Understanding Predictive as part of Smart Maintenance

Traditionally, fleet maintenance meant scheduled vehicle downtime or reacting as vehicles wore down. There was no way to know the condition of each vehicle in a fleet in real time. In today’s connected world, we now have the tools and data necessary to predict when a vehicle will need maintenance, minimize downtime and lower the overall impact maintenance has on fleets.

Predictive maintenance uses advanced analytics, machine learning, and sensor technologies to foresee when equipment or vehicles are likely to fail. By analyzing historical data, monitoring real-time performance and identifying patterns, fleet managers receive a prioritized list of vehicles that require more immediate maintenance to address issues before they escalate to expensive, disruptive breakdowns.

Smart maintenance incorporates this predictive approach with preventative maintenance schedules and remote diagnostics to provide fleet managers with relevant and actionable insights. It’s a holistic approach to fleet maintenance that couples with existing workflows to automate vehicle maintenance through powerful data efficiency.

Benefits of Predictive Smart Maintenance Today

The word “predictive” often refers to tomorrow’s problems. In the world of fleet management, putting off implementing a smart maintenance solution because of the need to deal with today’s issues can lead to never looking forward.

With the right smart maintenance software, fleet managers will not only support future events but present-day events as well. Predictive maintenance features enhance efficiency and streamline the workflow of fleet managers. These tools operate seamlessly in the background, freeing fleet managers to concentrate more on high-priority tasks. Let’s dig into a few of those benefits.

Cost Savings

Traditional maintenance approaches can lead to unnecessary and costly replacements or repairs. Smart maintenance helps fleet managers optimize their budgets by focusing on specific components that genuinely require attention, minimizing unnecessary expenses.

Without replacing existing preventative maintenance schedules, smart maintenance takes the guesswork out of a preventative repair. It provides technicians with vehicle health reports on each asset so they can solve the critical upcoming problems all at once, avoiding repeat visits or disruption to the operations.

Resource Allocation

The biggest headache for any fleet manager is resource pressure. Between 2022 and 2026, over 600,000 technicians will be needed in the US to fill resource shortages. Companies are seeing a high turnover due to the competitive market for highly-trained technicians and in turn, are having to rely more on entry-level technicians who naturally may take more time to repair certain events.

Predictive maintenance allows fleet managers to plan out the repairs for each technician more thoughtfully, ensuring the vehicle is getting diagnosed effectively. For example, if a vehicle report indicates little to no critical repairs, the vehicle could be assigned to an entry-level technician, allowing for quicker repair while freeing up the time of senior technicians for more advanced issues.

Parts Availability

As the continued parts shortage affects the length of downtime for each repair, fleet managers can no longer expect to have certain parts available when a PM is scheduled. Advanced planning is required to know which specialized or OEM parts are available through their supply channel or it could result in a delay in repair.

Extended Equipment Lifespan

The average age of vehicles on the road is increasing as fleet managers are forced to keep assets longer due to budget constraints or unavailable replacements. Addressing potential issues before they escalate through predictive maintenance not only reduces downtime, but also extends the lifespan of vehicles and equipment. Fleet managers can maximize the value of their assets and delay the need for replacements.

Confident Decision Making

From driver or team management to hiring to shop visits and expansions, fleet managers have much more to take care of in their day than sifting through vast amounts of data. Predictive maintenance frees up significant time, ensuring that no critical or major issue is missed.

Choosing your Predictive Maintenance Tool Today

In the world of fleet management, a predictive maintenance strategy goes beyond predicting future events; it is a powerful tool that empowers fleet managers to navigate the present with efficiency and foresight. By minimizing downtime, reducing costs, and improving safety in the short term, and providing valuable insights for strategic planning in the long term, predictive maintenance has become an indispensable asset in the arsenal of modern fleet management.

Fusing Geotab’s industry-leading telematics solutions with a predictive maintenance solution like Pitstop gives fleet managers a wealth of information transformed into actionable forecasts that preempt issues, identify trends, automate and optimize operations. This alliance allows for proactive decisions that enhance fleet longevity, reduce downtime, and drive fleet maintenance ROI by at least 500%.