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Ways in which fleet telematics can help you manage maintenance

BY READERS DIGEST

14th Dec 2021 Down to Business

Rising fuel prices, increasing competition, and growing customers’ expectations at all times can put a lot of pressure on fleet owners and managers.

They also have to address multiple challenges of fleet operations and ensure the highest efficiency. Despite everything, the most significant aspect of fleet management is managing vehicle maintenance costs.

It is inevitable for fleet businesses to avoid the wear and tear of their vehicles after an entire day on the road. However, fleet repairs and maintenance costs are notching up each year, occupying a bigger slice of operational expense cake. Nowadays, as vehicles can cover more miles, repairs and maintenance expenses are bound to increase.

Additionally, in case of breakdowns, it can harm drivers’ productivity and result in delayed deliveries. Such unexpected situations can add up to maintenance costs. Hence, fleet managers need a solution that can help them manage and maintain their fleets with ease. Enter Vehicle Telematics!

While the primary role of a vehicle telematics system is location tracking, it also provides essential information about each vehicle that enables fleet managers to have better visibility over their fleets. Information such as vehicle location, driver’s behavior, and fuel consumption can help fleet businesses to improve their operations.

With data on vehicles’ health, telematics is the best technology to track and analyze fleets, which can help you improve the overall maintenance plan of fleets. As fleet managers can access vehicles’ information through a single comprehensive platform, telematics can help you analyze the money spent on vehicle repairs and maintenance.

Telematics for maintenance

Even if you hire responsible drivers, well-maintained vehicles ensure safe operations. Along with drivers’ safety, fleet managers should focus on properly managing their fleet. Fleet telematics systems provide detailed vehicle health data to help fleet managers understand issues, prioritize repairs, schedule inspection, prevent downtime and enhance fleet efficiency. Further, you can get visibility on hidden or pending maintenance issues that can put drivers’ safety at risk.

Here are some ways telematics systems can improve vehicle maintenance.

Real-time vehicle data

Mobile phones have helped fleet managers to communicate with drivers conveniently. However, using mobile phones while driving is against road safety. With the help of vehicle telematics systems, you don’t need to contact the driver. The real-time vehicle information feature of telematics alerts fleet managers about any faults and enables them to take necessary steps to avoid downtime or think about a turn-around strategy. Further, they no longer have to wait for the drivers to come and tell them about vehicle issues and services.

In simple words, fleet managers are communicating with vehicles in real-time. They can use this data and pair up with fleet management systems to take appropriate before-hand decisions on vehicle maintenance.

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is the proactive approach to managing fleets’ maintenance. The traditional method of scheduling preventive maintenance is using paper and pen and manually calculating odometer readings. This method is not only time-consuming but also error-prone. Telematics solutions automatically upload odometer readings into the fleet management system that helps managers to streamline vehicle maintenance.

The life expectancy of vehicles depends on the repairs and maintenance being carried out, which should be done on time and properly. Telematics devices use vehicle diagnostics data to determine maintenance schedules and automatically notify fleet managers. Such an all-inclusive approach enables you to forestall emergency maintenance costs and delivery issues and stick to a pre-decided maintenance budget.

Monitoring driver’s behavior 

Now, you might be wondering how a driver’s behavior is related to vehicle maintenance. As a matter of fact, it is directly related. Risky and harsh driving behavior such as speeding, hard braking, or sharp turns can increase the wear and tear of a vehicle. Plus, if an accident takes place, you’ll be squandering a lot of money into repairs as well as putting the driver’s life at risk.

Fleet telematics provides real-time insights into driving behavior, drivers’ routes, their idle time, and much more. Eventually, fleet managers can use these insights to identify and reduce reckless driving behavior to improve the resilience of suspension parts, brakes, and tires.

Sensor technology

IoT connected fleets with sensors provide information on the mechanical status of fleets. Sensors gauge changes in light, pressure, temperature, sound, and motion. These insights are then transmitted to vehicle telematics systems, which fleet managers can use to immediately address vehicle issues. Such cutting-edge sensors transmit data in real-time while the vehicles are still running on the road. Fleet managers get alerts on a range of mechanical issues, and they can access all the information through a single interface and dashboard.

Conclusion

Fundamentally, fleet telematics systems can ensure a big difference in the overall maintenance operations of a fleet business. They also provide configurable fleet reports that make it easy for the fleet managers to analyze data, save their time of manual data entry, and ensure the best decisions around fleet efficiency.

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