If you’re relying on pen and paper or digital spreadsheets instead of service dashboards, you’re missing out on important data that can have an important impact on your service processes.
Click here to watch more of FE’s On the Road video series.
Here is a transcript of the video:
A fleet manager relying on pen and paper or digital spreadsheets is limiting his or her ability to make rapid decisions in real time using the most up-to-date data available.
A service dashboard can be instrumental in effectively managing vehicle uptime, because it provides multiple ways by user role to view service information to easily understand what is going on with the fleet’s vehicles, get automated alerts on actions that need to be taken, make better and faster decisions and gain historical insights for improving service programs that drive vehicle uptime. And, what’s more, dashboards are designed to be updated automatically, as opposed to paper or spreadsheets which are generally updated after the work is finished and already documented in the source system.
So, what’s your first step?
Well, all fleets operate slightly differently and rely on a diverse set of KPIs, or key performance indicators, and metrics to make decisions. A fleet should start by collectively determining what KPIs and metrics are essential to their operation, and only then should that reach out to its IT or solutions partner to kick off the project.
So, give yourself a “needs assessment” phase first by answering four key questions:
- Why do you want or need a service dashboard?
- What questions would you like the dashboard to answer for you?
- What would you like to see in the dashboard?
- And, Where does your data come from?
Once you’ve done your homework and utilize your team or decide on a service dashboard provider, it’s important to garner support and momentum early on, if this is something new to your fleet. Keep the initial scope of the platform small, but meaningful.
Finally, integrate the dashboard into your service process so you and others on your team are using it every day, speaking the same language, sharing insights and working together to keep the data accurate and up to date.
