25 May How to plan the preventive maintenance of industrial vehicles
How to plan the preventive maintenance of industrial vehicles
For any company with industrial vehicles, planning, carrying out and checking the preventive maintenance of industrial vehicles is essential. In this situation, it is advisable to have a series of questions beforehand and some afterwards, such as those shown below:
Collecting information
Make a thorough assessment of the vehicles and establish what the specific preventive maintenance needs are. This may include oil changes, brake maintenance, tyre inspections, electrical system checks and so on. All this information will help you make a realistic projection of what each vehicle needs.
The use of specialised software can help you manage this wealth of data and consult it in real time. At the end of the day, if there is one thing that maintenance helps you to do, it is to anticipate problems.
Establish a maintenance schedule
Once you identify the maintenance needs of the fleet, establish a schedule that indicates when different types of preventive maintenance should be performed. Consider frequency of use, operating conditions and manufacturer’s recommendations.
Projecting the useful life of the vehicle and the preventive needs to make it problem-free and long will be your best tool. For that reason, you should take this criterion into account when planning maintenance.
Why do we say this? Because, in preventive maintenance manoeuvres, there are perhaps some elements that may seem irrelevant, but are relevant in the long run.
Human and material resources
Preventive maintenance is, by definition, the most economical maintenance available. However, this does not mean that you do not need specific resources. First of all, qualified staff (technicians) who can do the checks. Assign clear and specific responsibilities for preventive fleet maintenance. This may include appointing a maintenance technician or a team of mechanics to do the work.
Secondly, material means necessary for diagnosing the vehicle and catching potential problems. For this reason, you should ideally use a professional specialised in these tasks.
Establish a monitoring system
It is important to keep a detailed record of all preventive maintenance tasks performed on each vehicle in the fleet. This will help to identify any recurring problems and to schedule future maintenance more efficiently.
In this regard, automation is another element that should be included in preventive maintenance planning. Thanks to the spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), it is easier to automatically check certain vehicle metrics and their actual condition; and, more importantly, more accurately.
Check the results
Finally, maintenance tasks have to deliver results. For this, it is essential that you make a subsequent check, comparing the condition of each vehicle in your databases. This way you will know if you have done your job well or you will be able to identify any incidents that have appeared.
Industrial vehicles, if they have good preventive maintenance, will last longer. And proper planning will help, in several ways, to make it less costly. At Consman we take care of this work with all the guarantees and official certifications.
By following these steps, you can establish an effective preventive maintenance plan for your industrial vehicle fleet, saving you time, money and ensuring the safety of your drivers.
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