Keeping track of vehicle mileage: manual or system-based

Vehicle mileage is a number that every mechanic, driver and fleet manager should know how to interpret. Do you know why?

It provides the basis for calculating fuel consumption per kilometer and planning servicing for preventive maintenance and parts replacement. This makes it easier to keep the vehicle in good condition to travel on highways, avoiding bigger problems such as truck component failures or a complete vehicle stoppage during a delivery.

To track mileage, you also need to understand its importance and know:

What can affect vehicle mileage?

Odometer operation and the records made are fundamental to building a view of a fleet vehicle's mileage. This is a way to check for potential vehicle failures, and certain precautions are essential to keep the fleet operating safely.

The points to watch therefore include:

1. Odometer authenticity

Since electronic odometers appeared, tampering with them has become harder, because even older vehicles with analog odometers have received devices that ensure mileage accuracy.

However, every precaution is worthwhile.

Having an automotive scanner in the company's workshop or taking the truck to a professional for verification is always the best option to ensure the vehicle has not traveled farther than the dashboard shows.

Pay twice as much attention to this detail when buying used trucks and machinery.

2. Checking routine

To establish a checking routine, it is important to standardize processes. With a predefined method, it is much simpler to carry out frequent checkups to assess maintenance needs, but in a quick and practical way.

Through inspection checklists, you can check not only the truck's mileage, but also its lighting, brake operation, oil level and all the equipment essential for a smoother journey.

In a digital routine, checklists completed on a phone help turn a check performed by a person into a record available in the system. The mileage entered during the inspection is therefore no longer left on loose paper, in a message or in the driver's memory.

This leads to another important precaution:

3. Recording vehicle mileage

Every record matters when it comes to the trucks in your fleet. This is because, when stored, these data help recognize failures and wear in parts that need replacement.

Mileage also has a strong influence on understanding a vehicle's problems. A very high reading means it has traveled long distances, which may have affected the truck's components.

Ideally, the odometer reading should be connected to the other operational records, such as refueling, maintenance and checklists. In Prolog's refueling control, for example, refueling is entered with liters, amount and person responsible, and the odometer acts as a key to viewing the vehicle's consumption in the same place.

How can you track mileage?

Reading the vehicle's odometer on the truck dashboard is a quick, common way to track it. Even better if it is done through standardized digital records, checked by the team and reviewed by a good professional whenever inconsistencies are suspected.

In general, vehicle mileage can be tracked through:

Manual tracking

Manual tracking can use a mileage and refueling control spreadsheet. Each time the vehicle undergoes maintenance and/or refueling, the number shown on the odometer is recorded.

Similarly, records can be made through the vehicle return and departure checklist, noting mileage before and after each trip.

In this case, drivers need to be instructed to read it correctly so records are as accurate as possible.

Keeping track with a system

A fleet control system can make the process more practical when it organizes mileage, refueling, checklist and maintenance records in a single routine. The main point is that mileage needs to be recorded in a standardized, verifiable way, rather than simply jotted down without structure.

In practice, this tracking can originate in the checklist completed on a phone and the refueling record, always based on an odometer reading taken by a person. When a checklist is finished, the data can be included in the system, and refueling can record liters, amount, person responsible and mileage, creating a history to keep track of consumption and maintenance.

With mileage organized, it also becomes possible to automate preventive maintenance routines by mileage or schedule. With Prolog, managing vehicle mileage records can support automatic creation of Work Orders. This does not depend on real-time truck tracking.

Why is it important to track vehicle mileage?

When a driver frequently takes a route, its expenditure can be calculated. Once that figure changes, something may be wrong with the truck, causing higher consumption. A maintenance warning!

Alternatively, the driver may have started driving irresponsibly and should be notified.

Mileage tracking also allows better understanding and planning of vehicle inspections. As you read and interpret the odometer, you can recognize vehicle problems, knowing when to check tires, brakes and other factors that provide safety in freight transport.

All of this is intended to prevent the loss of important parts and considerably reduce the chances of accidents.

In addition, tracking mileage is about knowing vehicle performance. For example, it becomes possible to know how many kilometers the truck travels with X liters of fuel.

Beyond identifying this, you can plan smarter, more economical routes. A comprehensive maintenance strategy can help managers and drivers keep vehicles operating efficiently, conserving fuel and avoiding wasted time.

Speaking of performance, this is something you can control through fleet KPIs (performance indicators).

Among the main ones are fuel and maintenance expenditure — two major factors related to vehicle mileage. Learn more about these indicators and how to use them in your management:

Discover the main indicators for managing your fleet (video in Portuguese)

If your fleet needs to move beyond spreadsheets and turn mileage, refueling, checklists and maintenance into a more reliable routine, discover Prolog's fleet management solutions.