Fleet Maintenance - 23

management systems (CMMS) or transportation
management systems (TMS) in the office, the use
of mobile devices and applications for using these
same systems is a continuing trend.
For example, drivers can capture images of
documents, such as driver vehicle inspection
reports (DVIRS), using a mobile application or
fill the DVIRs out directly on the application to
quickly and efficiently let the maintenance shop
know if something is wrong with their vehicle.
Oftentimes, these mobile applications are integrated within the main fleet office's computer
management systems to distribute the documentation to the correct system (dispatch, accounting,
maintenance, etc.).
By incorporating the practice of digitizing business documents throughout an organization -
including driver and maintenance department
documents - fleets may lower operational costs
and improve efficiencies. This process begins with
evaluating the equipment and programs available,
understanding the process of transitioning to a
paperless operation, and best practices for organizing these digital assets.

Before digital

Taking a step back, before mobile apps and desktop computer systems, fleets had to do everything
manually. In the office, documents were stored
in filing cabinets and had to be copied, stapled,
and faxed or mailed to their destinations. This

documentation process also meant that employees
would have to physically search for those documents in order to find them - if they could find
them. Misplacing a document or losing it in transit
was not uncommon.
This form of documentation was also fairly
inflexible. Once a fleet had their documents organized in a certain way, it was unlikely the fleet
would be able to change it.
"It's a rigid system that doesn't allow for the
evolution and growth of the business," says Will
Chu, CEO and co-founder of Vector, a provider of
transportation management solutions for fleets. "A
fleet may later decide to organize their documents
by customer but can't because they would have to
re-file all their documents."
The manual process was just as hard on the
drivers. Before the digital age, drivers used a
variety of methods to get paperwork back to
the office. Between truck stop scanning, faxing,
overnight envelopes, and traveling back to the
office or a specified drop-off point, drivers had
many options.
But, as Chu points out, "All those methods are
either slow or expensive, or both, so it has a huge
impact on the fleet's bottom line."
Aside from the cost and taking up the drivers'
time, these methods came with other challenges, such as finding the drop-off location for overnighting the documents or even finding working
equipment. Think of how often something goes
wrong with a printer or fax machine, Chu notes.

»»The use of mobile smartphone or tablet
applications has become more prevalent in the
driver's seat and in the maintenance shop.
Photo courtesy of WebFleet Solutions, a Bridgestone Company

Even as more and
more fleets make
the transition
to digital
documentation,
the importance
of maintaining
those documents
stays the same.

March 2020 | VehicleServicePros.com

http://www.VehicleServicePros.com

Fleet Maintenance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance