Managing a fleet is already a complex task, and when your fleet spans multiple locations, things can go sideways pretty quickly. A lot of the complications boil down to a lack of visibility and standardization. And, while in theory this seems like an easy fix, it can be a bit more cumbersome in practice, especially without the right tools.
Asset visibility, for instance, is about more than just knowing an asset’s location; it’s about knowing an asset’s status, health, utilization, service history, fuel consumption, cost per mile, and total cost of ownership. Even the most robust spreadsheets would have a hard time keeping track of all the data needed for complete asset visibility, and without asset visibility, standardization becomes more complicated and harder to track.
Kevin Rider, Senior Director of Fleet for United Site Services, has experienced just that. With 7,000 vehicles and 160 branches nationwide, he explained that every location had its own spreadsheets, its own inspection routines, its own language for tracking vehicles. “It was very fragmented — every branch was doing what they wanted to do. There was no visibility between branches, no visibility within regions,” he says. “We needed a system to be able to leverage all the things we need to effectively run the fleet.”
Maximize fleet visibility
Beyond just asset visibility, fleets operating across multiple locations need visibility into communication and processes. When all teams have access to the same data in real time, operations become more efficient and decisions more informed. When it comes to maintenance and repairs, both asset visibility and communication can help reduce downtime and keep drivers productive.
In-house maintenance best practices
Fleets handling all or most service tasks internally need visibility into shop processes and workloads to understand maintenance and repair volumes across all locations. “This helps ensure no shop is overloaded, while also enabling managers to track technician productivity and estimated versus true service time for improved scheduling,” explains Kevin Chan, Director of Product Marketing at Fleetio. “Tracking technician hours, work order statuses, parts usage, and turnaround time across sites also allows managers to spot inefficiencies and balance resources more effectively.”
Third-party maintenance best practices
Many fleets rely on third-party service providers, and with that can come an element of feeling not quite as in control as when servicing assets in house. When each location is free to choose vendors without oversight, it’s easy for costs and quality to fluctuate, so it’s important to keep a clear record of approved shops and track pricing consistency. Some fleet solutions even have a maintenance shop network that allows fleets to easily schedule and approve work at approved shops in real time, versus playing phone tag.
Mixed maintenance best practices
One of the most common approaches when it comes to fleet maintenance is a mixed one, tackling some services in house and farming others out. In these cases, visibility is even more critical. Digital fleet solutions can help bridge the gap between internal and external service records, allowing you to track every asset’s complete service history, no matter where the work was performed. This integration reduces duplicate data entry, ensures compliance with preventive maintenance (PM) schedules, and allows performance metrics to be compared across all service types and all locations.
Standardize and strategize
While visibility gives you deep insights about your fleet assets and overall fleet health and costs, it also gives you insights into where you can standardize practices for improvement. Again, if all locations are operating on different wavelengths, things can get a bit chaotic, so standardization across locations is essential.
Standardize PM schedules by asset type
Different assets require different maintenance schedules, but within those asset types, PM should be standardized. When all similar assets follow the same PM intervals, it’s easier to track compliance and reduce unscheduled downtime. Digital fleet solutions can automatically trigger reminders based on mileage/hour or time intervals, ensuring uniformity across all locations.
Standardize inspections
Regular inspections are important when it comes to compliance, but they also alert you to issues early. Standardizing inspection checklists ensures that every location evaluates asset types using the same criteria. This consistency helps keep the fleet audit ready while providing the added benefit of identifying recurring issues and quickly detecting patterns that could point to underlying problems. When using digital inspections in a fleet solution, failed items automatically send you an alert in real time, and you can prioritize and schedule service based on criticality, improving uptime and safety.
For United Site Services, digital inspections made a world of difference. Drivers simply scan a barcode on their vehicle, complete their pre- and post-trip inspections on a phone, and the results are visible to anyone in the company. “That information is instantly available to our team members from anywhere, any location,” explains Kathryn Kendrick, Fleet Management Information Systems Administrator.
Track consistency and performance
With both visibility and standardization in place, you can begin measuring maintenance performance in a meaningful way. Tracking metrics like PM compliance rate, average repair time, scheduled versus unscheduled service rates, and cost per asset helps you identify where improvements are needed and where best practices are already taking hold. Customizable dashboards and automated reports in digital fleet solutions make it easy to review performance by location, asset type, or service category, helping managers make data-driven decisions that improve uptime and reduce costs across the board.
“Everybody from the drivers and branch managers all the way to our executives are excited about using [our digital fleet solution].” Kendrick says. “They were seeing their actual data for the first time — realizing it’s right there at their fingertips whenever they need it. [It] allows us to streamline the maintenance process so that we can continue to focus on what matters most to us. Serving our customers.”
