Benefits of Keeping the Fleet Clean
Fleet operators, owners and drivers all want a clean vehicle and workspace. There are many benefits of a clean fleet including driver safety, reduced vehicle down-time, prevention of costly repairs, maintaining vehicle resale and lease agreement value and supporting your company’s brand image. These are all proven benefits your company will receive by maintaining a clean fleet.
Time Factor in Labour Costs with Truck Washing
For many companies, establishing an internal wash maintenance program can be challenging from both a time and labour cost factor. Maintaining a consistent wash cycle for the entire fleet often involves companies having to take time away from focusing on other business areas such as driving. The labour needed to keep your fleet clean adds up to costs in time spent by your driver not being on the road.
In this post, we’ll review the benefits of using a professional fleet washing provider that offers tailored solutions for your fleet and ensures your company receives the maximum benefit of a clean fleet.
The Importance of Choosing a High-Quality Fleet Washing Provider
Fleet washing is a critical process that helps maintain high-dollar value commercial vehicles and keep them in good condition, increases their aesthetic appeal, and boosts safety on the road. There’s one important fact to keep in mind, however – fleet cleaning services are not all created equally.
Some companies in the industry adhere to the highest quality standards, giving customers access to the best price to quality ratio. In other instances, companies will do everything possible to bring the price down. Often, lower prices also mean inferior cleaning services and possible damage of expensive fleet vehicles due to lack of experience or professionalism.
Choosing a high-quality fleet washing provider is crucial to ensuring your company receives consistent quality services that help maintain the value, operation and appearance of your fleet.
Factors to Look for When Choosing a High-Quality Fleet Washing Provider
Let’s face it, talk is cheap, and you need a company with a proven track record of quality services that will give you the best value for the cost. Before you select a fleet washing provider to partner with consider the following topics and ask key questions to assist in the decision-making process:
- Check the company’s reputation and ask for commercial references – This is an important part of ensuring you are choosing a high-quality provider. If the fleet washing company cannot provide references from well-known companies that they partner with, it is likely they may not have many well-established relationships and therefore this should be a red flag. Quality fleet washing takes years of experience by professionals who understand the proper strategies in maintaining clean fleets. A company that has a track record of relationships with well-known fleet owners helps ensure they are well experienced in maintaining fleets of all sizes.
- What insurance, certificates and memberships does the company hold? All companies who have employees must hold some form of workers compensation insurance. The coverage may vary from province to province however providers should always be able to present their active coverage upon request. Without confirmation of workers insurance, your company may be liable in the event a provider is used that do not cover their own employees. Furthermore, experienced fleet washing companies understand the value of industry memberships that allow them to have access to the latest industry enhancements and techniques that support the evolution of their services. Understanding which industry memberships the fleet washing provider holds can tell you a lot about their commitment to their business and customers.
- Asses the company’s equipment, products and staff qualifications – Having the fleet washing provider give an overview of their equipment, products and staffing will allow you to better understand their capabilities, values and experience. When it comes to equipment, a high-quality wash provider will always be equipped with a hot water pressure system. Heat excites the vehicle cleaning surface on a molecular level, breaking the surface tension to effectively remove grease and road grime. There’s simply no other quality alternative to hot water washing. Furthermore, the use of environmentally friendly products should be a core value for the wash provider. If they cannot prove that all of their products are biodegradable and eco-friendly by presenting manufacturer documentation, the use of these products can result in environmental damage and the potential harm to employees. Quality wash providers will also be equipped with a modern water reclaim system to eliminate wastewater run-off from reaching storm drains. These environmental factors should be a critical component of the fleet wash provider selection process. Staffing qualifications and experience also heavily contribute to the level of quality you will receive from the provider. Improperly trained individuals will deliver much lower quality of service, potentially damaging expensive equipment and fleet vehicle parts. A high-quality provider will always ensure trained and experienced professionals are available to service your fleet.
- Consider the companies services and capabilities – Does the company offer different types of mobile washing/cleaning services, such as trailer washouts or interior sanitizing and disinfecting of vehicles? Using a provider that offers a wide range of service options will simplify the task of maintaining your vehicles in perfect condition.
Conclusion
Hiring a quality fleet washing provider to help maintain your fleet provides many benefits as we have discussed here; however, there is no doubt that a lot rides on the quality of fleet vehicle cleaning service that you choose. Understanding what to look for when assessing your provider options will support a seamless process and assist in the overall decision making.
We understand that fleet managers have many stressful decisions to make regarding the sustainability of their fleet. Finding a reliable and quality fleet washing partner should not be one of them. Knowing that you have chosen the best service provider will give you the chance to enjoy all of the professional fleet washing benefits.
