Fleet downtime can cause a significant loss in business. Delay in Deliveries, customer becomes frustrated. Moreover, you nor your drivers can make a move until the fleet vehicle gets repaired. It’s easy to see that a better approach would be to avoid fleet downtime. How?
Top 5 Ways To Avoid Fleet Downtime
1. Take Preventive Measures
You can best evade fleet downtime situations by having regular maintenance and service of your automotive vehicles. Some of the things covered in this regular maintenance are:
- Oil change
- Fuel efficiency enhancement
- Clean air filter
- Rotate tires
- Address inappropriately inflated tires
- And more
These preventive measures will save your investment in your automotive fleet services and keep your vehicle on roads.
2. Be a Regular Customer of a Repair Shop
Yes, you may grab a discount on vehicle maintenance and on site fleet services by going to the lowest priced shop each time you need service, but the real benefit of being a regular customer is a bit different than short term savings. When you use services from a single repair store, your mechanic gets to know your vehicle well, so they can inform you about the required repairs in advance to avoid fleet downtime. Also, your repair shop will make you a priority and you can get quick automotive fleet services, if a breakdown does occur.
3. Schedule Off Hours Repairs
Depending upon the timing of shifts, you should schedule routine repair appointments. For example, if your trucks work during the day time you can schedule repair and maintenance during the night and vice versa. This will reduce downtime even for routine maintenance. Of course, if it is a breakdown or issue that needs to be addressed immediately you do not need to wait for off hours. However, if it is about the routine PM of the vehicle or some casual repairs, then off hours would be the best time to get the job done.
4. Take the Words of your Drivers Seriously
If you are the one who drives the vehicle or you have a driver, take the words of your drivers seriously to evade fleet downtime. Drivers are the first to notice the issues, which can be small enough to get ignored, but these issues should be attended to as soon as possible to avoid a major breakdown by extending risks. Not getting a repair on time can result in a longer time needed to repair your vehicle even if you are using the best on site fleet services.
5. Do Not Wait Till Downtime
Often, drivers or managers do not take some faults seriously. This can result in definitive fleet downtime at critical times for your vehicle to be on the road. You can wait for on site fleet services, but taking regular repair and maintenance services will be much better in the long run. Don’t wait for the breakdown, routine maintenance will keep your vehicle on the road when you need it!
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