Proactive vehicle maintenance for maximum fleet efficiency

Proper vehicle maintenance is essential to any fleet management strategy. After all, roadworthy vehicles are the safest and most productive vehicles. Regular maintenance checks help you avoid downtime, breakdowns and costly repairs. This guide outlines how to keep your fleet running at peak performance with vehicle maintenance strategies.

The power of scheduled vehicle maintenance

Scheduling in routine maintenance tasks can save your business time and money. Regular vehicle check-ups prevent unnecessary wear and tear. They also enable you to catch issues before they become expensive problems. In other words: Scheduling in regular, preventative maintenance is a no-brainer for saving costs over the longer term.

A fleet management solution like Webfleet makes it simple to plan for and schedule regular maintenance check-ups. With the ability to set up notifications and leverage odometer readings to set defined service intervals, staying on top of maintenance couldn’t be easier.

Conducting vehicle checks

In the UK, daily vehicle inspections are mandatory by law. It’s important to develop a system for conducting vehicle checks, to ensure nothing is missed. A clear system also means your driver will have the necessary paperwork ready for roadside inspections. You could try our printable vehicle checklist, which includes all the required daily checks, from brakes and lights to tyres and seatbelts.

Enhancing driver safety through maintenance

First and foremost, regular vehicle maintenance is about road safety. The consequences of failing to maintain vehicles can be severe, from accidents to high insurance premiums. Did you know that brake failure is one of the most reported defects for HGVs? It’s also the most dangerous, especially when you consider vehicle speed and weight.

By keeping disciplined with your vehicle maintenance, your business contributes to safety for all road users. It’s worth remembering that accidents and road deaths can damage your business reputation.

Upgrade your vehicle maintenance management with Webfleet:

Get trouble code notifications: Connected vehicle technologies provide real-time visibility into vehicle performance. When diagnostic trouble codes are detected, Webfleet immediately sends an alert, so you can determine whether the vehicle is still roadworthy or needs an urgent repair.

Automate your maintenance scheduling: If a vehicle sends an advanced trouble code notification to your account, Webfleet instantly creates and schedules a maintenance task. In the case of a defect, you can quickly assess the situation and take the appropriate action.
Vehicle Check app: With our free mobile app, your drivers can do their daily vehicle inspections in no time. All they need to do is open your default or custom checklist, run through their inspection, sign off on the checklist and send it to you. Your drivers can also upload and send supporting images, so you can see firsthand whether an issue is minor or major. The app takes the stress out of roadside inspections, since every checklist is archived and accessed digitally. You’ll be notified if one of your drivers heads out without submitting the day’s checklist.

Strategic maintenance planning

The right digital tools will help you get the most out of your strategic maintenance planning. With analytics based on your own fleet vehicle data, you can make informed decisions in real time. You can also dig into your fleet’s historical data to identify any trends in safety or productivity. Your fleet data will reveal maintenance patterns, too, so that you can better predict when you may need to schedule in downtime for replacement parts.

Webfleet customers get access to our OptiDrive 360 tool, which provides insights on driving behaviour. Harsh steering or braking has an impact on vehicle safety, longevity and maintenance costs. With driver performance scores, you can easily determine whether your team could use extra training on safer and more efficient driving techniques.

Customers can also benefit from our Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, or TPMS. With our TPMS, fleets have 24/7 visibility on tyre pressure. As a result, they keep tyres at the right levels, preventing risks like undetected slow leaks.

See how Elis relies on Webfleet to cut costs and improve safety

Elis provides textile rental and laundry services across Europe, making some 5,000 deliveries to the UK service sector every day. Discover how Elis reduced its insurance costs and improved ROI by integrating a Webfleet into their fleet management strategy.

Getting started with Webfleet for vehicle maintenance

Thinking of integrating Webfleet into your fleet management strategy? Book a free consultation with one of our fleet experts, at time that works best for you.

Book a call now⁠

Be sure to bring all your questions about vehicle maintenance to the conversation, so we can give you custom advice. We’ll show you the Webfleet features that suit your business best, and we’ll share some tips for getting the most out of our fleet tools, from setting up maintenance alerts to understanding trouble codes.

See what you can achieve with Webfleet

A well-maintained fleet is a safe and productive one. By prioritising vehicle care, fleet managers can avoid costly disruptions and unplanned repairs. Ready to maximise your fleet’s safety and productivity with proactive vehicle maintenance? Do all that and more with a free trial of Webfleet: