The most common (and public) fleet maintenance metrics are outputs: OOS rates, roadside violations, CSA scores.
By the time those move, the thing that caused them is usually months old. Outputs are good at telling you something went wrong but pretty awful at telling you what.
On the other hand, inputs are actually controllable. In maintenance there are dozens of input metrics, and they're what drive consistent outcomes.
A good input metric passes three tests: Can we calculate it consistently? Could an operator move it this week? Do we believe moving it improves the outcome?
Sharing some of ours below. I'm sure people here have input metrics they swear by! Would love to hear them.
Leading indicators for maintenance
Seven questions
- Did you inspect it?
- Did you capture what was wrong?
- Did somebody respond?
- Did you stop unsafe exposure?
- Did you actually fix it?
- Can you prove you fixed it?
- Are you preventing the next problem?
Did you inspect it?
Inspection completion
DVIRs filed ÷ driver-vehicle-days with driving time
Missed on walkaround
driver-visible defects found by shop or roadside after a clean DVIR ÷ all driver-visible defects found
Did you capture what was wrong?
Reported defect capture
driver-reported defects entered into the maintenance record ÷ all driver-reported defects
Documentation completeness
defects with description, location and photo ÷ all defects
Did somebody respond?
Acknowledgment time
hours from defect reported to shop acknowledged, 90th percentile
Defect backlog
open defects older than 7 days ÷ active units
Did you stop unsafe exposure?
Miles on open unsafe defects
miles driven with an unsafe defect open ÷ total miles
Unsafe defects closed within 24 hours
unsafe defects closed within 24h ÷ all unsafe defects
Did you actually fix it?
Inspection-to-repair closure
reported defects closed by a completed repair ÷ reported defects
Repeat defects
same unit, same system, within 30 days ÷ all defects
Can you prove you fixed it?
Closure with evidence
closed defects with a work order or invoice ÷ closed defects
Complete repair records
work orders with cause, correction, parts and labor ÷ all work orders
Are you preventing the next problem?
On-time PM
PMs completed within interval ÷ PMs due
PM overdue tail
units more than 25% past PM interval ÷ active units
Miles overdue at PM completion
average miles past due, on PMs completed late
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