What Is a Preventive Maintenance Checklist?

Okay, time to go through our checklist of preventive maintenance checklist articles! Let’s see what we’ve got here:

• “Fleet Inspection Checklist: Everything You Need to Know”? Check.
• “The Ultimate Preventive Maintenance Checklist for Your Vehicle Fleet”? Check.
• “What Is a Preventive Maintenance Checklist”? Hold on…

Looks like we haven’t quite gotten around to that last one yet, so let’s take care of it now. In this article, we’ll define preventive maintenance (PM) checklists, explain what makes them essential, and help you start using one of these checklists at your shop.

What is a Preventive Maintenance Checklist?

Just ask any (good) fleet manager or independent shop—preventive fleet maintenance is a huge part of keeping trucks in good shape. When you prioritize this form of maintenance, your internal team (or whatever independent shop you generally partner with) can inspect trucks as often as they need to and nip potential problems in the bud.

But for your preventive maintenance strategy to work as intended, techs need to hit every crucial step in the inspection process. If they do overlook a serious issue, it could have a chance to get worse…and you’ll be back to fixing the same problems after they appear again.

Fortunately, adding a thorough preventive maintenance checklist to your workflow will make this a non-issue. As you might expect based on the name, this is a list of all the maintenance services your vehicles need. 

That includes tasks like:

• Engine/fluid checks
• Light and electrical checks
• Tire and brake inspections
• Steering, suspension, and chassis checks
• Safety equipment/technology inspections

What is the Purpose of a Maintenance Checklist?

When a shop has a reliable preventive maintenance checklist, techs won’t have to worry about missing steps during their inspections. Since these documents guide workers through the PM process, workers will have zero trouble keeping assets in full working condition.

A PM checklist can help you enjoy these preventive maintenance benefits (among others):

Reduced Downtime

When techs can consistently catch issues early on, vehicles will be much less likely to encounter unexpected trouble. Since breakdowns are a significant cause of downtime, using a checklist can help keep your vehicles up and running.

Safer Operations

Believe it or not, working with unreliable vehicles can put drivers in danger. The sooner techs can deal with any problems the trucks have developed, the safer drivers will be.

Lower Maintenance Costs

Taking care of potential issues ASAP won’t just improve your fleet’s efficiency and safety. Along with these perks, preventive maintenance is much cheaper than paying for in-depth repairs.

Improved Equipment Longevity

Caring for vehicles will also help extend their lifespans. That means fleet managers will be able to use their trucks for as long as possible—and in this economy, that’s an opportunity you can’t afford to miss. [NOTE: REWORK LAST SENTENCE IF ECONOMY SUDDENLY TURNS AROUND FOR WHATEVER REASON]

How to Create a Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Putting together a preventive maintenance checklist may sound easy enough, but this task can become surprisingly tricky. Once you’ve decided to create a PM checklist, you’ll want to:

• Identify important steps. Your PM checklist can’t just hit the highlights. Instead, this document needs to include every service heavy-duty trucks rely on.
• Find the right inspection frequency. The key to effective preventive maintenance work is to schedule these appointments frequently. While you’re thinking about your PM checklist, be sure techs are conducting these inspections often enough (but not too often).
• Regularly update your checklist. Once in a while, review your checklist to make sure it’s still suited to your actual needs. It’s best to take care of this right before you expect things to get busier, or if trucks keep having issues even just after inspections. So high maintenance, right?!

Though these tips can certainly be helpful, there’s an even better way to create a PM checklist…and that’s not creating one at all. Let us explain: if you use a template for your checklist, you won’t have to fret about missing necessary steps while building this document. At the same time, you can start using a checklist as soon as possible without needing to create one from scratch first.

So, where can you find one of these checklists? Well, we have good news: Fullbay has already put together a checklist covering the jobs fleet technicians need to take care of during a routine PM inspection. Better yet, you can download this checklist for the low, low price of free. Just stop by the download page to get started!

What Are PM Sheets?

Preventive maintenance checklists can seriously improve your shop’s workflow in several ways, but you shouldn’t rely on these documents alone. Instead, you’ll get even better results by using checklists with preventive maintenance sheets.

Though checklists and PM sheets cover similar territory, there are some important distinctions between the two. The biggest difference lies in the basic purpose of these documents. While a preventive maintenance checklist helps techs avoid missing items during an inspection, a PM sheet gives them a place to document the inspection process. 

Since they track service appointments in detail, PM sheets create a strong paper trail of the work that’s been done on trucks and heavy-duty equipment. That can translate to less stress the next time you need to prove your regulatory compliance.

One thing checklists and PM sheets DO have in common: in their paper form, they’re easy to damage, smudge, misplace, or otherwise render unusable, to say the least. We recommend digital versions. Specifically, we recommend Fullbay because we make it really, really easy. Keep all your PM history in the cloud and access it anytime, anywhere.

And if you spill your coffee, the digital checklist is still safe. Your computer might not be, though. 

Use the Best Software for Fleet Maintenance

Whether you didn’t know what a preventive maintenance checklist was before you read this article, or you did know but had nothing better to do, you’re now an expert on this topic. Congratulations! And as part of your expert knowledge, you know the best way to start using a PM checklist is to take advantage of Fullbay’s in-depth document.

Of course, that’s just one of the many ways that Fullbay can support your business. Our heavy-duty shop software delivers features like service order monitoring, inventory management, and powerful reporting capabilities (and that’s just scratching the surface). If you’re interested in using the industry’s best software for fleet maintenance, set up a free demo today!