Research conducted by Mercedes-Benz Vans in conjunction with Opinium has revealed that, in the UK, the cost of having a van off the road for one day amounts to no less than £1,172.20 (approximately €1360). Of the 500 business leaders surveyed, 24% said they faced customer complaints as a result of downtime, 33% said it disrupts workflow, and 29% said it results in employees working longer hours. 41% said downtime causes stress among staff. 18% of those surveyed cited fears of losing contracts over the lack of van availability.

So, we know the problems caused by van downtime. The real question is: how can business owners and van fleet managers avoid it? Let’s discuss.

Effectively manage your fleet’s service intervals

Some vehicle downtime is unavoidable. For example, servicing and Vehicle Health Checks are part and parcel of fleet management life. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t manage them efficiently. Familiarise yourself with your vehicles’ service guidelines, so you’re mindful of the mileage and time parameters that dictate service intervals. Manually checking on this can become unwieldy, especially if you are relying on drivers to report mileage accumulation. By using automotive fleet management software such as ForWare, you will get automatic notifications as and when a service or VHC becomes due.

Also, don’t be tempted to save on downtime by pushing out a service or VHC. If anything, this is more likely to extend the vehicle’s downtime; in addition to maintenance itself being essential, services and VHCs are designed to flag and correct small problems before they become big ones.

Avoid delays in work authorisation

As anyone who has worked on a workshop service desk will tell you, delays waiting for a repair to be authorised can often cause more downtime than the repair itself. Passing notes from the workshop to the service advisor, trying to reach the decision maker, it can burn up a lot of time. Discerning fleet managers should use a system that enables instant work authorisation. ForWare’s Direct-to-Fleet Authorisation process sends fleet managers, or designated staff, instant notifications detailing the repair required, including the important details of ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how much’. This includes Video-VHC updates so you can see there and then what the issue with the vehicle is. As such, repairs can be authorised in a matter of minutes, not hours or days. You can even preset authorisations based on cost, if you so desire.

Reduce your fleet admin time

Sometimes, downtime can be extended simply by the amount of admin involved. For instance, do your staff have to input the same data into multiple systems? When you consider how many vehicles are involved, that can add up to quite a lot of time. ForWare avoids this, for it is fully interoperable with common DMS systems (such as Autoview and Keyloop). That means you need only enter the van data once.

Clarifying a van’s service history can also use up a lot of valuable admin time. This can be particularly cumbersome when it comes to processing a warranty claim. With ForWare, all of your vans’ service history can be recalled at the click of a button, even if the vehicle has been repaired in various workshops. It’s quick. It’s easy. It’s efficient.

Streamline your compliance process

As with servicing, downtime due to attending vehicle compliance inspections is an unavoidable part of fleet management life. However, as with servicing, it can be streamlined. ForWare enables you to manage all compliance documentation in one touchpoint. You can book common vehicle tests (e.g., MOT, NCT, and CVRT) and also manage any necessary follow-up repairs. It is also customisable for ancillary inspections, such as those for van tail lifts.

Once again, an example of how not all downtime can be avoided, but it can be lessened. Having an efficient van fleet management system like ForWare is critical when it comes to achieving this. For more information, or a free demonstration, call us today on 021 484 5550 or email alan@forware.io.