While you may already utilize telematics from a fleet management solution like Motive to track vehicle location, fleet telematics devices are also powerful tools to manage and automate maintenance tasks when integrated with fleet maintenance software like Fleetio.

Leveraging fleet telematics to improve maintenance workflows

If you’re like most fleet managers, you probably associate fleet telematics solutions with location tracking. Though fleet telematics devices are great for monitoring vehicle location, they provide a mass amount of vehicle data, making them ideal for tracking your fleet and gaining sharper insights into driver behavior and vehicle health.

When coupled with Fleetio’s real-time dashboard, you can use telematics data to automate maintenance workflows and immediately address vehicle issues as they arise. Here are a few ways pairing Motive with Fleetio can improve your fleet maintenance plan:

1. Improve fleet operations by receiving real-time data

While your fleet is on the road, receiving up-to-date vehicle information can be difficult. Drivers may not be able to easily communicate while on the road. If you’re still relying on paperwork to manage your fleet, you could be waiting days or weeks to receive pertinent data.

Fleet maintenance technology eliminates communication gaps and provides you with real-time data regarding your assets. Telematics providers like Motive provide real-time data regarding the health of your vehicles to keep you informed of any issues.

Integrating Motive’s telematics data into your fleet maintenance platform increases visibility into overall fleet operations, allowing you to automate fleet maintenance processes and make data-driven decisions regarding your assets. The combined capabilities of Motive with Fleetio enable fleet managers to monitor driver behavior, adhere to fleet maintenance schedules, track DTC alerts, and maintain overall vehicle health. 

2. Conduct preventive maintenance based on odometer readings

Most fleets base their preventive maintenance (PM) schedules on mileage. This is a risky practice. Manually tracking odometer readings is prone to human error and is notoriously inefficient. Paper-based PM schedules don’t provide you with up-to-the-minute updates that ensure PM tasks are performed on time.

Fleet managers can set service reminders in Fleetio based on odometer readings from Motive. Setting service reminders and due-soon thresholds allows you and your team to receive email or push notifications to schedule preventive maintenance.

Integrating Motive into your fleet maintenance software ensures accurate odometer readings are uploaded each day. Instead of manually tracking odometer readings and calculating when fleet maintenance is due, Fleetio automates these processes by pulling real-time, accurate data from Motive to ensure your fleet maintains a proactive PM schedule.

3. Immediately address issues from diagnostic trouble codes

When it comes to unplanned vehicle repairs, time is of the essence. Mechanical issues can potentially go unnoticed for days, weeks, or even months. Undetected, these issues can cause extensive damage, resulting in repair expenses.

DTC and fault alerts from your telematics systems can be linked to mobile work orders in fleet maintenance software, providing technicians a complete picture of any issues. Linking DTC alerts directly to line items means issues are addressed and are automatically recorded in your fleet’s service history, ensuring you and your team have accurate insight into a vehicle’s current and past condition.

Together, Motive and Fleetio allow you to see issues across your assets immediately and jumpstart the repair process to reduce overall downtime. Fleetio also maintains a report of all DTCs, enabling you to spot trends across your fleet and proactively manage them.

4. Aggregate fleet maintenance and telematics data into configurable reports

To maintain an efficient fleet, fleet managers must track and analyze every aspect of their operations. Fleets that still rely on paper and spreadsheets to manage operations have a difficult time compiling fleet data and accessing relevant information quickly.

Tracking maintenance and telematics data in fleet maintenance software eliminates manual data entry, saving you countless hours and allowing you to use that extra time to analyze data and monitor your operations.

By integrating data collected in your Motive app into Fleetio, users can view maintenance reports regarding asset utilization, service history, and fault codes. Fleetio can also calculate your cost-per-mile based on geolocation data provided from Motive, allowing you to monitor fleet expenses and develop strategies to cut costs and improve your bottom line.

Integrate Motive into Fleetio and take fleet maintenance to the next level. Request a demo today!