FMS_27

FleetMaintenance_July_2016

of continuous improvement and be able to eff ectively meet new challenges and succeed. Bob Hausler is the vice president of marketing and technology for Dossier Systems and John Davis is principal fleet management consultant for the company. Dossier (www.dossiersystemsinc. com) is a provider of intuitive fleet maintenance management software solutions for the surface transportation industry. nance parameters, such as PMs, warranties, standard repairs, SRTs, personnel, etc. • Training. As noted earlier, this is key to your success. Train before, during and aft er. Not everyone needs the same level of training, however, training is imperative because it keeps everyone on a common playing fi eld, delivers more consistent information and provides a path from which to make better decisions. Be careful of the telephone or 15-minute web-based training models. Word-of -mouth passed from one new user to another also does not typically provide full training as they are just learning themselves. Ongoing training allows you to grow into the system, have a chance to work with the system and make changes along the way. Remember that you have to have data in the system before you can have reports from the system. PITFALL #6: “We have everything up and running. We’re done.” Implementation is not just loading the soft ware, training the staff initially and going live on the shop fl oor. It is an ongoing working relationship with your staff and your maintenance partner’s staff . Your staff will change, your management will require additional or diff erent information and reporting and your soft ware partner will release new versions and features over time. Knowledgeable support should be only a phone call away. Start over. Part of the postimplementation process is to identify what-ifs and next steps. Business needs change, and no one will ever call and ask if you would like to spend more on managing the fl eet. Plus, your fl eet technology is getting more complex with new emissions equipment, telematics, onboard electronic logging, etc. All of these things mean that you need to use your maintenance soft ware more eff ectively to both demonstrate the real cost of operating your fl eet year over year, as well as identify potential areas for savings. Once you have the basics running smoothly, identify opportunities to use your soft ware to be more cost effi cient and productive, then use this same model to implement your next strategy. Th is is another area where a good choice of maintenance partner and soft ware will pay dividends. You always want to have the tools to facilitate a program VehicleServicePros.com/10122984 Light Duty |


FleetMaintenance_July_2016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above