How Smart Fleets are Reducing Repair Costs

By: Megan Baker

One sure way to identify ‘Smart Fleets’ is by examining the way they handle costs related to unexpected downtime resulting from a crash. Smart Fleets have historically been on the cutting edge of technology in search of ways to reduce the high costs associated with auto accidents. However,  to fully understand how Smart Fleets reduce their accident costs, one must first understand what makes up the cost of an accident.

Breakdown of the Cost of an Accident

Each crash can cost an organization thousands of dollars in both obvious and hidden fees. There are obvious costs such as the cost of dedicated employees or third party administrator fees, rental car fees, independent appraiser fees, and of course the repair cost. What’s not so obvious are the hidden costs that come as a result of the crash and as a result of an inactive unit. In fact, Smart Fleets have learned that the longer the unit is inactive, the more money they spend. This includes increased administrative paperwork and responsibilities leading to employee overtime and decreased productivity which often equates to revenue loss or an interruption of service to the community for those in the public sector;  not to mention workers comp claims,  bad publicity,  and a blemished company reputation which can be quite costly. With all of these considerations, accident-related costs can average an astounding $70,000 per accident! For example, a police department with only 5 crashes a month could face upward of $4M a year in accident-related costs.

 

 

 

Reduce the High Costs of Accidents

With the cost of crashes being immensely high, it is vital to find ways to improve the fleet repair process to reduce these costs. Uptime by SHzoom provides immediate notifications to fleet and risk managers from the accident scene which keeps management informed while helping to meet workers compensation compliance requirements. These automated incident reports with supervisor and safety approval features allow reports to be completed in minutes instead of weeks. In fact, these reports shave off an average of 28 days from your cycle time. As a result, this reduces rental fees, dedicated employee hours, and third-party administrative costs.  

Most fleets use independent appraisers to give them a single quote for a repair while also being charged a fee to do so. However, each repair should receive multiple repair estimates as this will decrease cost, increase quality, and assist in hitting supplier diversity goals. Uptime by SHzoom does this by allowing easy access to multiple repair estimates and diverse suppliers. Smart Fleets gain access to multiple competitive repair estimates from diverse, nearby repair shops, eliminating the need for independent appraisers. The patented platform connects ALL key parties – driver, fleet, risk, TPA/dedicated employees, and repair shops – on a single platform. This is all done paperless, with no phone calls or wondering by any of the above-mentioned parties ultimately reducing costs by millions.

With Uptime by SHzoom, organizations can reduce repair costs for accidents by obtaining multiple repair estimates while simultaneously increasing their supplier diversity. Visit our website and mention “supplier diversity” to start reducing your costs today!