Fleet maintenance is the practice of maintaining an organization’s fleet of commercial vehicles more proactively rather than simply repairing issues as they occur. The end goal of this program is to enhance effectiveness and maintain the safety of all vehicles as they carry out commercial tasks like deliveries.
For a transportation business, the truck fleet is its heart and soul, which is why it’s essential to keep them up and running at all times. Unfortunately, not many organizations find the necessity to partner with commercial box truck dealers to handle fleet maintenance. The thing is, organizations without proper authority in charge of fleet maintenance management face a high risk of loss of revenue due to the negative impact on time and productivity.
Ensuring that your fleet vehicles are all in tip-top running condition is crucial to your business. It’s the process that can separate a successful business from a failing one. Read on to learn more about the four benefits that your fleet can enjoy with the implementation of a proper fleet maintenance program from a truck dealer Oklahoma city locals rely on:
1. Improved Uptime
For any business that relies heavily on transportation, uptime is everything simply because trucks that aren’t on the road aren’t making any money. Unexpected breakdowns always carry heavy financial consequences. A severe issue could sideline a truck for days, sometimes even weeks.
What’s even worse is if a truck doesn’t make it back, breaking down instead on a remote highway, where the nearest tow truck could be miles away. Your truck could get stuck on the side of the road for hours. As a result, deadlines are missed, deliveries delayed, and perishable goods are likely to go bad, which then leads to poor customer satisfaction, ultimately counting as a loss in your revenue.
An effective fleet maintenance program can help your business avoid these problems with regular preventive maintenance and check-ups conducted by highly qualified technicians. Having this process in place in your organization enables you to reduce the likelihood of any untoward breakdown.
2. Better Fleet Safety
Safety should be at the forefront for any business, especially those in the trucking and transportation industry. Organizations that belong in this sector need to ensure that their truck drivers, pedestrians, and other drivers are safe when one of their trucks hits the road.
Without proper fleet maintenance, many problems such as tire or brake issues could be overlooked. And more often, these types of oversights lead to accidents. In a study that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducted, they found that brake problems resulted in 27% of all accidents that involve a truck and a passenger vehicle.
Having an ongoing fleet maintenance program means that your vehicles are inspected regularly, history is tracked, and all minor issues are dealt with right away before they could turn into more severe problems and cause accidents on the road.
3. Lower Fleet Maintenance And Repair Costs
Without fleet maintenance, this is the typical scenario: a truck shows no sign of any problem whatsoever until it hits the road, and the engine dies in the middle of nowhere. The company then has no choice but to spend good money on repairs and parts replacement and suffer the effects of having fewer trucks to operate.
Some might find it counterintuitive to spend money on maintenance to lower maintenance costs. But think about it this way. Which one is more expensive? Changing oil regularly or replacing a worn-out piston? The same logic applies to many other routine maintenance procedures. The main point of this practice is to fix things before they can turn into costly damages, which is why preventative maintenance will always be better than reactive maintenance.
Letting one of Oklahoma City’s best commercial box truck dealers handle your fleet’s maintenance management program ensures that every truck you own is running as efficiently as possible. Minor tweaks and repairs can go a long way in truck performance and fuel economy, which will ultimately lead to substantial cost savings for your company.
4. Improved Driver Satisfaction
Frustrated drivers often lead to high employee turnover. And what could be more frustrating than being stuck in a broken-down rig, by the roadside, in the middle of nowhere? And that’s not the end of it. Drivers are the ones who often take the heat when they fail to make deliveries on time. Moreover, they can’t get home on time. Instead of being with their friends and family, they get stranded for hours.
Fleet maintenance management helps keep trucks from breaking down on the road, ensuring that your drivers don’t get stuck in a frustrating situation. Imagine pouring all the effort, time, and resources to hire the right person for the job and training them to represent your company or brand well, only to see them walk out because of poorly maintained trucks.
Don’t lose good drivers because of poor fleet maintenance. Keep your fleet in top operating condition at all times, so your drivers will never have to suffer from unforeseen truck breakdowns.
Conclusion
Any company that owns a fleet of commercial vehicles handling different tasks needs fleet maintenance management. Going by the benefits listed above, there’s more for you to gain when you invest in fleet maintenance management services.
For one, you minimize costs, gain the peace of mind that your drivers are safe, your trucks intact, and your income generation undisrupted, giving you more time to focus on big-picture aspects of your business.
One final tip, make sure to find a truck dealer Oklahoma City residents trust and stay with them. Suppose you have a 50 truck fleet or more. In that case, this will be highly advantageous for your business because when you have a shop that doesn’t only provide diagnostics and repair but also keeps track of all the history of your trucks’ issues, maintenance will be more efficient and take less time to execute.
It’s just like going to your family doctor, who’s already familiar with your medical history and knows what to prescribe you every time you come for a visit. Commercial vehicles, especially those that run daily, need that same consistency.
Want to take advantage of the benefits a maintenance management program can bring to your work truck fleet? Contact Truck-N-Trailer today at 405-912-5800 or send us an email at info@truck-n-trailer.com.
