Having worked in the transport and logistics industry sector for the past 20 years, and auditing thousands of small, medium and large transport operators across Australia, I can say with confidence those transport operators who choose to take a systematic and preventative approach to Fleet Maintenance Management outperform and win more business than those who choose to stick with reactive type maintenance regimes.
Specifically, the more proactive transport operators who choose to invest in formalising their Fleet Maintenance Management programs can demonstrate significant cost savings. One of our key clients with a large fleet (50+) was able to achieve up to 40% cost savings through: implementing a more coordinated approach to the servicing regime. This resulted in fewer breakdowns, a reduction in major faults, less time spent on adhoc and fewer costly minor repairs.
These savings do not include the financial advantages (opportunity cost savings : Est $3500 per combination per annum). These can be further achieved by being accredited to a recognised industry standard like NHVAS Maintenance Management in NSW and QLD jurisdictions.
These all add up to, “More time on road, turning the wheels and earning a buck.”
According to the NHVR’s Maintenance Management Accreditation Guide dated January 2013:
“Maintenance Management Accreditation encourages heavy vehicle operators to take more responsibility for maintaining their vehicles correctly and ensuring that they are always in good mechanical condition. It helps you to manage your business more efficiently, partly because you will have clear procedures to ensure that your vehicles are correctly maintained and partly because the risk of penalty for faulty vehicles or equipment will be reduced.Better maintenance means fewer breakdowns and broken delivery deadlines. It will also lead to improved road safety.”
Source Material: Maintenance Management Accreditation Guide, January 2013
The Benefits To Operators Who Become Accredited Can Include:
- Productivity and efficiency improvements
- Correct maintenance of your vehicles at all times with consequent savings
- Increased vehicle life
- Reduced rejection of your vehicle(s) by customers because of perceived poor maintenance
- Better driver confidence
- Reduced impact of enforcement
Top 3 Tips To Demonstrate Compliance To Fleet Maintenance Management Standards:
1. Know that your vehicles are maintained in good mechanical condition at all times and that faults are noted, diagnosed and fixed whenever they arise. You need to keep accurate records of your maintenance program so that you can prove that your vehicles are properly maintained at all times.
2. Decide how you are going to prove your vehicles’ maintenance condition. For example, you could use the service record book in each vehicle signed by the service dealer, or your own workshop records combined with dated stickers of last service/inspection details attached to the vehicles’ windscreens.
3. Write down the system you intend to use and explain how it works. This will be your Maintenance Management System. To stay accredited, you need to have documents that prove your methods work and your vehicles are properly maintained with any faults observed, recorded and repaired as necessary. In part, this means keeping your records of vehicle servicing and repairs. You must also be able to prove that you always follow your written procedures.
If you are an accredited operator, the performance standards have been developed to ensure that each operator in the scheme has properly maintained vehicles. Your Maintenance Management System must comply with the standards.
As an accredited operator you will be audited periodically by an independent auditor to make sure that you are continuing to meet the standards of the scheme. If your audit is successful, your accreditation will be renewed. Alternatively, you may be asked to improve your system in some way before your accreditation is renewed.
Remember, accreditation does not exempt you from the law. You can be audited at any time and your vehicles are subject to on-road checks to make sure you conform to the performance standards.
According to the NHVR’s office, having a formalised Maintenance Management Accreditation in place will ensure you receive preferential treatment from enforcement agencies. You will be required to undergo fewer on-road checks and when you do encounter a random check your vehicle will be dealt with as quickly as possible. The Maintenance Management Accreditation stickers on your vehicles will identify them to inspectors.
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