Maintaining your fleet during the pandemic

It’s been a turbulent year for many businesses, with Covid-19 affecting the fleet industry in ways never seen before. With the pandemic still ongoing, it’s important to keep the health of your drivers and assets a priority at all times. 

Whether you’ve been able to keep running during the pandemic or not, here are our top tips for maintaining your fleet.

Keep your workers safe 

With the prospect of workers coming back into shared spaces and using shared assets, it’s vital that you implement proper health and safety protocols in line with advice from your local authority. 

Now is the best time to think about your Covid-safe strategy. Following new rules, like social distancing, can pose issues and even make business less efficient. But having a clear plan in place will help reduce disruption to your business and keep things running efficiently.  

From sanitizing vehicles and ensuring social distancing to providing appropriate PPE and implementing contact tracing, there are a lot of safety aspects to consider. 

Find out more about the CDC’s Covid workplace advice on its official website. 

Make sure your assets are in great shape

The pressure for fleet managers to reduce costs and keep assets in a safe, useable condition is at an all-time high. From delivery vehicles and company cars to heavy machinery and other vital equipment, many of your assets may have been out of action over the past year. 

Now is the best time to start scheduling maintenance checks. Ensure vehicles have had batteries, tires and fluid levels checked before they’re set to be used again, and make sure any other equipment that has been out of action is in good condition. 

Prepare your drivers 

If your employees have been working from home and are starting to come back to the workplace, it’s well worth taking some time to make sure they’re ready to work at full capacity again. 

Keep everything running smoothly by checking if you need to refresh any driver training with your workers and making sure they’re fully informed about health and safety protocols. 

It’s also important to make it clear to your workers that they must stay at home if they feel unwell.  

Bear in mind that there will be more potential for drivers to take time off, whether that’s for their Covid vaccinations or for self-isolation. So it’s a good idea to plan ahead to ensure you have enough drivers to cover shifts for those who are unable to work. 

Consider road safety 

With the shift towards online shopping over the past 12-months, there’s more traffic on the roads than ever before.

With this increased volume comes an increased potential for accidents. Ensuring your drivers are up to date with any safety training and keeping assets well maintained is vital to help avoid this. It’s also worth considering what travel is essential, to make sure you’re only sending drivers out when you absolutely need to. 

Remind your drivers to take regular breaks when they’re on the road to avoid them becoming tired or distracted while they’re working, especially while they’re getting back into their working routine.  

Following these tips will help you to get your fleet ready for a busy year ahead.