The main task of a construction equipment fleet manager is to extend the useful life of equipment, regardless if it’s for a construction equipment rental house or a construction company with its own fleet.  

Fleet managers have a big responsibility. They control a highly valuable collection of assets, managing the overall cost of operating, maintaining and repairing tens, hundreds or possibly thousands of vehicles and equipment within that asset group.  

So why is this important? Construction Equipment magazine suggests that “fleet accounts for as much as 80 percent of an organization’s assets, so managing it well best serves the future of the organization.” That’s a pretty big piece of asset pie and how it’s managed can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line.

If that’s not enough, here’s another reason. Like the auto industry and the medical devices industry, Rousse Asset Services, in their monthly Equipment Reports, observes that the age of construction equipment has risen, meaning that equipment is being forced into service for longer periods of time.  Fleet managers are now even more challenged to properly manage the equipment, especially if they’re with one of the many construction equipment rental houses, which are expected to grow by 7 percent this year according to forconstructionpros.com.

So how do companies and their fleet managers take advantage of this possibly lucrative management of their business operations and assets (or avoid potentially unprofitable decisions)? How do they capitalize on various factors mentioned above to ensure they capture its full opportunity?  Answer: by managing the process itself.

Good fleet managers know that there is money to be made in the operational details of equipment ‘uptime’. Proper repair and maintenance information can help reduce the time needed to find the right part, reduce the time to determine part availability and then waiting for parts to arrive, and reduce the time needed to review maintenance manuals for troubleshooting.  

For years fleet managers have relied on either hard-copy, printed catalogs or electronic documents stored in disparate places and formats. Electronic parts catalogs like Enigma’s InService EPC are changing that antiquated system. Electronic parts catalogs are becoming valuable repositories of information centered completely around repair and maintenance, giving users the tools they need to streamline the parts and service structure.  And as any good fleet manager will tell you, a well run maintenance and repair department can manage your construction equipment assets to not only best serve the future of the organization, but generate service driven profits.