The old adage fail to prepare, prepare to fail may be seen as a cliche. But when it comes to fleet management, it’s the truth.
Preventive maintenance is one of the most valuable tools a fleet operator has. After all, being proactive while in control sure beats stressfully reacting to pressurised situations.
Yet, it’s often the one that gets overlooked when the schedule gets busy. Here’s the thing: a good plan doesn’t just keep vehicles roadworthy. It helps reduce costs, avoid unplanned downtime, and ensure your operation stays fully compliant.
In this guide, we’ll break down exactly how to build a preventive maintenance plan that works in the real world. Whether you're managing 10 vehicles or 200, the steps below will help you stay ahead of servicing and protect your O-licence.
Why Preventive Maintenance Matters
Do you ever have one of those days where everything goes against you?
Missed inspections, unexpected breakdowns, and repair bills pile up. Leaving you scrambling to put out the fires. This is the unfortunate reality of reactive maintenance. Simply put, it creates risk for both your vehicles and your operator licence. You can find more about the difference between preventive and reactive maintenance here.
Agencies like the DVSA recommend proactive servicing to ensure roadworthiness and reduce the chance of enforcement action. A consistent plan is essential for staying on top of your legal responsibilities.
What Should a Preventive Maintenance Plan Include?
A strong maintenance plan goes beyond oil changes and brake checks. It should cover every part of your vehicle care cycle:
Scheduled inspections (daily, weekly, 6-week cycles, etc.)
Mileage or time-based servicing
Walkaround checks and defect reporting
Repair tracking and follow-up
Document storage for audits
Staff responsibilities for logging and acting on issues
You’ll also want to be ready for unplanned repairs. After all, even a well-maintained fleet can still hit a pothole.
With that being covered, let’s check out the simple steps towards building a failproof preventive maintenance plan.
1. Audit Your Fleet
Start by gathering a list of all your vehicles, trailers and other key equipment. Include age, mileage, service history, and any known issues. If you're managing this across sites, make sure everything feeds into one shared view.
Top tip: Check out our fleet management software for a simple place you can view everything for the monthly cost of a driver logbook.
2. Set Realistic Service Intervals
Base your service plan on mileage, engine hours, or time intervals — whatever makes sense for your operation. Follow manufacturer guidelines, but adjust for high-usage vehicles or known weak spots. Stick to DVSA-recommended service intervals where possible.
3. Create a Fleet Maintenance Checklist
Your checklist should cover inspections, cleaning, minor servicing, and safety checks. It should be clear, repeatable, and accessible to your team. This can be built into your workshop software platform, or created digitally and printed if needed.
4. Assign Responsibilities
Make it clear who is responsible for each task. Drivers should complete daily walkaround checks and report defects. Mechanics should sign off repairs. Managers should review schedules, track completion, and respond to defects.
You can simply streamline this with our daily driver app.
5. Digitise Your Process
Paper records get lost, damaged, or forgotten. A digital maintenance planner lets you automate reminders, log inspections, track work, and store all documentation securely. It also simplifies audits — everything is searchable, timestamped, and backed up.
Explore our Fleet Maintenance Software
6. Review and Optimise Over Time
Check your data regularly. Are certain vehicles repeatedly flagged for the same issue? Are defects getting logged but not repaired? Use the insights to improve how your team operates and reduce the risk of problems repeating.
Avoid These Common Mistakes
Relying on memory or verbal communication
Letting service dates slide due to workload
Logging walkaround checks but failing to follow up on issues
Skipping repairs because the vehicle “still runs”
Not preparing for audits by retaining service documentation
How Fleet Fixation Helps
Fleet Fixation brings everything into one central platform. With built-in reminders, digital checklists, defect tracking, and full maintenance records, you’ll always know what’s been done, what’s overdue, and what’s coming up next.
You’ll get:
A clear digital maintenance planner
Integrated accident and repair reporting
Mechanic and driver apps (Android & iOS)
Real-time costing and service tracking
Full audit-ready service history
Automated alerts and central documentation
Final Thoughts
Setting up a preventive maintenance plan doesn’t have to be complicated. But it does have to be consistent. When your fleet is maintained properly, everything runs smoother — from inspections and audits to customer service and safety.
If you want to make that easier to manage, digital tools can take the pressure off and help you stay in control.
Book a Free Demo
Or visit fleetfixation.com to see how it works.