What are the best fleet performance metrics for reducing vehicle downtime?

Asset utilisation Monitoring your fleet assets which will help increase your ROI and maximize their lifespan. Proper assets utilisation level vary, but finding your fleet sweet spot can help you avoid costly expenses or unplanned downtime.

Reducing vehicle downtime is crucial for fleet management, and the choice of performance metrics can greatly influence the ability to achieve this goal. Some of the best fleet performance metrics for reducing vehicle downtime include: Preventive Maintenance Compliance Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). A higher MTBF indicates better reliability and less downtime. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): Reducing MTTR helps minimize downtime. Predictive Maintenance Alerts Driver Behavior Fuel Efficiency Real-time Vehicle Tracking Telematics and IoT Data Route Optimization Vehicle Age and Lifecycle

Avoiding downtime by means of preventative maintenance is an obvious one. However, daily utilization is impacted by many more factors. Legal driving time limits, driving restrictions on (regional) public holidays, time slots for (unloading), availability of suitable next loads, drivers' rotation, cost trade-offs between empty mileage and not driving at all, customers' opening hours, flawless order information and transport paperwork. Intelligent planning (or planners) has to continuously optimize these factors to achieve the highest utilization. This is a much more complex environment than what is commonly believed.

Several fleet performance metrics can help in achieving this goal. Here is the best fleet performance metrics for reducing vehicle downtime: 1-Preventive Maintenance Compliance. 2-Scheduled vs. Unscheduled Maintenance. 3-Vehicle Inspection Compliance. 4-Root Cause Analysis 5-Out-of-Service Tracking 6-Fuel Efficiency 7-Driver Behavior and Training 4-Root Cause Analysis

The best fleet performance metrics for reducing vehicle downtime include: Preventive Maintenance Compliance: Ensure that vehicles are regularly serviced and inspected to prevent breakdowns. Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): Measure the average time a vehicle operates without a breakdown. Mean Time to Repair (MTTR): Track how quickly repairs are completed to minimize downtime. Vehicle Utilization: Optimize vehicle use and scheduling to reduce idle time. Predictive Maintenance Alerts: IOT etc Driver Behavior Analysis: Spare Parts Availability: Ensure quick access to necessary replacement parts. Fuel Efficiency: Telematics Data: Warranty Claim Analysis: Maximize warranty coverage and minimize repair costs.

These are some KPIs to control the vehicle downtime and optimize the performance. Maintenance Compliance: Timely scheduled upkeep. Vehicle Health: Real-time condition checks. Predictive Maintenance: Forecast component failures. MTBF: Measure vehicle reliability. MTTR: Minimize repair time. Fast Assistance: Quick breakdown response. Utilization: Optimize vehicle use. Safe Driving: Promote driver safety. Fuel Efficiency: Boost gas mileage. Parts Inventory: Maintain spares. Issue Analysis: Identify and prevent problems. Asset Tracking: Monitor location. Driver Training: Improve driver skills. Fleet Software: Implement efficient software. Use these concise metrics to streamline your fleet management and minimize downtime.

Few good ways to ensure proper maintenance of the vehicle: 1. Create a point wise checklist for periodic check of the vehicle (for example - 13/31 - 13 point check can be done post every trip of the vehicle and 31 point check can be done every 25 days of revenue run 2. Ensure that the reported faults are categorized (critical/major/minor) and are addressed timely. Use of a digital solution in this shall help to a greater extent.

Absolutely, periodic reviews of a vehicle maintenance tracker can significantly contribute to preventing vehicle downtime by ensuring timely repairs and inspections. Additionally, scheduling training sessions and sensitizing drivers can equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively maintain the vehicles, thereby keeping the assets operational and minimizing any potential disruptions.

I agree however maintenance ratio alone may not cut it. Maintenance costs could be influenced by a number of factors including driving habits. Poor driving habits may increase maintenance bill

Ensure a data of dead-run of the vehicle - which is the run of vehicle for servicing, time taken for servicing, frequency of servicing demand, cause of servicing requirement. 1. Proper check of the vehicle following the protocols (13/31 point check) 2. Addressing the reported issues 3. Ensuring adequate inventory of the spares 4. Regular training of the Drivers 5. Ensuring proper DVIR at every trip

A Vehicle may arrive at 6 am but may have to wait till 9 am till labour is made available to offload, similarly certain section of road especially in the city are one way during day or do not allow trucks during daytime – all these affect downtimes so a Supervisor should cover the first loading and discharging operation, understand everything and then plan the route and schedule as per the needs of the client...

Driver training is a must every 6 months. Also driver education on operations of the vehicle he is operating. Using the features of the vehicle correctly and at the right time.

Some of the methods to address downtime duration is: 1. Analyze the breakdown history of the vehicles 2. Keep adequate spare parts at hand to address critical issues which stops the revenue run 3. Adhere to the maintenance and regular audit 4. Install a system for getting update on preventive check where you are informed on the issue that should be addressed

Most important parameter is here is to: 1. Ensure DVIR (Driver Vehicle Inspection Report) every time the vehicle is put on revenue run 2. Make sure for 13/31 point check and adhere to its schedule 3. Address the reported issues 4. Maintain adequate inventory of spares 5. Maintain an alternative solution to address critical impacts - a kind of disaster recovery method

Regular & Preventive Maintenance Practices- by doing regular and preventive maintenance you will be able to identify and rectify vehicle mechanical/ electrical faults before they happen thereby reducing vehicle downtime.

Most important measure to reduce vehicle downtime in my experience is to build drivers capacity. Being the first person to experience / cause any problems with the vehicle, the driver plays a pivotal role. Good drivers will save cost / optimize vehicle efficiency more than all other measures combined.

In my experience,the highest contributor to vehicle downtime has always been an external metric not related directly to the vehicle itself. Truck turnaround delays/wait times caused by loading/offloading inefficiencies and poor dock scheduling are much bigger issues that consistently drags down asset utilisation.

Corrective maintenance and preventative maintenance -check miles of distance between each breakdown - follow manufacturer tips to ensure warranties

One thing I also find helpful is ensuring that your drivers are not just train but let them have a sense of belonging in the vehicle maintenance and ensure that they are well treated. In terms of their salary, allowances and medical.