More robust driver walkaround procedures could help tackle the huge number of unscheduled repairs that affect fleet operations, research by R2C Online has shown.
It’s found that commercial vehicles suffer on average around five defects each year – equivalent to approximately one every 10 weeks – which may need them to be taken off the road.
R2C, which provides connected software platforms for vehicle compliance and maintenance management, analysed every report in the past year on its systems and found that for the 1.3 million vehicles registered, over 6.2 million defects were raised during inspections either by drivers or technicians.
Extrapolated across the entire UK commercial fleet of some 5.5 million vehicles, it means that on any given day, there could be 75,400 defects on trucks and vans operating in the UK – potentially impacting road safety and with high potential for unplanned fleet downtime due to unscheduled repairs.
“The issue of unscheduled repair is something which has always affected fleets, but our figures show that on average each vehicle will be hit by some problem every 10 weeks or so,” said Ash Connell, commercial director, R2C.
“This means that a thorough inspection process and efficient maintenance and repair systems for managing these problems is hugely important, or fleets will be hit by unplanned costs, delays for workshop time and interruptions to their operations.”
R2C’s figures show that a robust inspection procedure between drivers and operators is essential. In 2022, there were 3.8 million daily reports through its Driver Pre-Use Check app alone and 1.3 million further inspections.
“Our data shows that drivers and fleet operators can work hand-in-hand to ensure compliance and roadworthiness for their vehicles,” said Connell. “It’s such an important area of fleet management, and the numbers we have illustrate how essential driver checks are to maintaining a safe fleet. They’re the people that see these vehicles every day, and with the regularity that problems occur they are a vital cog in the machine.”
Connell added that the availability of repairers was also crucial to reduce the impact of offroad time.
“Our figures show that every single vehicle suffers a defect every 10 weeks or so. On average alone, that means in a 10-vehicle fleet, every week a fleet manager will be needing workshop space for unplanned work. Capacity should be a paramount concern for fleets when you understand the level of work needed,” he explained.
A connected fleet and workshop management solution can play a major role in helping to reduce and even prevent downtime. As an example, R2C’s Vantage Point module highlights not only the amount of vehicle offroad days a fleet has incurred but the reason behind the event.
