There’s no greater goal for fleet managers than maximizing uptime. A well-oiled fleet boosts profits, enhances customer satisfaction, and reduces costs.

Downtime, on the other hand, is the biggest enemy of productivity — resulting in estimated losses of anywhere between $480 and $720 per vehicle, per day. 

To see success in this cutthroat environment, industry leaders must invest in technology and software that streamlines maintenance schedules and keeps assets in shape. 

Understanding fleet maintenance scheduling

Fleet maintenance schedules are usually assessed based on a vehicle’s mileage, engine hours, or fuel usage. This information lets managers decide the best times to send a vehicle in for service and helps determine what tasks should be carried out.

Moreover, a comprehensive maintenance schedule — that tracks the lifecycle of an asset from procurement to retirement — allows fleet operators to prepare more accurate budgets, allocate staff, and account for downtime. 

In recent years, fleet managers have adopted several technologies to help streamline this process. This digitalization has enabled:  

• Access to rich information from telematics systems, which, in turn, allows for data-driven decision-making
• Real-time fleet monitoring that offers insights into a vehicle’s health, location, and performance
• The automation of time-consuming manual processes, such as documenting compliance records or creating work orders
• Access to a platform that stores and visualizes historical data, past invoices, and vehicle specifications to optimize future scheduling

With the right management tools, fleet operators can better determine when it’s time to clean, inspect, test, or repair various vehicle components more accurately.

Techniques to improve scheduling and uptime

Here are some actionable steps and strategies that logistics companies can employ to improve their fleet management scheduling processes.

1. Leverage data from fleet telematics systems

Fleet telematics systems are a rich source of quality data.

These sensors can be integrated with vehicle repair software to unlock many benefits. Various sensors offer managers enhanced visibility of all vehicles in a fleet — including their engine health, fuel efficiency, driver behavior, mileage, and the time spent on the road. The software reads the data and helps guide maintenance schedules.

Fleet managers who learn how to use this data to its full potential ensure the longevity of their vehicles and maximize uptime. Consider these examples: 

• Telematics systems allow managers to set automated service reminders based on odometer readings instead of relying on their drivers to manually log in mileage consistently and accurately. 
• Managers can leverage the vast network of sensors in the modern vehicle to enhance the diagnostics process. Data collected can be accessed through the onboard diagnostics system. With advanced OBD II scanners, managers can find issues that need immediate attention and take corrective action.
• Telematics systems help drivers plan better routes, as well as allow managers to monitor driver behavior. This reduces the risk of accidents, places less strain on crucial components, and curtails reckless driving.

With this enhanced visibility, managers can not only ensure vehicles are maintained on time, they can also prevent over-maintenance —or when a vehicle is serviced for a problem that doesn’t need solving. This has a direct impact on costs. 

Furthermore, fleet telematics information collected can be crucial when managers need to claim parts under the manufacturer’s warranty.

2. Implementing preventive (& predictive) maintenance practices

Even in 2024, many fleet managers still rely on corrective maintenance practices — fixing issues only once they’ve turned into bigger or more expensive problems. Instead, managers can get much further with a little foresight. 

Preventive maintenance helps avoid unexpected failures, ensure the longevity of a fleet, and maximize fleet uptime. Some best practices involve: 

• Following manufacturer-recommended guidelines on maintenance intervals.
• Conducting routine inspections to look out for signs of wear and tear. This could include measuring various fluid, temperature, and pressure levels.
• Using advanced diagnostic tools to find and fix issues proactively.
• Leveraging vehicle repair software to set automated inspection reminders and make decisions based on data.

Even as preventive maintenance becomes an integral part of fleet management globally, predictive maintenance has stepped in to take these benefits further.

Through the use of cutting-edge tools, advanced data processing algorithms, and cloud-based software, managers can predict issues long before they arise.

For example, a digital twin in the automotive industry is used to track and visualize the status of various physical assets in real-time, and notify fleet managers when it’s time to replace a part, or if any component is at risk of failing.

Deloitte finds that implementing predictive maintenance practices results in a 10-20% increase in uptime, up to 10% reduction in costs, and 20-50% less planning time.

And those statistics were from 2017 — seven years ago. As technology advances further, there’s no telling the true potential of predictive maintenance in the years to come.

3. Choosing the right software 

At the core of every optimized maintenance schedule is fleet management software. These highly scalable cloud-based tools come with a host of features that help managers reduce costs, maintain uptime, and enhance productivity. When shopping for fleet management software, it’s crucial that fleet operators look out for a tool that can: 

• Generate mobile work orders 
• Monitor assets remotely
• Track service history 
• Enable predictive maintenance practices
• Expedite repairs 
• Automate service reminders 
• Offer detailed and visual reports

Essentially, management software isn’t just a guide to help predict potential failures and malfunctions; it is a powerful tool that automates many manual and time-consuming processes and takes human error out of the equation.

With that said, it’s still crucial for operators to invest in their human capital.

One of the most significant benefits of using a cloud-based service is that it allows the entire team to access critical real-time status updates, live locations, and inventory levels. The software also generates rich reports, which must be monitored to craft better schedules.

By offering comprehensive training and skill development programs, industry leaders can ensure their team members are equipped with the knowledge to make the most of this powerful tool, diagnose issues quicker, and get a leg up on the competition.

More uptime, more profit 

In this increasingly interconnected world, fleet managers who don’t take the leap of faith and invest in digitizing their maintenance practices risk being left behind.

These techniques, tools, and technologies don’t just enhance the quality of fleet management systems and optimize scheduling; they are also more cost-effective in the long run, considering how much they improve fleet uptime and enhance bottom lines.

In the future, the increased penetration of artificial intelligence technologies, machine learning algorithms, and 5G connectivity will improve the collection and processing of data, allowing logistics companies to soar to even newer heights.

Graham Perry

Graham Perry writes on business technology innovation, specializing in logistics supply chain optimization. With expertise in fleet management and transportation technology, his articles empower businesses to navigate the dynamic world of logistics with peace of mind.