Keeping up with vehicle maintenance demands is challenging. Breakdowns happen, vehicle technology is more complex, talented technicians are in high demand and maintenance costs are rising.
Ryder - an industry leader in truck rental, fleet management and supply chain solutions for businesses of all sizes – understands fleet maintenance. It manages a fleet of nearly 232,000 commercial vehicles and achieves, on average, 95 percent uptime on its Ryder-maintained fleets.
The company’s vice president of maintenance and engineering, Bill Dawson, offers three tips to help improve uptime with a fleet.
1. Do preventive maintenance – Staying ahead of potential problems is the most effective way to keep a fleet on the road. This means making sure regular preventive maintenance (PM) is performed at intervals that make sense for your vehicles.
Technicians should also troubleshoot any issues to prevent breakdowns. Driver comfort and convenience features should also be inspected to ensure proper operation.
Schedule all PM to work with your vehicle’s delivery schedule so that you will be able to arrange for another to take its place or receive service when the vehicle is domiciled.
2. Use top quality technicians – Be confident in the technicians who perform your maintenance. They should be well-trained on how to use the latest technology to diagnose and repair vehicles, and have substantive knowledge of vehicles from all major original equipment manufacturers.
Technicians who are knowledgeable and skilled will be able to complete work in a timely manner.
4. Employ cutting-edge technology and tools – All of the diagnostic and repair tools used on your vehicles should be the most current available. This allows for precise and effective repairs, plus guarantees you have used the appropriate tools to work on today’s more complex vehicle technology.
“When you use these three practices together,” says Dawson, “you’ll find your vehicles spend more time on the road and less time in the maintenance shop.”