7 Benefits of Moving to Digital Maintenance Tracking for Fleets

When it comes to managing a fleet, you have a number of things to juggle—maintenance schedules, compliance paperwork, driver availability, and much more—while still trying to stay within timelines and budgets.

However, lots of businesses still run everything off of whiteboards, spreadsheets, or paper logs. However, that too tends to hold their teams back.

Digital tracking is not only the first step of getting your fleet smarter but also the very foundation of a comprehensive fleet management system. It's not about flashy tech.

You get to simplify things for your team, reduce risks, and gain more control over your operations. For that reason, an increasing number of fleet managers are investing in fleet maintenance software to stay on track with things. Here are the seven key benefits of switching to a digital system to track maintenance for fleets.

Centralized Vehicle and Equipment History

Having a digital record keeps a complete history of repairs, inspections, mileage, and parts that have been replaced. Which meant you could literally run full-service records for pretty much any car in a matter of seconds!

Nobody’s going to be flipping through binders, and nobody’s going to be on the phone with the last mechanic who touched it. This allows you to see trends, figure out where problems are commonplace, and make data-informed decisions. And this honesty helps in extending the lifespan of assets without sudden failures.

Prevents Costly Breakdowns With Scheduled PMs

A missed oil change or brake inspection might not seem like much of a concern—that is, until it grounds a truck for several days. Fleet management software enables you to schedule preventive maintenance based on mileage, engine hours, or time intervals.

Work orders that are automatically created can remind your team when deadlines are about to fly by! However, preventive maintenance is not just a safer approach but a cost-effective one in the long run.

Hassle-Free Compliance Tracking

Fleet compliance may entail a number of factors, from DOT inspections and emission checks to brake tests and more, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Digital tracking can help monitor every inspection, checklist, and signature all in one place, and auditing will be easier too, with reports generated faster and nothing slipping through the cracks.

It also helps you instantly demonstrate compliance. No more looking for fillable forms whenever regulators knock on your door!

Quicker Repairs Through Effective Communication

If you are trying to resolve an issue reported by road drivers, speed is the key factor, but when those messages get lost somewhere and don’t reach the concerned person, it is never resolved. Fleet maintenance software enables drivers and mechanics to instantly communicate with each other and with the fleet manager as well.

It allows users to log issues straight from their phones and subsequently also sends alerts containing pictures and car information directly to the techs. Consequently, it allows managers to create work orders right away for field techs. This kind of clarity helps to keep your fleet and your team on the same page.

Streamlining Parts and Faster Inventory

Maybe a part isn't available, resulting in a service delay, or worse still, spending money on unnecessary parts as no one knew they had already been ordered; these are just some of the mundane yet very common problems that fleet managers deal with.

Fleet management tools today give a real-time picture of parts inventory. Fleet managers know exactly what is available, where it is, and when to reorder. No more guessing. No more waste.

Reduced Paperwork and Admin Duties

Automatic logs are slow and require a lot of time writing, gathering, and analyzing spreadsheets. In addition, every manual step introduces an additional chance for errors. Digitalization of maintenance processes can be an effective way to simplify all of this.

Its unique solution gives users a way to complete work orders, inspections, and driver reports via mobile. Say goodbye to paperwork and double entries; automatically accurate and ready-to-review records are available at your fingertips.

This allows your team to spend time where it counts—wrench time, as opposed to desk time.

Data-Driven Insights to Improve Decision-Making

Which vehicles are the most expensive to maintain? What is the usual time it can take to carry out the repair work? Fun fact—are you suffering from outsourced maintenance leakage?

Thanks to digital maintenance software for report & dashboard generation, these answers are literally just a few clicks away. You can easily see trends, prices, and performance, and you can create better strategies going forward.

The bigger the fleet grows, the more valuable those insights will become.

Final Thoughts

Using legacy maintenance tracking tools might feel easy, but ultimately, they can slow your team down, become a liability for you and your company, and cost you money.

But that and other benefits of fleet maintenance software come with some visibility, some accountability, and dare we say it—something like peace of mind.