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How to Enhance Regular Maintenance Service Needs (Without Increasing Costs)
The challenge of tracking multiple maintenance schedules for vehicles within a fleet can
become overwhelming. While it may be easier to put all your vehicles on the same schedule,
over-servicing equipment could cost your company up to twenty-five thousand dollars per asset.
And under-servicing your vehicles could render your warranties null and void—as well as
take your vehicles off the job. With OnlineAVL2, fleet managers can set up
and track appropriate maintenance schedules, and locate which vehicles are due for service.
By doing this, you will not only extend the life of your vehicles, but also improve fuel
consumption, decrease downtime and reduce the need to replace your vehicles—all while
staying on schedule. Let's explore the Navman Wireless maintenance
components. To begin, users log onto the Navman Wireless
Online AVL2 by entering their username and password, then click on the icon that displays
their vehicles' maintenance schedules. A list will appear that includes vehicles' names,
maintenance types, status and description. A red symbol indicates a vehicle is overdue
for service and needs immediate attention. A yellow symbol warns that a vehicle will
be due for maintenance soon, and green indicates that no service is needed. Vehicles can be
organized by maintenance status—in this example, vehicles that are overdue for service
are indicated first. Descriptions near the symbols provide more information about that
vehicle's state of maintenance, such as due and overdue information in dates and distance
amounts, as well as the next logical steps to take.
Reports provide much more detail to users. Fleet managers can run reports by vehicle,
driver or asset. In this example, we'll generate a maintenance
status report. Select the vehicles and maintenance types and then click "Create Report" to
generate the report itself. The report will display exactly which kinds of services are
required, such as oil changes, tire rotations and more. Recurring maintenance categories
detail when services are due, and users can elect to receive warning emails when maintenance
is due. In addition, the color-coded status symbols and detailed descriptions make planning
for maintenance even easier. Let's go a step further and set up an email
alert that allows users to keep tabs on individual vehicles. In this case, we'll set up an
alert for unauthorized use; meaning that the vehicle may be speeding, is outside of its
area, is being operated outside of work, or is being used in an unauthorized manner in
some other way. To view a report on this vehicle, simply click
on the vehicle named in the email alert. Everything indicated in red means that the vehicle was
engaged in unauthorized use, which affects the specific maintenance types that this vehicle
will need. For another example of how reports can provide
important maintenance information, we'll return to the reports tab and generate a peak
speed report. Simply input parameters such as vehicle names, dates and speed limit criteria,
and then create the report. The report can pinpoint exactly when infractions occurred
and where. In this example, the highest peak speed of this vehicle reached 83 miles per
hour between 4:38 and 4:42 a.m. In addition, five other instances occurred where the vehicle
exceeded the established speed criteria for the date range selected.
In addition, users can run reports by driver to pinpoint individual actions that may be
contributing to maintenance needs. In this example, we'll generate an engine
management system (or EMS) period report. Input vehicle and report period parameters,
and click "Create" to generate the report. The report will display a comprehensive snapshot
of the selected vehicle's speeds, utilization, engine and brake use, fuel consumption and
exceptions for the specified trip period—including instances of speeding, over RPM and heavy
braking. Oil pressure and water temperatures are noted as well.
By knowing exactly which vehicles are due for service and when, you can easily set a
maintenance schedule that maximizes the life of your vehicles—and your profits.
In fact, one fleet used maintenance reports to show which trucks are due for maintenance
and routine inspection. With this added insight, repair costs alone have dropped from sixty-two
thousand dollars annually to thirty-eight thousand, while drivers are more productive
than ever. Additionally, robust reporting has helped
another company put a stop to excessive speeding and idling, as well as route trucks more efficiently.
Overall, fuel and maintenance costs have dropped by more than ten percent.