NOUVEAUTÉS

How to Build an Effective Maintenance Strategy for Mixed-Fleet Operations

9 juin 2025

In today's heavy-duty industry, fleet managers face the challenge of maintaining a wide variety of equipment from different manufacturers, often referred to as mixed fleets. Whether you're managing trucks, construction machinery, agricultural equipment, or material handling vehicles, each type of machine requires different maintenance approaches. Developing an effective strategy for such diverse equipment is crucial to reducing downtime, minimizing repair costs, and maximizing operational efficiency. 

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Assess Your Mixed Fleet’s Needs and Prioritize Equipment

The first step in building a maintenance strategy for a mixed fleet is understanding your fleet's specific needs. Each piece of equipment will have its own maintenance requirements based on the manufacturer, model, usage frequency, and working conditions. Some machinery may be used more heavily, while others may be less demanding. By identifying these factors, you can prioritize equipment that requires more frequent attention and allocate resources efficiently.

Key Considerations:

• Age and Usage: Determine which pieces of equipment are older or have high usage rates. These may require more attention.

• Critical Equipment: Prioritize high-impact equipment that directly influences your operations, such as trucks, excavators, or forklifts used in daily tasks.

• Spare Parts Availability: Consider the ease of access to parts for each brand and equipment type. Machines with limited parts availability might require more planning for replacement parts.

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Implement a Preventive Maintenance Program for Mixed Fleet

A preventive maintenance (PM) program is essential for any mixed-fleet operation. This proactive approach helps identify issues before they turn into costly breakdowns. Regular, scheduled maintenance reduces downtime, extends the life of the equipment, and improves safety by addressing potential issues early on.

Tips for a Successful PM Program:

• Manufacturer Recommendations: Ensure that all maintenance schedules follow manufacturer guidelines to keep equipment running optimally.

• Regular Inspections: Perform regular inspections of each piece of equipment, including checking for signs of wear, fluid levels, and hydraulic systems.

• Maintenance Software: Use fleet management software to track maintenance schedules, service history, and inspections. It sends automatic reminders, helps prevent missed tasks, and gives you a clear view of equipment health—keeping everything running safely and on time.

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Leverage All-Makes Diagnostics Tools for Improved Efficiency in Mixed Fleet

One of the biggest challenges of managing a mixed fleet is dealing with different diagnostic systems for various equipment brands. All-makes diagnostics tools provide a solution by offering compatibility with multiple types of equipment and manufacturers. This means that fleet managers and technicians can perform diagnostics on all machines using a single tool, saving time, reducing errors, and improving efficiency.

Why All-Makes Diagnostics Tools Are Essential:

• Comprehensive Coverage: They support a wide range of manufacturers and models, ensuring that all equipment can be monitored through one system.

• Faster Diagnostics: These tools help diagnose issues quickly, reducing the time spent on troubleshooting and repairs.

• Data Integration: Many all-makes systems, provide real-time data on machine performance, enabling predictive maintenance to catch issues early.

• Cost-Effective: By consolidating diagnostic tools, you reduce the need for multiple systems, cutting costs and simplifying operations.

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Train Across Multiple Systems

With a mixed fleet, it’s critical that technicians are skilled in working with a variety of equipment and diagnostic systems. Training to understand the nuances of different machinery brands and models helps ensure more efficient maintenance and repairs, reducing costly mistakes and keeping your equipment in top condition.

Training Tips:

• Cross-Brand Training: Ensure technicians receive training in the systems used across different equipment brands in your fleet.

• Hands-On Experience: Work in real-world scenarios on various machines to build hands-on experience with different systems, including trucks, construction equipment, and agricultural machinery.

• Leverage Technology: Use tools to simulate repairs or diagnostics in a risk-free environment, allowing you to practice without causing downtime.

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Adopt Fleet Management Software for Streamlined Operations Across Mixed Fleets

Managing a mixed fleet requires more than just knowing when to service each machine. Fleet management software is an invaluable tool for keeping track of repairs, maintenance schedules, and equipment performance. With fleet management software, you can centralize all your data, making it easier to monitor and adjust your strategy.

Benefits of Fleet Management Software:

• Centralized Data: Track performance, service history, and repair costs for each piece of equipment, allowing for better decision-making.

• Scheduled Maintenance: Automatically receive reminders when it’s time for maintenance based on usage or calendar intervals.

• Cost Analysis: Track costs associated with each piece of equipment and determine which machines are more expensive to maintain, helping you make informed purchasing or replacement decisions.

For instance, Jaltest GRP (Garage Resource Planning) is a repair management software that enables users to organize and manage all their vehicles on a single platform, helping to streamline daily repair and maintenance tasks. Jaltest GRP is the ideal solution for fleets of all sizes—whether small, medium, or large—thanks to its customizable modes that can be tailored to meet your specific needs. 

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Track Parts Inventory and Availability

Managing a mixed fleet means dealing with parts for different manufacturers, which can be a logistical challenge. Having an efficient parts inventory system helps ensure that the necessary parts are available when maintenance is required, preventing downtime due to unavailable components.

Cojali is working on integrating our troubleshooting guides with the backend databases of parts suppliers. This seamless connection will enable customers to easily request and purchase the exact parts required for the vehicle they are servicing. By streamlining this process, mechanics will save valuable time, as they can directly order the specific parts they need within the same software they are already using, eliminating the need for additional steps or searches.

Effective Parts Management:

• Track Spare Parts: Use inventory management software to keep track of parts and ensure that you’re prepared for repairs.

• Build Relationships with Suppliers: Partner with trusted suppliers who can quickly deliver parts for various brands.

• On-Site Parts Storage: Keep critical spare parts on hand for high-priority equipment to minimize delays during repairs.

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Monitor and Adjust the Strategy Regularly

An effective maintenance strategy is dynamic—it needs to evolve as fleet performance changes. Regularly monitor how your equipment is performing and adjust the strategy as necessary. Analyze downtime reports, repair costs, and the effectiveness of preventive maintenance to identify areas for improvement.

Key Metrics to Track:

• Downtime: Track how much downtime is being caused by maintenance issues and which pieces of equipment are most affected.

• Maintenance Costs: Compare the costs of scheduled maintenance versus emergency repairs to evaluate the effectiveness of your preventive strategy.

• Technician Performance: Measure technician productivity and the accuracy of diagnoses and repairs to optimize training programs.

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Managing a mixed fleet comes with its unique set of challenges, but with the right maintenance strategy in place, you can minimize downtime, extend equipment life, and reduce operating costs. By implementing a preventive maintenance program, leveraging all-makes diagnostics tools like Jaltest, and investing in ongoing technician training, you can ensure that your mixed fleet remains operational and cost-effective. 

Jaltest Diagnostics ticks all the boxes for the features you expect from a diagnostic tool for a mixed fleet. With its all-makes, all-systems approach, you can be confident that no matter what type of vehicle enters your shop, you’ve got it covered—whether it's a commercial vehicle, construction equipment, material handling equipment, agricultural machinery, or even vessels.

Additionally, when technical information is required, everything is integrated directly into the software. Gone are the days of needing hundreds of manuals or relying on search engines. Now, you can access all the information you need within Jaltest, thanks to Jaltest Info, with the added benefit of hyperlinks that allow you to navigate from troubleshooting guides to technical details.

As if that weren’t enough, you can also perform calibrations on Cummins, Paccar, International, or Detroit Diesel engines using your Jaltest link. Thanks to Jaltest Central Services, users can access engine calibrations upon their request with our customer support team.

All these features, combined with a proactive and structured approach to maintenance, not only save time and money but also help you stay ahead of potential issues before they become costly problems.