Growth brings challenges. As your haulage business expands, so does the complexity of managing your fleet. Unplanned breakdowns, compliance issues, and escalating maintenance costs can quickly erode profits and reliability. Implementing a structured preventive maintenance (PM) schedule is essential to keep your operations running smoothly and efficiently.

Every hour of unplanned downtime costs you. In missed deliveries, overtime, and unhappy customers… But most of that risk is preventable.

A well-structured maintenance schedule gives you predictability, control, reliability and the confidence that your fleet is safe and compliant. In this article, we’ll walk through the steps to get your preventive maintenance schedule in place and explain how the right system makes all the difference.

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1. Build a Detailed Asset List

You can’t start until you know what you have. Start by creating a database of all fleet assets: trucks, trailers, etc. For each vehicle, capture:

• Make, model, year
• VIN or registration
• Odometer reading or engine hours
• Service history and warranty status
  This inventory is the foundation of your maintenance plan.

You’re not alone if putting together this detailed list sounds like a lot of headache. Most companies we see have all this information somewhere but finding it all can be a tedious task of digging through old files, emails and sheets.

That’s why when onboarding with Stratum TMS we make it easy to create 1 organised, central place for all this info. No need to rely on spreadsheets or someone’s memory… everything is centralised and accessible from anywhere. Every asset is automatically tracked with full details: vehicle type, age, mileage, service history, assigned driver, and more - with all your documents available with 1 click.

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Step 2: Define Maintenance Tasks and Frequency

Different vehicles need different levels of attention depending on how they’re used. Key factors include:

• Manufacturer guidelines
• Vehicle usage patterns (distance, road type, load)
• Historical breakdowns or wear trends

Stratum’s Garage module allows you to create Job Card templates for specific service types and apply them across the fleet - making maintenance consistent and repeatable.

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3. Set Maintenance Intervals

There’s no single rule for when maintenance should happen, which is why flexibility is important. BUT! Trying to maintain a fleet by the seat of your pants doesn’t work either, there needs to be structure…

Choosing the right maintenance intervals to optimally balance safety, compliance, and garage costs requires visibility and data. Without a system to track vehicle usage and service history, you're left relying on memory, spreadsheets, or guesswork… and that's where things start to slip.

As fleets grow, so does the complexity. Every vehicle has a different job profile, operating conditions, and wear pattern. Some are racking up long motorway miles; others are stop-start around cities… on top of differences between makes and models. A one-size-fits-all schedule won’t work. And trying to manage that variability manually is a guarantee for missed services and preventable downtime.

Stratum allows you to receive automated reminders that notify the right people about upcoming service intervals, inspections, or preventive maintenance. Link telematics data (e.g., mileage, engine hours) to work orders, so maintenance tasks are triggered based on actual usage, not just time on the calendar.

This approach helps you:

• Prevent over-servicing low-use vehicles
• Avoid under-servicing high-mileage ones
• Keep the garage focused on what’s needed, when it’s needed
• Maintain compliance and reduce the risk of breakdowns

In short, it’s about removing the admin burden while making smarter, data-backed decisions that scale with your fleet. You need a top down view to truly optimize your schedule, and for that sort of visibility and control… you need smart system.

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4. Create a Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Standardise recurring maintenance tasks with a checklist. This ensures inspections and services are carried out consistently across the fleet and helps mechanics track what’s been done. Using Stratum’s Garage Module, build checklists that your people can follow for recurring inspections: from oil changes to CVRT preps. This ensures that services are consistent, auditable, and easy to monitor across your fleet.

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5. Track Performance and Adjust

No plan stays perfect forever. You’ll need to review data on adjust the schedule based on real-world performance. But, if it takes too long to put together a report, it won’t get done. Ensure you have the data you need at your fingertips for informed decision-making.

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6. Include Tyre Management

Tyres are among the most heavily used and easily overlooked components in any fleet. Poor tyre management can lead to faster wear, reduced fuel efficiency, unexpected breakdowns, and safety concerns. That’s why they need to be part of your preventive maintenance plan, not something you only deal with when there’s a problem.

Routine checks for pressure, tread depth, alignment, and rotation should be scheduled consistently. Tracking how individual tyres perform over time helps you avoid unnecessary replacements and keep vehicles running smoothly.

With Stratum’s Tyre Management module, you can log and monitor every tyre in the system, complete with installation details and performance history. This gives you visibility into which tyres are nearing end of life, which ones are underperforming, and when replacements are actually needed. It also supports smarter rotation and pressure routines, helping extend tyre life and reduce operating costs without increasing admin.

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Conclusion

Setting up a maintenance schedule keeps your operation compliant, reduces downtime, and makes sure money isn’t leaking out through preventable breakdowns and inefficiencies.

To do it right, you need:

• A full inventory of your vehicles and assets
• Clearly defined service tasks and intervals
• Systems to automate reminders and track performance
• A structured approach to tyres, inspections, and garage work

Doing this without a centralised system that links dispatch and maintenance quickly becomes unmanageable… especially as your fleet grows. Stratum helps you take control of maintenance with tools that link real-world data, service planning, and reporting in one place. It’s how leading transport companies are reducing admin, staying compliant, and keeping their trucks on the road.

Want to see how it works? Book a demo and we’ll show you.

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