![Replacement costs for windscreens have increased substantially.](/content/dam/images/g/v/m/p/v/w/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gvmn6a.png/1492576212019.jpg)
There are definitely two camps in the fleet world when it comes to maintenance. They are defined by the type of vehicles they manage and the length of ownership. And while they are both trying to achieve the same objective of lower running costs, they have two completely different approaches.
The first group manage passenger and light commercial fleets. They normally outsource to a fleet management organisation that controls the costs with a repair pre-authorisation model. They keep the vehicles for up to five years, depending on the distance travelled each year, and the main expenses are servicing, tyres and brakes.
This group looks at maintenance costs at a high level when selecting vehicles using a model called "whole-of-life cost". In this model, all the costs of ownership are included over the expected life of the vehicle, which can dilute the maintenance component when it is similar across vehicles in the same category.
With no direct negotiation with suppliers on labour rates or parts costs and a short ownership period, the ability to manage or reduce the maintenance budget is limited.
The second group are those who run workshops and manage everything from passenger vehicles and lawnmowers to large garbage compactors.
Budgeting for this group can mean forecasting maintenance costs over 15 years, including complete overalls of assets, because it is cheaper to maintain than replace. They are focused on optimising life cycles and preventative maintenance to avoid downtime.
Impact of technology
Both are struggling to keep up with the pace of technology in vehicles and the impact on maintenance costs in the future.
One example is windscreens, which used to be a simple item, easily replaced. Now they form part of the overall vehicle safety cell and are used to mount the autonomous driving technology that is becoming standard in many vehicles.
Subaru's EyeSight technology uses stereo cameras mounted at the top of the windscreen, capturing "live" images of the road ahead – helping car and driver to react instantly to potentially dangerous situations. This system is sold in about half of all new vehicles.
Windscreen prices have increased with the use of technology and so have the installation costs. There is now an additional requirement to calibrate the windscreen after replacement. Twenty years ago a windscreen in a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon could be replaced for $220. Now windscreens start at $500 and the calibration cost can be up to $800.
The increase in this technology known as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has prompted O'Brien Glass, one of the largest windscreen suppliers to the fleet industry, to launch an in-house system called Cal-Tech and set up special branches to perform the calibrations.
Technology is also allowing fleets to easily implement a range of maintenance-related safety activities such as pre-trip checks and daily inspections. These are often talked about as fleet best practice, but are labour intensive to manage and enforce.
Monitoring data 'crucial'
Apps now let drivers complete the pre-trip inspections, including photos that are submitted and analysed by fleet management software for the fleet manager. Information from the inspection can highlight potential risks that would not be considered an issue by the driver and fix them before an incident.
Poor vehicle maintenance is still one of the biggest risk areas for fleet operators and Rob Wilson, director 4C Management Solutions, works with fleet managers in local government to eliminate high-risk areas with strong systems and processes.
"Effective maintenance of the fleet is critical from a WHS [work health safety] operational and compliance perspective. Accordingly, every fleet manager should be monitoring data around faults reported and repaired, scheduled servicing completed and outstanding services and repairs," says Wilson.
Andrew Railz, managing director Railz Asset Management, agrees and thinks data management is key to achieving low-cost maintenance and high vehicle utilisation.
"Large amounts of data have always been available in most fleet operations, however the ability to utilise the data to make better decisions has traditionally been plagued by a variety of issues," Railz says.
"Gaps in available data due to poor work processes, inconsistent naming and coding conventions, and the difficulty of fleet systems to integrate with other corporate software applications are some of the issues.
"However, recent advancements in technology allow fleet operators the ability to capture data in real time, enforce workflows, and easily integrate data from other software systems and external suppliers."
Showing maintenance history
Data and service records are also becoming important as fleets become more transparent when selling used vehicles. Demonstrating a maintenance history of regular servicing and no accidents is one way fleet managers can maximise prices.
Several companies are providing this data to retail buyers, but it is the missing link with regards to fleets. Buyers would have more confidence in purchasing ex-fleet vehicles if they came with a maintenance history showing that services were completed according to the manufacturer's schedule, and more importantly, what has not been done.
Servicing data can also be used to save fleets money via mobile servicing. When a vehicle is due for a service, it often means a day off the road and the co-ordination of several employees to arrange pick up and drop off.
In key office locations, fleet managers can organise a pick-up service with a local preferred provider. But this does not work with geographically diverse fleets. Mobile servicing offers convenience, but has not been fully adopted by fleets or consumers.
By combining GPS data, pre-trip inspections and field service management software, mobile servicing could be automatically booked in advance to be completed on a job while the vehicles are sitting idle.
But this would require the foresight and innovation to link many systems and suppliers, and trust in the process, the supplier and the fleet managers.
Mobile servicing and tyre fitting is a big deal in Britain. Kwik Fit is the largest with over 200 mobile tyre-fitting vans servicing fleet and retail customers. Kmart Tyre and Auto Service is a similar business in Australia and has recently launched mobile tyre-fitting.
Adam Pay, managing director at Kmart Tyre and Auto Service, said at the launch that "feedback from our customers tells us it's something they want. We have seen the success of mobile tyre-fitting in the UK and the time is right for it in Australia".
Fixed-price servicing
Fixed-price servicing from manufacturer dealerships has been used to provide transparency to consumers, but has not delivered significant savings to fleets. This is because most fleets use the maintenance pre-authorisation process, which requires a purchase order for all repairs.
During the authorisation process, fleet managers are checking the agreed labour rate, part pricing and the number of labour hours being billed. By doing this, they often achieve pricing that is better than the fixed-priced programs on offer.
Pre-authorisation also stops unnecessary extras or up-sells. On average, it can save 10 per cent to 15 per cent compared to a retail customer invoice, and makes dealership servicing comparable to using an independent repairer who charges a lower labour rate.