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How to control maintenance

Equipment maintenance is the main activity performed by fleet managers. Any kind of vehicle or equipment needs maintenance. The way fleets approach this activity can be resumed in three main categories:

• Externalized


• Internalized


• Mix of externalized and internalized maintenance

Depending on the company policy, the most suitable type of maintenance is chosen.

Externalized maintenance

This option could be seen as the easiest one. Here, the maintenance of the fleet is handed to a 3^rd party and, based on a SLA, the partner(s) will perform the maintenance of the equipment.

The fleet manager’s task will be to monitor the KPI’s of the SLA and to be in permanent contact with the partner(s).

This option might not be the cheapest one and may come with restrictions. For, example, the equipment has to be made available for maintenance in a time when it is very important to run. The maintenance provider does not care so much about the business requests of the fleet and follows a procedure. If it is not discussed before, the provider may claim this and request compensations.

Internalized maintenance

The internalized maintenance will bring more challenges to the fleet manager. He has to organize everything from planning the equipment for maintenance to the check of invoices coming from service providers. He needs a good software and procedures to keep things under control.

For the fleet owner, this option might be the cheapest one and may offer the best flexibility. On the other hand, the budgeting of the maintenance cost may be more difficult due to unpredictable events that in the case of externalized maintenance are the provider’s responsibility.

Mix

This option is chosen by may fleet managers and may come in different types of agreements. The mixed maintenance means that the responsibility is shared by the fleet and by another partner(s).

One of the best examples is tyre maintenance. The fleet owner may have a contract with a local service supplier that will handle tyre changes and maintenance. Still, the tyre changes will be requested by the fleet manager and will not be decided by the supplier.

No matter what option do you choose, make sure it fits best to your organization and you can stay on top of things all the time. If you have full maintenance contract, don’t let it just run by itself. Check the KPI’s, check the work done and measure the indirect costs.

If you want to have full control and you choose to handle your own maintenance, drop us a line at info@proactsoftware.eu and we can assist you with a very practical software solution.

Happy fleet maintenance!