Workshop Scheduling: How to Effectively Schedule Your Fleet Maintenance

When you own a fleet of vehicles, keeping on top of their regular maintenance is essential to improve safety, reduce the chance of costly repairs, and keep your vehicles on the road for longer. Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), vans, trailers and Passenger Service Vehicles (PSVs) are all examples of fleet vehicles that require scheduled maintenance to ensure they are safe and fully operational. However, keeping on top of workshop scheduling can be difficult, especially if you have a large fleet. This is where our digital vehicle maintenance scheduling from AssetGo can help.

In this guide, we will discuss what a fleet maintenance service schedule is, how you can effectively plan fleet maintenance, and what you should include. We will also explore the different types of maintenance schedules, how you can manage your schedule successfully, and how AssetGo can help your business.

What is a Fleet Maintenance Service Schedule?

A fleet maintenance service schedule is a timetable that businesses establish to ensure their vehicles are getting the proper maintenance they need based on their age and mileage. Maintenance can include preventative maintenance (also known as periodic maintenance), MOTs, services and tyre changes. Each vehicle within a fleet will have its own needs, and regular maintenance should be scheduled accordingly.

Regular fleet maintenance and servicing can help prevent major issues from occurring further down the line, keeping vehicles on the road for longer and improving safety within the workplace and on the road. You can create a digital fleet maintenance schedule on our safe and secure CMS system.

How Do You Plan Fleet Maintenance?

There are various elements that need to be in place in order to establish effective fleet maintenance:

• A checklist: creating an easy-to-follow checklist to be performed by mechanics, especially during preventative maintenance, can ensure that all important areas of a vehicle are being inspected thoroughly. Garages and mechanics will already have systems and checklists in place for MOTs and servicing.
• Processes for drivers to submit reports: if drivers carry out daily checks of their vehicles, maintenance can be scheduled promptly to avoid issues further down the line. Having a system in place where drivers can report their daily checks for all relevant people to access can help speed up this process. Daily walkaround checks are already a legal requirement for HGVs and PSVs
• A set location where vehicles go for maintenance: this could be internally or externally, such as a reliable garage
• A record-keeping method: maintenance results that are kept on paper can become easily lost or damaged, and keeping workshop schedules and required maintenance information separate can lead to confusion. Keeping all scheduling and maintenance data in one place for everyone to access can keep lines of communication open.
• Work out service intervals: it is vitally important that businesses and fleet operators establish maintenance intervals, including periodic maintenance and MOTs, for each vehicle within their fleet.
• Consider fleet management software: when planning vehicle maintenance, it is important for everyone involved to know when and where a particular vehicle will be out of action. Utilising our fleet management system at AssetGo can keep drivers, mechanics and fleet operators in the loop concerning maintenance, including when it is taking place and any issues found during the maintenance.

What Should a Maintenance Schedule Include?

A maintenance schedule should detail what kind of maintenance is being carried out, what is being inspected, and any further action that needs to be taken. Checks that take place during regular maintenance include:

• Brakes
• Lights, such as headlights and indicators
• Oil levels
• Seatbelts
• Airbags
• Tyres
• Electrical systems

Different checks will need to be carried out depending on the vehicle; for instance, for any vehicle carrying passengers, elements such as fire extinguishers and communication aids with the driver must all be fully operative. By carrying our daily walkaround checks, drivers can inform the mechanics carrying out regular maintenance of any potential issues they have found. You can find out more about daily checks in our advice centre.

What Are the Different Types of Maintenance Schedule?

There are four main types of maintenance that can be carried out on your vehicle fleet: preventative, corrective, predetermined and condition-based (predictive).

• Preventative maintenance is scheduled periodically and helps to identify and fix any issues that could become a safety concern in the future. You can find out more about preventative maintenance in our advice centre here.
• Corrective maintenance is what preventative maintenance hopes to avoid. This type of maintenance takes place when an issue has been detected and needs fixing before the vehicle can be driven again. This cannot be scheduled like preventative maintenance, but must be pencilled in as soon as possible
• Pre-determined maintenance is based on a calendar and vehicle usage, and includes repairs such as oil and tyre changes. This type of maintenance is usually covered in your vehicle’s service, which takes place based on time or miles.
• Condition-based maintenance is determined by the condition of your vehicle, and is not necessarily put into a strict schedule. Daily checks can help monitor the condition of a vehicle, such as temperature, oil level and mechanical vibrations.

All types of maintenance, from daily checks to preventative maintenance, can be scheduled and reported via our safe and secure CMS system and app. Get in touch with us today to request a demo of our fleet maintenance software.

How Can I Successfully Manage My Maintenance Schedule?

The best way to manage your fleet maintenance schedule is to invest in a vehicle management system that has everything in one place. From creating maintenance schedules, viewing reports from such maintenance, and creating checklists so that maintenance is carried out effectively, can all be viewed via our CMS system at AssetGo.

How AssetGo Can Help

Our system and app also calculates preventative maintenance intervals in calendar format to give a simplified view of upcoming workloads, so fleet managers can see which vehicles will be out of operation in real time. To find out more, or to request a demo of our fleet management system, you can get in touch with us today.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of regular maintenance?

There are plenty of benefits of maintaining your fleet of vehicles. Like sending a car off for servicing, maintenance can help improve road safety for both the driver and other road users. It can identify issues before they become a major concern, saving you money on expensive repair costs. Regular maintenance can also decrease vehicle downtime within a business, and can increase the lifespan of your vehicles and assets.

Is regular fleet maintenance a legal requirement?

MOTs are a legal requirement for any vehicle, but regular maintenance, such as preventative maintenance inspections, are a legal requirement if you have an HGV or PSV operator licence.

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