As a Fleet Manager, How Do You Handle Unexpected Breakdowns?

Automotive Blog

If you are responsible for a fleet of trucks as part of your business operation, then you know that you need to maintain "up-time" as much as possible. After all, you'll be losing a lot of money for every minute that each of these vehicles is stranded by the wayside and this will go straight to your bottom line. Consequently, you may spend a lot of time and effort to ensure that your vehicles are in good mechanical condition before they set out on the road. However, a truck can still break down when it's en-route, so how do you deal with these circumstances as efficiently as possible to minimise your losses?

Handling In-House

Many business owners in your position maintain some staff on standby so that they can spring into action at the first signs of trouble. They may be specially trained in roadside repair and have a vehicle on hand that is equipped with all the likely gear, ready to tow the faulty truck back to the depot if needed. While this may give the owner some peace of mind, it may drive up costs unnecessarily and be an unnecessary burden on the balance sheet.

The Better Approach

In this situation, it is best to come to an agreement with an external service provider, who can become familiar with your trucking fleet and can also call on years of experience. In turn, they may be able to predict the type of issue that this type of truck may face and be ready to spring into action whenever they receive a call.

Better Use of Resources

With this approach, you can free up some of your human resources to work on other projects within your business and use them more productively. You can eliminate those standby costs and expensive overtime rates, whenever they receive a callout. Perhaps you can also eliminate the dedicated breakdown truck or repurpose this vehicle, so it can become a productive delivery vehicle instead.

Why This Makes Sense

Remember, your ultimate goal is to provide a first-class service as efficiently as possible, without loading costs on to your expenditure sheet. If you outsource your emergency breakdown assistance, then you will only incur costs in the event of an incident. However, if you try and provide this service yourself on a 24-hour basis, it will invariably be a great deal more expensive.

Have a word with a third party breakdown service provider instead, to set yourself up for success. For more information, contact your local emergency roadside assistance service.

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30 July 2018

Automotive Fun and Advice

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