Table of contents
There’s no braking in bus maintenance! Transportation departments cannot take shortcuts when inspecting and maintaining bus fleets and transport. Bus maintenance software is essential for recording the work performed to meet regulations and for putting maintenance plans in place to extend the life of an organization’s vehicles.
What is bus maintenance software?
Bus maintenance software is a digital solution that allows an organization to schedule, track, and control maintenance and parts inventory for bus fleets. It streamlines the transportation management process from end to end, while delivering complete visibility on assets and maintenance performed.
What are the benefits of bus maintenance software?
The benefits of bus maintenance software are numerous. However, we’ve boiled them down to the five benefits that typically provide the greatest return.
Improving safety
Bus maintenance software ensures safety practices are in place and adhered to for the benefit of passengers and students. The system will generate checklists and work orders automatically and in accordance with bus schedules. This allows maintenance technicians to execute inspections and repairs before buses head out. It also allows technicians to enter any faults or findings back into the system, so you have an up-to-date picture of the vehicle.
Digitizing maintenance records and manuals
By automating preventive and routine maintenance and inspection needs, bus maintenance software removes easy-to-lose paper notes and verbal reminders. Instead, it puts them into a schedulable, electronic calendar that is both centralized and easily accessed.
Keeping dispatchers, drivers, and maintenance teams connected
Bus maintenance software allows you to communicate about maintenance, service schedules, and trips from one central location. Anyone tied to a specific vehicle can request maintenance and can receive alerts when the work on that asset is started or completed.
Meeting compliance requirements
Bus maintenance software stores all the tasks related to your buses and the work performed on them. If mandated bus inspections are questioned during an on-site audit, it’s easy to recall information and provide proof that the inspection was completed.
Increasing uptime and keep wheels on the road longer
With bus maintenance software, you can schedule preventive maintenance tasks for your bus fleet to ensure each of your buses is properly tended to and cared for. Over time, this leads to a decrease in unforeseen failures and ensures your buses are available as needed.
What are the key features of bus maintenance software?
If an organization or transportation department is searching for bus maintenance software, here are a few key features to consider looking for:
Preventive maintenance management
Preventive maintenance (oil changes and tire pressure checks) keeps your bus at peak performance. Bus maintenance software allows your team to create recurring tasks for your bus fleet and even add instruction sets to guide your technicians.
Track inspections/compliance
The ability to record and recall inspections and other compliance information for state regulator audits is crucial. Failure to do so could result in unnecessary costs to your organization. Bus maintenance software both keeps a digital record and makes it easily accessible from a mobile device.
Track fuel consumption and costs
A robust system should track fuel usage, cost, and distance driven. This data allows your team to determine optimal routes, allocate proper funding, and understand trends over time.
Work order management
Bus maintenance software allows your team to assign and track work orders from a digital system. Moving from manual processes saves time, builds departmental efficiency, and gives you a clear overview of all the work that has been performed on your bus fleet.
Parts inventory/inventory control
A sound bus maintenance software system can track parts inventory. From tires, to windshield wiper fluid, to lightbulbs, it’s crucial to understand how much inventory you have on hand. Robust systems will even automatically order parts when supplies are running low.
Track warranties
Another great feature of bus maintenance software is warranty tracking. The software allows you to scan paperwork into the system and will then alert your team when a warranty is close to expiring.
Reporting/historical asset work record
Robust reporting allows you to track costs and maintenance trends and predict when a bus is likely to fail or need to be replaced.
Configurable PM calendars and schedules
Your software should be adaptable enough to fit your organization; you should never have to rework your organization around your software. Configurable calendars and schedules ensure you are performing work the way you want to, not the way you need to.
How do different types of industries use bus maintenance software?
There are many ways to use and configure bus maintenance software. Here are a few examples from different industries:
School districts
School districts use bus maintenance software for preventive maintenance and compliance tracking. The bus fleets of both small and large districts benefit from its use, keeping students safe and to scheduling everything from field trips to sporting event transportation.
Public transport
City bus lines have adopted bus maintenance software to maintain buses and schedule routes. Reporting helps with fuel costs, asset replacement, and even creating new bus stops.
Government
Government entities use this software for military transport. It is mainly used for preventive maintenance and mechanical asset reporting purposes.
Church/faith centers
Churches and faith centers use bus maintenance software to keep transport vehicles in working order and to schedule trips and retreats.
Airlines
Bus maintenance software was born out of the airline industry. Carriers use bus maintenance software for preventive maintenance tasks on airbuses and to evaluate when it’s time to decommission an asset.
As you can see, bus maintenance software can be tailored to fit the needs of the industry that’s using it—whether that be for buses or other types of vehicles.
Summary
Streamlining transportation management is the primary goal of bus maintenance software. From reinforcing safety procedures, to creating a schedule for preventive maintenance, to tracking work orders, or even controlling fuel costs and maintenance budgets, bus maintenance software is an essential tool for any transportation department.
FMX is an affordable bus maintenance software solution that’s configurable to your organization’s needs. Schedule a demo, and let’s talk about how FMX can get you on the road to better bus maintenance today.
Written by
Dean Heid
Content Manager at FMX