Proactive maintenance: address the cause of failure

Proactive maintenance works through a combination of preventive actions, data collection and analysis, and its primary objective is to address the central issue at its cause, rather than just treating the failures that arise from it.

Asking about the cause is what separates this approach from others: replacing a broken component or bringing its replacement forward according to a calendar is not enough. The aim is to understand why that component fails, which may be due to a load pattern, an unsuitable specification, an incorrectly set lubrication interval or a driving practice, and act on the reason so the failure stops recurring.

This type of maintenance stands out for predicting issues before they occur. Its main benefits include reduced operating costs, greater vehicle durability and improved reliability and availability for daily operations.

With one caveat: predicting does not mean eliminating. No maintenance strategy reduces unexpected failures to zero; what it changes is how often the operation is caught by surprise.

Implementing this maintenance strategy in the fleet needs the support of technologies, training and close monitoring of results.

Explore the following:

• What proactive fleet vehicle maintenance is
• The purpose and importance of proactive maintenance
• How a proactive maintenance strategy works
• Proactive and reactive maintenance
• How to implement proactive maintenance in a fleet

What is proactive fleet vehicle maintenance?

Proactive fleet vehicle maintenance is a strategic approach involving continuous monitoring and systematic analysis of vehicle operating data to predict and prevent failures before they occur.

Its aim is therefore to focus on identifying actual failures, reducing operational interruptions and increasing efficiency.

A note on the term “continuous monitoring”: continuous refers to recordkeeping, not necessarily to equipment installed in the vehicle. Daily driver inspections, departure and return checklists, periodic tire and brake measurements, workshop records for each service performed and the history of replaced parts together form a database. As this post shows later, this collection can even be done in a spreadsheet. What the fleet needs before any additional hardware is the discipline of recordkeeping.

What is the purpose and importance of proactive maintenance?

Proactive maintenance serves to ensure continuous, efficient fleet vehicle operations by identifying and resolving issues before they develop into functional failures.

Its main benefits include:

• Increased vehicle durability: keeping vehicles regularly serviced and correcting potential issues before they cause greater damage extends their useful life.
• Safer operations: well-maintained vehicles are less likely to suffer mechanical failures that can lead to accidents, ensuring greater safety for drivers and traffic in general.
• Regulatory compliance: proactive maintenance helps ensure that vehicles meet safety and emissions standards, avoiding fines and other legal penalties. In Brazil, the Brazilian Traffic Code classifies driving a vehicle “in a poor state of maintenance, compromising safety, or having failed the safety and pollutant and noise emissions inspection provided for in art. 104” as a serious infraction, punishable by a fine and the vehicle being held by the authorities until compliance is restored (art. 230, item XVIII). Art. 104 itself refers the format and frequency of this inspection to CONTRAN, Brazil's National Traffic Council, for safety items, and CONAMA, Brazil's National Environment Council, for pollutant gas and noise emissions.
• Optimized vehicle use: with efficient maintenance planning, vehicles are available when needed, without unexpected interruptions.
• Credibility and reputation: reliability in delivery and service quality improves customers' perception of the company, strengthening its market position.

How does a proactive maintenance strategy work?

This fleet management strategy works through collecting and analyzing data on vehicle operation. If you already practice preventive maintenance and even predictive maintenance in your operation, much of the proactive approach is already in progress.

Since these three terms are often used as synonyms, it is worth distinguishing them without losing the relationship between them. Preventive maintenance usually intervenes at intervals: mileage, operating hours or the calendar. Predictive maintenance intervenes according to condition, monitoring the state of the component to estimate when it will fail. Proactive maintenance builds on both and adds the question of cause. That is why those already practicing preventive and predictive maintenance do not start from scratch: they build on what they already have.

In addition to collection and analysis, it is necessary to proactively schedule the required services to truly achieve positive results from this management model.

To make the strategy work better, installing sensors and monitoring devices in vehicles helps gather even more information accurately. Telematics and onboard sensing systems are a market of their own, supplied by companies specializing in this type of solution, and collect continuous, real-time data on component condition and performance. Where these devices are not part of the operation, the database remains what inspections and the workshop record. This does not prevent a proactive approach; it only changes how frequently information arrives.

This information is then analyzed to identify patterns or warning signs that may indicate an emerging failure.

This can be done “manually,” using paper or digital spreadsheets, or through more specialized maintenance management systems that generate automated reports and can be integrated with a BI platform.

Based on this analysis, maintenance is strategically scheduled to resolve issues before they result in more serious faults.

Proactive maintenance vs. reactive maintenance

Each of these approaches has its own characteristics and implications.

Proactive maintenance focuses on preventing failures before they occur. As discussed above, it uses data and predictive analysis to schedule maintenance interventions based on the current condition and expected performance of vehicles.

The goal is to minimize unexpected downtime, optimize component useful life and improve operational efficiency.

On the other hand, reactive maintenance deals with repairs and corrections after issues arise. It is the approach generally treated as synonymous with corrective maintenance: the vehicle runs until a fault appears and only then enters the workshop.

This strategy can result in higher operating costs and longer vehicle downtime, as failures are only addressed after they occur, which can be unpredictable and cause greater operational interruptions.

While reactive maintenance may be unavoidable in certain cases, the trend is for modern transportation companies to seek to implement more proactive practices to ensure maximum fleet availability and reliability.

How do you implement proactive maintenance in your fleet?

Have an established maintenance management routine

Already having a functioning fleet maintenance routine helps implement proactive maintenance much faster. This routine should include defining standard procedures for regular inspections, scheduled maintenance and safety checks.

A well-defined routine also makes it easier to organize and prioritize maintenance tasks, ensuring no important aspect is overlooked.

This makes proactive decision-making easier.

Implement the necessary technologies

This stage can include not only maintenance technologies, such as temperature sensors or tire pressure measurement tools, for example, but can also extend to telematics software.

Telematics software consists of third-party solutions purchased separately: in addition to more accurate vehicle operation diagnostics, this type of system allows driver behavior on the road to be monitored and cases of engine idling to be identified.

Alongside all this, the integration of these tools with fleet management systems makes it possible to automate maintenance scheduling and optimize resource allocation.

Monitor maintenance and performance indicators

Monitoring maintenance indicators and performance includes keeping track of metrics such as failure frequency, repair response time, maintenance cost per vehicle and fleet availability.

Analyzing these indicators helps identify areas for improvement and adjust maintenance strategies.

In addition, this data helps predict future maintenance needs, enabling more accurate and economical planning.

One precaution helps avoid hasty conclusions from these numbers: cost per vehicle, on its own, says little. It usually makes sense when compared with the vehicle's own history and with vehicles of similar model, age and application.

Make fast decisions based on the collected data

With data collected through the implemented technologies, managers can quickly identify trends or emerging issues and act before those issues affect fleet operations.

Fast decisions based on detailed data analysis help ensure that maintenance interventions are both preventive and efficient, reducing unnecessary costs and improving vehicle durability.

To do so, it is worth defining from the outset who receives each alert and how quickly they need to respond. Without that definition, the data circulates and the failure remains.

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