How to Reduce Vehicle Downtime Within your Fleet

For fleets, minimising vehicle downtime is a vital consideration for maintaining operational efficiency, reducing lost revenue, and minimising vehicle hire costs.

sopp+sopp work with some of the UK’s largest fleets to deliver award-winning claims journeys, and fast, high-quality repairs. Here we explore five effective steps fleet managers can take to reduce vehicle downtime by promoting fast, right-first-time repairs.

What is meant by ‘vehicle downtime’?

The term ‘vehicle downtime’ refers to the period for which a vehicle is off the road - for repair, maintenance, or otherwise.

It’s most commonly used to refer to the time vehicles are left off the road after an incident, such as a collision or mechanical failure.

This is a vital metric for fleets, and can be used as a top-level indicator of the strength of their vehicle repair and accident management strategies.

Why reducing vehicle downtime is important…

Any duration that a vehicle is off-road equates directly to lost revenue, and higher operational costs for fleets.

The longer their vehicles are unusable post-incident, the more potential revenue is lost - with drivers left unable to work as effectively, especially when replacement vehicles do not provide the same specification.

That’s why it’s vital that fleets are proactive in minimising vehicle downtime, getting their drivers back on the road swiftly.

5 Ways to Reduce Vehicle Downtime in your Fleet…

Here are five steps fleets can take to minimise vehicle downtime, while promoting fast, efficient, cost-effective repairs…

#1 - Optimise your Incident Reporting (FNOL) Process

The strength of your incident reporting process has a huge impact on vehicle off-road periods. The faster and more accurately incidents can be reported, the quicker repair requirements can be understood, and the correct solutions deployed.

Incident reporting can be simplified by applying a hybrid-digital approach, using solutions like eNOL (electronic Notification of Loss) alongside existing telephone reports for faster, more accurate accident response.

Discover Activate Initiate:

sopp+sopp’s white-label eNOL web-app, Activate Initiate, helps to drive swift incident reports, and minimise vehicle downtime.

Click below to learn more, or schedule a chat with our fleet accident management specialists.

#2 - Promote Right-First-Time Deployment & Repair

In order to achieve fast and effective repair, it’s vital to take a ‘right-first-time’ approach to vehicle triage and repair deployment decisions. This means ensuring repair requirements are understood in detail, so that vehicles are repaired correctly and in-full the first time around.

This all relies on the quality of the data you’re using to triage vehicle damage. Using photographs alongside driver’s descriptions of damage helps to inform more accurate repair deployment, as well as identify opportunities for alternative repair methods - such as mobile repair.

sopp+sopp’s eNOL web-app guides drivers to take useful images of vehicle damage, and upload them instantly to the claim.

#3 - Embrace Mobile & Roadside Repair Solutions

With the rise of alternative repair methods like SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Technology), many smaller cosmetic repairs can be conducted remotely by mobile technicians.

This is often quicker than deploying the vehicle to a bodyshop, which relies on recovery, transport, and the availability of on-site capacity. It also adds immense convenience for drivers, allowing repairs to be conducted at their home or work premises.

Roadside repair can also be utilised to fix some issues on-the-spot - allowing your drivers to continue their onward journey, rather than taking the vehicle off the road.

#4 - Diversify your Vehicle Parts Supply Chains

Delays in the repair process can often be attributed to lengthy parts lead times - especially when they’re coming straight from the manufacturer. However, these delays can be mitigated by diversifying your parts supply chains to incorporate a wider range of sources.

For example, utilising second-hand ‘green’ parts can provide the same high-quality repair, while also being quicker to source in many cases. Using alternative sources like these helps to mitigate periods of high demand, giving you more options when supply chains become congested.

You could even consider ring-fencing your own end-of-life or total loss vehicles, and salvaging their parts to reuse in future repairs. This could allow you to develop your own internal green parts supply chain - especially if your fleet is made up of many of the same makes and models.

#5 - Choose the right Accident Management Partner

All of the above solutions rely on a robust partnership with a capable accident management partner, who works proactively to mitigate operational challenges, and reduce vehicle downtime for your fleet.

This means someone who understands your fleet’s requirements in detail, and has the in-house capabilities to meet your needs consistently. They also need a strong repair network, with the capacity to deliver swift turnaround for all vehicle and damage types.

Choose a partner who has experience working with fleets of similar size and make-up to your own, and has a proven track record of delivering fast, efficient repair.

sopp+sopp: Fleet Accident Management Specialists

sopp+sopp works with some of the UK’s most well-known fleets to deliver award-winning claims journeys, and reduce vehicle downtime with swift, high-quality repair management.

Tailored, data-driven accident management journeys

Our services are fully-tailored to our customers’ needs - helping them to tackle their unique operational challenges, and get their drivers back on the road sooner.

We cover everything from incident reporting, right through to repair completion - taking a data-driven approach to every step along the way.

This includes intelligent triage and engineering, which utilise specialist technology to identify vehicles’ repair requirements, and ensure all repairs are swift, high-quality, and cost effective.

UK-Wide Repair Network

As part of Activate Group, sopp+sopp customers benefit from access to our UK-wide network of high-tech Activate Accident Repair bodyshops. This helps us to deliver swift, best-quality repairs across all regions and vehicle types - including EVs, hybrids, and large commercial vehicles.

Contact us now so we can support you in revitalising your fleet accident management strategy - minimise downtime, cut claims costs, and achieve best-quality repairs every time…