Many companies still use the same mechanical workshop management tools as when they started, and today, they find it challenging to manage their maintenance operations effectively. Fortunately, technology has come a long way to help mechanical shop managers optimize their business. But how do you know when to invest in software technology to support your daily mechanical maintenance processes?
As a Mechanical Shop Manager, you need, among other things, help in overseeing and directing all maintenance processes and operations, identifying opportunities for improving efficiency and profitability, and interpreting and analyzing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) reports on mechanical equipment. Here are 11 revealing signs that you need a fleet maintenance software!
1. Your Work Tools Are Frequently Subject to Human Error
Do you constantly find inconsistencies or columns deleted by your mechanics in your maintenance documents? Human error is inevitable when you rely on manual data entry tools like Excel or paper files.
Good fleet maintenance management software dramatically reduces the risk of errors by prioritizing mass data entry and providing a framework that specific users cannot modify. Indeed, the more the tool is structured and less conducive to interpretation, the less risk users have of making careless errors.
2. You Have No Way to Control Access to Certain Sensitive Information
You would like to give access to Excel spreadsheets to specific employees, but information that does not concern them is there. It is frustrating to have to create countless versions of documents for each employee, depending on their level of access to secure information. In addition to getting confused, you must spend much time setting up and controlling permissions to avoid private data leaks like other employees’ hourly wages.
With turnkey fleet maintenance software like MIR-RT, you can configure employee profiles with personalized access to information in a few clicks and at any time.
3. You Pay Employees to Work Twice
Some members of your team spend their days processing data to ensure synchronization between several disconnected tools? Manual data entry into accounting records is commonplace, with paper or Excel documents as maintenance tools. Your accounting managers represent a much more added value if they validate the transactions recorded automatically rather than spending 80% of their time entering them into the system.
With workshop management software, there are many possibilities for accounting integrations to link your accounting records with your maintenance operations and thus settle this issue once and for all.
4. Your Reports Are Sparse and Difficult to Produce
Do you need to produce a complete report on the mechanical maintenance carried out on your fleet’s vehicles and heavy equipment from date X to date Y? In a spreadsheet and even less with paper documents, you get minimal options for producing reports, and each must be programmed manually according to the analysis needs.
With vehicle maintenance software, you can rely on pre-configured reports for your day-to-day needs and develop custom reports from scratch to quickly provide useful information.
5. You Keep Forgetting to Take Advantage of Available Warranties
Do you find that the maintenance costs of your units are constantly increasing? An excellent way to achieve significant savings and reduce expenses is to ensure more rigorous follow-up on warranties and claims. Did you know that thanks to the automation of warranties and tight monitoring of “cores,” the manager of an average fleet of 200 trucks can expect to recover approximately $180,000 in warranties annually?
With such annual savings, the return on investment of purchasing warranty management software is considerable! Do not risk letting slip these warranties by using paper or Excel documents.
6. Your Trucks and Heavy Equipment Spend More Time in the Garage Than on the Road / in the Field
Do you find specific units are constantly in the mechanical workshop for recurring problems? Poor maintenance contributes to increased vehicle downtime, which means lost revenue and reduced productivity.
Fleet maintenance software significantly reduces unnecessary downtime by simplifying preventive maintenance programs and allowing the foreman to see the history of repairs performed on each unit at a glance. This will enable you to complete the proper repair at the right time and increase the life of your vehicle fleet.
7. You Have Difficulty Keeping Track of Parts Inventory
You thought you had four copies of a part in stock only to realize that there were none left when you had to carry out a major repair? Due to human error, managing inventories from paper files and Excel spreadsheets takes time and effort. Nevertheless, fleet inventory management is an essential part of maintenance management in a company.
An excellent fleet maintenance software like MIR-RT has a module exclusively designed to help ensure inventory control. In addition, this module is connected with the other software functionalities, making it possible to automate inventory fluctuations when a part is used in a work order.
8. The Repair History of Your Units is Hidden at the Bottom of a Drawer
Do you spend more time looking through your filing cabinets for a document detailing the history of maintenance performed on your heavy vehicles and equipment than you repair? This is a sign that your system for classifying the repairs and maintenance carried out is faulty.
Nowadays, consulting a complete maintenance history sheet for each unit should take you a few clicks and be connected to all your workstations simultaneously. It is possible to do this easily thanks to workshop management software adapted to your needs, such as MIR-RT.
9. You Must Manually Check the Odometers/Engine Hours of Each of Your Vehicles/Equipment
Do you have no way to access crucial information like the odometers of your units in real time? Integrating your maintenance tools with telematics tools is vital to keeping your fleet connected and secure. However, it is complicated, if not impossible, to do this when using Excel or paper documents.
With robust and proven heavy equipment maintenance software, you can monitor vehicle diagnostics, track location data, and receive alerts when something goes wrong. DataDis has developed integrations with the most prominent players in the telematics industry to allow you to operate your maintenance in the best possible way.
10. Your Most Frequent Communication Channel is the “Post-it Note on the Corner of the Desk”
Do you notify the mechanics of defects detected during inspections and circle checks, but the information is lost before you get to the mechanical workshop? It is urgent to find a solution to resolve your communication issue and avoid oversights that could result in breakage, fines or even health risks for your drivers.
An efficient communication chain is also essential to rationalize the maintenance operations of your vehicles and heavy equipment. Using workshop management software automates transmitting important messages across your organization. Indeed, with MIR-RT, when a defect is declared by your driver with the MIRNote application, the mechanical shop manager is automatically notified and can quickly assign the task to one of the mechanics. With this powerful solution, no more “Post-it”!
11. The Risk of Your Organization Being Audited is Keeping You Up at Night…or Almost
Does your documentation on the maintenance operations carried out on your vehicles and heavy equipment represent a pile of papers or a folder of Excel files that gives headaches? It is undoubtedly different from the classification type that gives inspectors a good impression when your organization is audited. We have an article on this subject if you want to know everything to succeed with such an audit process.
With good fleet maintenance management software, you can provide all the information requested by the inspector in a few minutes in an organized and precise manner. This security will reassure you and your team during the process and allow you to sleep peacefully!
Conclusion
In short, asking yourself if the investment in a fleet maintenance software is legitimate for your organization. By asking yourself the right questions, as we have done in this article, you will conclude that this is an essential step to take your business to the next level. By opting for a choice software solution for heavy equipment maintenance like MIR-RT, you will be accompanied from the beginning to the end of the process by our excellent implementation team, who take care of importing all your data and train you and your team directly on-site to ensure your success!
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