The key to effective fleet management

For commercial transport, the main efficiency criteria are cost of ownership and uninterrupted operation. Most owners “save” and run vehicles until they completely break down. Such cars don’t arrive at the service themselves — they’re towed in.

The cost of false economy

A poor control culture is common: not all drivers watch the basics (oil and coolant levels, engine temperature). The water pump seized, the temperature rose, they didn’t stop in time — overhaul. They heard a noise in the rear axle, decided to make it back — and the axle shaft flew out. The cause is one: no routine control of vehicle condition.

Such “economy” leads to big overspending and long downtime. You could have replaced the pump or belt — instead you pay for an overhaul. If the car is rare, you also wait for parts from another country. And downtime with no spare vehicles means broken commitments, lost income and paying for third-party delivery.

What works: a routine

It takes little: set a routine for drivers to check the car and for the shop to perform scheduled maintenance — and enforce it. Preventive service takes half an hour when the car isn’t busy, while a major repair takes 3 to 14 days (and up to two months with a rare part). The role of routine inspections is catastrophically underrated.

Calculate cost per kilometre

It’s important to know the cost of owning a particular vehicle. The key metric is the average cost per kilometre: divide the money spent on upkeep over a period by the kilometres driven. Analytics across vehicles will show which are most profitable and which to get rid of urgently.

You can keep records by hand or in an FMS — with GPS tracking and sensors (fuel added/drained, distance, driving style). This data answers questions you hadn’t considered: why fuel overconsumption, how the car was driven, who is responsible for a failure. Conscious fleet management significantly cuts costs and increases net profit.