For the foreseeable future, inflation and the current economic environment will continue to drive up the cost of equipment maintenance and repairs. Caused in part by the pandemic, these 2 factors are causing fleet managers to take a hard look at their fleets this year and what it costs to operate them.
Everything costs more. Parts, tires, fuel, and roadside service are driving up the cost of maintenance and repairs.
Additionally, due to gaps and delays in the supply chain network, part shortages are becoming the new normal, especially those manufactured abroad. This in turn is prolonging repair times, sidelining equipment, or forcing fleet managers to send broken equipment down the road, risking secondary parts and components as well as fines.
There was already a shortage of skilled technicians prior to the pandemic. These past few months, labour shortages have hit all-time highs.
During the pandemic, the new normal has been for admin and management to work from home. However, as companies have started to open up, the savings of keeping the lights off has vanished.
There are so many evolving factors and moving parts to maintenance management in 2022 (pardon the pun).
Ultimately, the solution is pretty simple. Don’t panic and accept the fact that you can only control your universe. Now is the perfect time to streamline your operation, and pay closer attention to part purchases as well as the services you use in your operation to maintain your fleet.
If parts used for preventative maintenance are becoming back-ordered, consider shortening the intervals between services to allow for part delays. Better to perform scheduled maintenance earlier than later.
Retain your technicians through incentives that don’t cost money. According to countless surveys, employees don’t jump ship because of money. Get creative in this competitive labour market.
If you are in the streamlining mode, and you’re still using whiteboards, spreadsheets, books, and/or your memory to manage maintenance and driver profiles, now is the time to consider implementing a maintenance management software system. Some of the must-have features should include:
Super easy to use for novice computer users.
Cloud-based to enable work from home with ease when needed.
Comprehensive parts reporting with automatic part warranty tracking.
Flexible preventative maintenance scheduling.
Affordable and scalable for your business as it grows.
Includes software support.
And if you can get driver profile management included, bonus!
Still need help? Contact Fleet Harmony Inc.
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