Calculating the true cost of downtime for your vehicle fleet

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Andrew Hill • Nov 28, 2014 • Fleet management

The true impact of vehicle downtime is often underestimated by businesses, and some fleet managers may need to rethink how they deal with this issue.

Coping with fleet downtime

Accidents and breakdowns are a big source of stress for fleet managers, and it’s difficult to plan around vehicle downtime. Whether an employee suffers a crash or a punctured tyre, it can cost your company a lot of time, money and energy.

Many fleet managers start measuring fleet downtime from the moment the vehicle enters a garage workshop. However, the time that a vehicle spends off the road often starts well before that. In order to measure the costs of vehicle downtime effectively, fleet managers need to evaluate the full lifecycle of a broken-down vehicle, from the hard shoulder to the repair shop and back to work.

What counts as downtime?

Fleet News reveals that “Most transport managers claim a 99% ‘on road’ usage, when the reality is more like 75-80%”. “Businesses only count the hours and minutes a vehicle is on the ramp, in the repair shop. They actually need to consider every minute that vehicle is off the road because it has a vast impact on the cost implications.”

Just as fleet managers may be underestimating van downtime, employee downtime is another important consideration. Absenteeism due to driver injury or trauma, retrieval of insurance information from any involved third parties, reporting of accidents to the relevant authorities and scheduling of vehicle repairs can take hours away from your normal business activities. Van downtime may also mean that your drivers are unable to perform their jobs, especially in the case of small businesses with limited fleet vehicles.

Until both the van and drivers are back on the road, the cost of downtime grows both in terms of hard costs (covering maintenance fees) and soft costs (from your business missing a vehicle).

Minimising vehicle downtime

In 2014, we revealed how many fleet managers across the UK were failing at reducing fleet downtime. An FTA Van Excellence survey found that only 36% of respondents measure van downtime at all, despite research by Ford Retail revealing that many SMEs lose up to £30,000 a year as a direct result of downtime.

With such a high cost at stake, it’s essential that businesses properly monitor and address vehicle downtime, especially in the case of small businesses which often have tight operating margins at the best of times. So how can fleet expenditure be reduced, short of losing a few vehicles?

“If downtime is evaluated in a more realistic manner and vehicles are managed more effectively, [the] crucial savings fleet managers are under pressure to make, could be achieved,” Staton argues.

Daily vehicle checks and regular preventative maintenance can help to prevent against vehicle downtime, keeping breakdowns at bay. Employee education on safe driving behaviours can also lower the risk of road accidents. In addition to this, vehicle security is important, as stolen vans can mean significant fleet downtime on top of police reports and rising insurance premiums.

How we can help

It’s impossible to completely avoid the risk of van downtime, as accidents do happen! However, it is very possible to minimise risks, and have a plan in place to deal with any emergency situations.

Timely vehicle repairs and replacements can help fleets to get back on the road. Here at Enterprise Flex-E-Rent, we provide our contract van hire customers with all-inclusive vehicle maintenance and servicing, with fleet experts stationed nationwide. Replacement vehicles can also be provided if necessary, helping to get your business back on schedule.

Fleet maintenance software can also keep you on top of vehicle maintenance and compliance. Our online fleet management tool, available to all vehicle rental customers, allows fleet managers to easily check maintenance schedules, set notifications for safety inspections and MOT tests, and record incidents such as breakdowns, with remote access available via PC, tablet or smartphone.

Speak to a one of our fleet management experts today to find out more.

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