Every manager knows that good record-keeping plays an important role in operations.
Record keeping can be the determining factor between the company winning or losing an expensive lawsuit. Losing any kind of documentation is detrimental, especially in the trucking and construction industry. Vehicles are expensive assets with liability. Maintaining those assets can be difficult but is made much easier with asset maintenance software.
Pain Points Associated with Asset Maintenance
Managing a fleet is not an easy task. Managers are responsible for various vehicles and assets that all need to be maintained and compliant with DOT regulations. Not to mention, managers must be ready for any liability that is thrown their way.
Vehicle Breakdowns
When a vehicle has a defect, reactive maintenance can add up in costs. Managers are responsible for making sure that assets are inspected by drivers and maintained. Vehicle breakdowns can lead to downtime that not only minimizes the utilization of the asset but prolongs projects, disappointing the customer.
Asset maintenance software aids management by holding drivers accountable for conducting DVIRs. The inspection is documented in real-time in a customized form made for the company. Inspections detect issues before drivers hit the road, increasing overall safety. Asset maintenance software also schedules preventative maintenance and creates efficient work orders. Maximizing vehicle uptime with asset maintenance software saves costs, preventing expensive breakdowns and vehicle downtime.
Paperwork
Managing assets encompasses a wide range of factors that all lead to more paperwork. Filing cabinets and boxes easily overflow with documents. Storing those documents is a headache but finding those documents quickly becomes a full-on migraine. Between insurance, compliance, and lawsuits those documents are essential. Misplacing a document can be a costly mistake, for example, forfeiting a lawsuit that simply could have been resolved with a DVIR. Lost paperwork can also lead to compliance issues and fines. All misplaced documents cost the company in some way.
Asset maintenance software digitizes documents and DVIRs in real-time. Alleviating the migraine of scavenging through filing cabinets or boxes. When a document is needed for insurance, compliance, or liability, managers can rest assured that they can access the documents.
Compliance
DOT compliance is not a subject for managers to take lightly. Compliance is the top priority in asset management because compliance is the backbone of safety. Meeting compliance will also protect assets. Providing compliance records, on the other hand, can be quite challenging. Especially when filing cabinets are overflowing. Accountability is another challenge in ensuring compliance. When those documents are unorganized, it is difficult for managers to provide proof of whether or not DVIRs were conducted.
Asset maintenance software holds drivers accountable for inspections. If an inspection was not completed, management will know. Digital DVIR and precise record-keeping provide managerial data to ensure compliance is being met.
Asset Maintenance Software Features
Asset maintenance software has a wide range of features that aid in compliance, reporting, inspections, and maintenance.
- Fleet Manager Dashboard
- Operation and maintenance reporting
- Trending analysis
- DOT audit
- Monthly maintenance reporting
- Inspection app for drivers
- Photo capture
- Mileage and hour tracking
- Cloud storage
- Roadside document access
- Digital record retention
- DVIR
- Basic compliance
- Mechanic sign off
- Work orders
Return on Investment (ROI)
The profitability of asset maintenance software is important to understand before making the purchase. ROI also plays an important role in determining what software to buy. Start off by figuring out costly pain points and if the software is the solution to those problems. For example, if a company is struggling to schedule preventative maintenance, does the asset maintenance save in downtime costs? Lone Star is an example of a company that boosts ROI with its asset maintenance software.
Lone Star
As a company that holds itself to high standards, Lone Star turned to asset maintenance software to meet its compliance demands and digitally store paperwork. After the transition, Lone Star maximized its ROI with Whip Around.
How Lone Star Maximized ROI
Vehicle downtime at Lone Star can cost a shocking $12,000 per day. As anyone can see, vehicle breakdowns are a big deal. Lone Star conducts rigorous DVIRs to prevent the consequences of downtime. As learned, DVIRs pack the filing cabinets full of scattered paperwork. When the paperwork is flooding the office, documents become hard to find causing an abundance of issues. Lone Star was suffering penalties and fines due to the inability to provide compliance records.
Lone Star maximizes ROI with Whip Around by avoiding downtime, penalties, and lawsuits. Organization within the company was a major issue before asset maintenance software. After investing in Whip Around, Lone Star was able to conduct DVIRs with real-time documentation.
When a driver got into an accident from distracted driving, LoneStar was able to prove that the accident did not occur due to faulty vehicles. That is just one lawsuit, which is inevitable in the industry. Digital records make obtaining vital information, that saves money, simple. When a liability occurs, asset maintenance software has management back.
Customized Documents
Lone Star was able to utilize asset maintenance software for more than just the initial purchase. Originally, Lone Star planned on using Whip Around mainly for digitizing DVIRs and maintenance. However, the customized documents became very useful for training. Part of ROI is being about maximizing productivity with an investment. The way Lone Star used the customized documents as a training tool maximized their ROI and increased efficiency.
In conclusion, asset maintenance software is an expenditure with a high ROI. The costs and liability associated with misplaced documents along with the investment. Downtime is another costly factor that is solved with asset maintenance software. To increase productivity, and efficiency, and save on cost invest in asset maintenance software.
