Six out of 10 businesses have announced that using fleet management software helps them to reduce unplanned vehicle downtime, FleetCheck is reporting. Peter Golding, managing director, explained that research the company had undertaken among users of its products shows that cutting downtime is considered a key benefit.

“Unplanned vehicle off road (VOR) rates are a subject that is moving higher up the agenda as production shortages mean that fleets are operating ever older cars, vans and trucks. These inevitably are more difficult to keep roadworthy, breaking down more often,” said Peter.

“We are finding that managing VOR is becoming an increasingly important factor in businesses choosing to adopt fleet management software. This new research backs up that point and also shows the technology is effective in minimising the problem.”

Peter added that primarily, fleet management software helped to reduce VOR by creating much greater visibility over maintenance events and defects, both ensuring that routine servicing and maintenance were carried out, and that any other issues were recorded and resolved.

Also, the technology allows multiple events to be brought into line. For example, a service and an MOT could be carried out on the same day, removing the need for two days off-road.

“Software brings much greater structure to service and maintenance management, which is what essentially helps to reduce downtime. As fleets continue to age – something that looks inevitable for some time to come – it will become more and more significant in this respect,” Peter concluded.

Based in Kemble, Gloucestershire, FleetCheck is one of the UK’s leading fleet software and management specialists. Established in 2006, it now has a customer base of more than 1,400 businesses totalling in excess of 140,000 vehicles and assets using its suite of advanced fleet software solutions, which place an accent on ease of use and effectiveness. The company also offers a range of additional services including telematics, risk management, driver training, licence checking, fleet documentation, fleet policy creation and strategy implementation.