Using Telematics Data to Ensure Vehicle Maintenance

In South Africa, a great deal of emphasis is put on using telematics to track vehicle position and fuel use. Very little attention is put on using it to ensure regular vehicle maintenance as most fleets are always looking for ways to cut costs. But the worst part they don’t realize about neglecting vehicle maintenance is that the parts and components that makeup the vehicle can wear out easily and need repair, resulting in the company spending more money on replacing parts if their vehicles break down.

The Cost of Replacing Parts of Your Vehicle Vs the Cost of Maintaining Your Vehicle

According to the 2019 AA Kinsey report, it costs R13543,50 to repair a VW Polo Vivo. The costs include the replacement of a cam belt/timing chain for R1035,00, front and rear brake discs/drums for R2593,25, front and rear shock absorbers/struts for R4105,5, R966,00 for a clutch plate, R893,50 for a pressure plate, R3099,25 for a flywheel for R3099,25, and R851,00 for a fan belt. For fleets using a Ford Figo 1.5, it would cost R12446,03 to repair their cars, which is slightly lower than the Polo Vivo. Meanwhile, fleets using a Nissan NP200, Toyota Hilux 2.4, and Ford Ranger 2.2D will need R12301,48, R20420,99, and R26405,08 respectively to repair or replace service components.

On the other hand, the vehicle service rate is as follows:

It costs R3136 to service a Polo Vivo
Fleets with Ford Figo would pay R4285,47
Servicing a Nissan NP 200 would cost you R2094,84
Owners of a Toyota Hilux 2.4 would require R5743,52
And fleets with a Ford Ranger 2.2D would pay R5620,91 to service their vehicle.

How to Use Telematics to Ensure Regular Maintenance

Your vehicles are your company’s most valuable assets. Therefore, taking care of them is of utmost importance.

By using telematics data, neglecting regular vehicle maintenance can be prevented in the following three ways:

1. Setting Maintenance Reminders

Using the MyGeotab software, remembering when to perform oil changes, tire rotations, and other minor vehicle services can be fully automated. You can create recurring reminders through a few clicks that will let you know when your vehicle service is due.

This is how:

Navigate to Engine & Maintenance from the main menu. Select Reminders… > Reminder Rules from the sub-menu. Your maintenance reminders will be listed.

To create a new rule, select the Add button at the top.

When creating your new rule, choose from the following criteria to notify yourself or others:

1. A reminder rule type, such as oil change

2. When you should be reminded. This can be based on:

Time – recurring every month or once on a specific date
vehicle use – mileage or hours of engine use

Recording that you have completed the maintenance service is optional. The reminders you have set will still continue even if you do not record the outcome.

2. Engine Measurement

You can also set up rules and warnings based on engine information to follow any unplanned maintenance, similar to setting your own maintenance reminders based on time or vehicle use. For example, you could set up the system to warn you when the front brake level of your vehicles is below 50%.

3. Maintenance Cost Tracker

The aim of this Add-In is to capture maintenance jobs and allocate a cost per asset. For example, you can create a job indicating that the battery needs to be changed. You can open a job card for the work and link it to a quote and issue the replacement. If there are any problems with the replacement part, you can go back to it to check the warranty status. This can also help you keep track of all the maintenance work done on your vehicles.

Author: The Geotab Africa Team

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