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For those of us in the business of managing, operating, or owning heavy-duty trucks, the clock never stops. Fleets of truck drivers set out hourly on long journeys that work to keep America moving. Recent reports from the American Trucking Association advise that this growth won’t slow down any time soon, with high rates of property construction, truck sales and factory-related spending set to keep the industry in high demand into 2019 and beyond. For those looking for truck driving jobs, the industry presents a positive outlook for prospective employees. Though we are experiencing a truck driver shortage, skillful new drivers have an opportunity to advance their experience in the field.
With the heavy-duty industry in a period of sustained growth, many business owners and managers are searching for a way that today’s digital revolution can expedite, organize, and automate fleet management operations for their small- to large-scale businesses. As a result, more and more fleet owner/operators are turning to asset and fleet maintenance software with VMRS coding to streamline their daily procedures.
Let’s look into three ways the right software can elevate your trucking business.
Organize: asset and fleet management
Whether you are a fleet manager, a repair shop owner, or a truck driver on duty, the right software should include features that enhance your business operations at every level. The first element of trucking operations that your software can assist with is the organization of your asset and fleet management systems through a single, accessible platform. The perfect operational software will assist with the coordination of your current assets, allowing you to measure them against their current and potential value, and output levels, for your business. This can assist in administration, budgeting, and resourcing activities, providing you with real-time access to updated insights to further improve your reports.
Other features of your trucking business software should include your fleet management functions, allowing you to minimize your risks through automating a range of aspects of your daily operations. A competitive trucking software tool should maintain all elements of your fleets, including accessing tracking and diagnostics, managing drivers, and measuring your health and safety standards against national guidelines of compliance.
Optimize: repairs and maintenance
When considering the management of your trucks, it is important to understand the lifestyle of your fleet as an asset in itself. Today’s trucking software not only provides you with the capacity to track your drivers along their route, but to safely and promptly guide them through a service event if it should arise. Your software should allow you to book repairs and schedule future maintenance events through its interface.
The right software will also allow you to assign service events at varying degrees of complexity, from a basic check-up to your 100,000-mile maintenance appointment. You should also be able to access an archive of your past repairs, and even track down parts and service providers from a single point-of-access — keeping all of your data accounted for, and the right people notified.
Revolutionize: VMRS coding
The Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards, or VMRS, is a structured coding system established by the ATA in 1970 to allow streamlined communication between the owner/operator, repair personnel, and the data recorded in the computer systems involved in any element of your trucking operations. The VMRS database is continually maintained by the ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council.
These codes are recognized internationally and are assigned to translate the specifics of an event — like a cause for a repair, or a particular component that needs to be checked — to allow for highly efficient communication between key business personnel and your service providers. Look out for the integration of VMRS coding into your trucking software, to ensure you are consistently compliant with industry standards.
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