedule outlined if you don’t enforce it consistently. Creating a fleet inspection role in your organization can centralize this aspect of your business. Imagine how much easier it will be to keep things maintained! If you don’t have someone qualified enough for this position, consider working with a third-party maintenance provider instead.
Vehicle and Driver Reporting
Keeping your fleet in good working order is a job that never ends and requires much more than simply inspecting things once a morning. Please work with your drivers to communicate with you about any potential problems that arise during their day. They spend the most time with your trucks and assist in checking oil levels and tire pressure.
If you have drivers to prepare for upcoming CDL training, you can take advantage of this training period to educate them about the importance of vehicle and driver reporting. This way, they are aware of their responsibility in keeping your fleet in good condition and can alert you promptly when something needs attention.
You can also automate this process by installing software that gauges these metrics automatically throughout the day. In addition, many service providers have an automated reporting feature that you can log in to and download performance details. Then, have drivers enter data into the application and work with them to create a daily care routine for their vehicles.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Believe it or not, your commercial auto insurance should be a regularly reviewed aspect of your vehicle care. Why? Because if something goes wrong, like an accident, breakdown, or other covered events, you want to be sure your policy will absorb the cost instead of your bottom line.
Some critical perils that commercial insurers will protect your company against include:
- Injuries
- Property damage
- Personal injury
- Collision coverage
- Comprehensive coverage
- Underinsured motorists
- Rental reimbursement
- Towing and labor reimbursement
Most importantly, any auto coverage you purchase for your fleet should meet the unique needs of your business and not a one-size-fits-all policy. Many insurers can even bundle several insurance options into a single package, which saves on premiums while providing comprehensive protection. So, don’t let the cost of commercial auto insurance get in the way of protecting your most important assets.
Look After Your Tires
The vehicles you rely on to transport products or passengers are under immense amounts of pressure–tire pressure. So if you want to improve handling and fuel economy while minimizing wear and tear overall, you need to ensure your wheels are always in top condition. This also means checking the treads for defects, uneven wear, or damage.
Factors that often impact the integrity of your tires include:
- Weather
- Road surface
- Vehicle condition
- Driving habits
Drivers need to conduct regular checks while making long-distance trips, not just during the morning checklist review. Create a regular inspection schedule they can perform at the end of their breaks so they don’t find themselves stranded with a flat.
Cleanliness is Key
Your fleet’s care and maintenance involve more than just engine mechanics, tire pressure, and working brakes. It would be best if you kept the vehicle’s exterior clean and in good repair, which means regularly washing and repairing any noticeable body damage.
This maintenance aspect is so urgent because your team can quickly catch new rust development. Corrosion can cause early degeneration of not just the paint job but compromise necessary seals and protection against the elements. If your drivers travel across the country, then the underbelly of your trucks needs to be regularly cleaned and sealed against corrosive elements like salt and other anti-ice treatments.
Essential steps to add to your maintenance checklist that protects vehicle exteriors include:
- Keep window and door seals free of debris and excess moisture. This will prevent premature deterioration that leads to leaks.
- Prevent pooling water in exposed areas of your fleet so avoid additional corrosion.
- Regularly wash your vehicles if drivers travel through areas that experience heavy snow and ice.
- Don’t forget to clean the underside of your vehicles, including their frames and chassis.
Keep Your Vehicle’s Power Systems Maintained
A battery is easy to treat as one-and-done when going over your fleet maintenance schedule. However, this is a costly mistake. Many conditions can affect this important mechanism, including weather, accidents, and manufacturer defects.
As a rule of thumb, please don’t wait until vehicle batteries die to replace them but instead plan to do this every three years. Ultimately, scheduled replacement costs are much more cost-efficient than waiting until your car breaks down.
Care for Your Brakes
One of the most dangerous situations your fleet can experience is a brake failure. The repercussions of an out-of-control vehicle pose a threat to your drivers and the public. The brake system on your commercial vehicles must be inspected every few months. The cost of this maintenance is far cheaper than the potentially millions in damages a judge might order in an accident case.
The Takeaway
Maintaining the integrity of your fleet is likely already a top priority for your company. Still, it’s essential to regularly find ways to improve and create a consistent process to approach these duties. This will ensure that you aren’t losing money on preventable accident situations and repairs.
