GPS tracking and mobile monitoring for preventive fleet maintenance

Being a fleet manager often means encountering fleet maintenance challenges. You know what a headache it can be to get an alert message that suddenly one of the vehicles has broken. These challenges are very common in everyday work, which makes it important to talk about today. As you already know, there are two types of vehicle maintenance: the mobile one and the preventive one. Moreover, we will take a look at GPS tracking’s role as crucial for making data-driven decisions.

First, let’s discuss what it is. Break down on the road isn’t always predictable, so you can imagine mobile fleet maintenance as having a repair workshop come to your vehicle’s rescue right where it stands on the road. In other words, it is a mobile service unit with tools, parts, and certified technicians who will take care of vehicle maintenance and repairs on the spot. It’s definitely an indispensable helping hand for you, as fleet manager, if the breakdown is minor and you need a quick repair now and here. Mobile maintenance service trims the downtime of vehicles and makes overall operations run more smoothly.

Preventive fleet maintenance, on the other hand, is much like scheduling regular health checkups to catch any potential issues before they transform into expensive problems. As a fleet manager, your job is to plan regular inspections, servicing, and repairs, which are like a backbone to make all deliveries on time and make both the company and clients happy.

Now you see that these two types of maintenance share one common objective: minimize downtime and maximize vehicle life and efficiency of the fleet. Preparing for combining both maintenance methods is crucial to have your mind concentrated and more clear on your other tasks to go with the flow. While every coin has two sides, and so do mobile and preventive maintenance. We are sure that you would want to know both the pluses and minuses to pay attention to when using one or another method.

These are the main advantages of mobile fleet maintenance service:

1. Flexibility. As we mentioned earlier, the technicians with all tools and parts will arrive at your location wherever you are and whenever you need them. It’s a 24/7 service.
2. Reduced downtime. Sometimes, we can’t predict vehicle breakdowns, but swift repairs for sure mean less time off the road.
3. Cost-effective. You can dodge those hefty towing charges and save yourself from expensive emergency fixes.
4. Less operational disruption. Whether your vehicle is on the road or at the company’s garage, there is minimal disruption to the operations.
5. Enhanced safety. When you are getting a technician to repair your fleet on the road, he may track another issue, which may become expensive if it is not repaired in time. Accordingly, you can make additional visits to the repair workshop.

And, of course, the negative points of service you might want to consider:

1. Limited services. There still may be some complex repairs that will need a traditional garage.
2. Weather dependent. Fixing things outdoors? Well, it’s pretty much dancing to the tune of the weather.
3. Equipment limitations. Mobile service units can only carry a limited amount of tools and parts, which means you can’t be sure that mechanics will fix a bigger issue.
4. Geographical factor. Sometimes, driving and having problems in rural areas can be painful as services may not be provided in this zone. When you are planning routes, you should avoid these kinds of areas.

Looking forward to preventive maintenance, which is planned checkups, we can identify these pluses:

1. Reduced breakdowns. Catch those sneaky little issues before they grow up to be big problems.
2. Longer life for your ride. Just like a spa day keeps us feeling young, regular servicing can add years to your vehicle’s life.
3. Saved money. Fixing small issues earlier can prevent spending a lot of cash on big repairs later.
4. Safety always comes first. Keep your drivers and cargo safe on the road, making sure all its safety features are working like a charm.
5. Fuel efficient. Regular servicing keeps your vehicle running smoothly, so it won’t guzzle as much gas. More miles, less fuel – that’s a win!
6. More time to plan. While mobile maintenance requires more of your nerve cells to react fast and get help on the road right now and here, regular planning vehicle checkups are less in a hurry and calmer.

However, there are some minuses of preventive maintenance to keep in mind:

1. Upfront costs. Yes, regular vehicle maintenance needs some upfront spending, but you should think of it as planting seeds that will grow into big savings down the road.
2. Scheduling challenges. Having a big vehicle park and organizing maintenance for a whole of them can seem a bit like solving a puzzle.
3. Surprise hiccups. Even when you solve the puzzle right with regular checkups, sometimes vehicles can still throw a surprise party with unexpected issues.
4. Overdoing maintenance. You don’t want to overdo it, but you also don’t want to underdo it. Finding that balance is a crucial key to avoiding unnecessary costs and time spent.

Stats from 2023, it is seen that preventive maintenance costs were significantly lower than reactive maintenance, and the use of software, which puts more weight off your shoulders on planning and tracking regular maintenance, has increased by 14% in the last year. Now, knowing how preventive and mobile maintenance work, you can more clearly combine both of them to serve in your everyday job.

Furthermore, there is one thing that will definitely come in handy in applying both these services – it’s GPS tracking. Did you know that there’s been an 8.5% jump from last year in organizations embracing this tech? Additionally, a whopping 64% of fleet managers are navigating their days with these nifty GPS solutions. How does it come in handy? Simply tracking your fleet location in real-time and sending the location to mobile maintenance service technicians is faster and easier. Using a GPS tracking system with an OBD II socket, you will be able to track your vehicle’s health parameters like RPM, throttle position, load value, coolant temperature, fuel rate, emission control systems, and the voltage level of the vehicle’s battery. Despite this information may not be a full inspection of the vehicle, but it can provide the situation analysis, which may point out what could have happened and where to start looking if the issue is unseen easily.

And here you have it – mix in some mobile and preventive maintenance with GPS tracking magic, sprinkle with some clear decisions driven by data, and voilà! You’ve got a fleet that stays happily humming along on the road.