Fleet Management in the Waste Sector

Reducing VOR Time and Protecting Your Bottom Line

Fleet Management in the Waste Sector

Reducing VOR Time and Protecting Your Bottom Line

Vehicle Off-Road (VOR) - The waste sector’s biggest operational headache, and every fleet managers worst nightmare.

Nothing is more disruptive than a vehicle unexpectedly coming off the road: productivity grinds to a halt, collections are missed, standing costs pile up, contracts hang in the balance, and repair bills spiral. What started as a single breakdown is quickly compounded into an operational crisis.

And in an industry where tight schedules and razor-thin margins leave no room for error, vehicle downtime isn’t just an inconvenience – it’s a profit killer. As the old trucking adage goes, “if the wheels aren’t turning, you’re not earning.”

This guide breaks down exactly how VOR impacts you and, more importantly, what you can do to minimise downtime, protect your bottom line, and keep your fleet moving.

The True Costs of VOR for the Waste Sector

Unplanned vehicle downtime can cost businesses between £3,000 and £4,000 per day, with an average of three VOR days per year not unusual. These costs can come from:

  • Lost revenue from missed collections
  • Repair expenses for labour and parts
  • Towing and emergency call-outs
  • Additional rental or replacement vehicles
  • Transferring tools and equipment

However, the burden of VOR extends beyond these direct costs. The indirect costs of vehicle downtime – such as project delays, reputational damage, and increased stress on other vehicles – can be even more disruptive.

Unplanned downtime can erode client trust, damage valuable partnerships, and create knock-on effects across your entire supply chain.

To optimise operations, maintain compliance, and safeguard your bottom line, you must monitor VOR-related expenses closely and benchmark them against industry standards.

Common Causes of Fleet Downtime

Driver Behaviour

Aggressive driving – such as harsh braking or speeding – not only increases accident risk but also contributes to the premature wear and tear on vehicle parts, ultimately compromising overall fleet safety.

Older, Higher Mileage Vehicles

While 45% of fleet vehicles are less than 4 years old, waste management vehicles often need to operate well beyond this life-cycle, all while enduring intensive daily use and harsh working conditions. Older vehicles are more difficult to keep roadworthy and therefore more prone to breakdowns.

Poor Maintenance

Maintenance is a critical part of overseeing a waste management fleet, and how you handle it can have a huge impact on your costs and uptime. Many breakdowns often result from damaged or faulty equipment which could have easily been detected during routine inspections.

Reducing VOR and Protecting Your Bottom Line

Driver Monitoring and Training

By monitoring driver performance using telematics and licence checks, you can identify high risk drivers and tailor training accordingly. Well-trained drivers will adopt smoother, safer, more economical habits, reducing wear and tear, lowering insurance claims, and improving overall fleet efficiency. Ensure compliance with updated Driver CPC requirements, and maintain a regularly reviewed Driving for Work policy, so drivers clearly understand their responsibilities.

Preventative Maintenance

Waste management vehicles endure heavy wear and tear due to their demanding workload. A strong preventative maintenance inspection (PMI) can cut unplanned downtime by 20-30%, helping to control costs. Sticking to maintenance schedules for HGV’s and O-licence vehicles is a legal requirement, and ensures servicing, inspections, and repairs are completed properly and on-time. Where possible, schedule preventative maintenance during off-peak hours to minimise disruptions to your fleet operations.

Vehicle Pre-Use Checks

Drivers are your first line of defence against breakdowns. Daily vehicle checks help drivers identify and report any minor issues before they escalate into costly unexpected downtime. Ask yourself:

  • Do your drivers know what to check for?
  • Are reported defects actioned promptly?
  • Are you finding relatively few driver reportable defects at a PMI? If the answer is no, a pre-use check and defect management policy can help monitor compliance and reduce the risk of oversights

How FleetCheck Can Help

Data-driven decision-making is essential in waste management to minimise VOR time. A fleet management solution like FleetCheck provides full visibility over fleet operations, making it easier to manage maintenance, monitor driver behaviour, and ensure vehicle health.

In fact, 6 in 10 FleetCheck clients report that fleet management software has helped reduce unplanned vehicle downtime by:

  • Creating greater visibility over maintenance events and defects
  • Ensuring routine servicing and repairs are completed on time
  • Logging and resolving issues before they escalate

FleetCheck also helps streamline operations by aligning multiple maintenance events. For example, scheduling a safety inspection on the same day prevents unnecessary extra downtime, keeping vehicles on the road longer.

Eliminate VOR

London Borough of Tower Hamlets Eliminated VOR Issues with FleetCheck

FleetCheck is an adaptable, easy-to-use, and professional system. It manages all our MOTs, PMIs, and road taxes, flagging important events with an exclamation mark to alert us. Plus, I can input mileage data to track vehicles with excess mileage, and we can generate a wide range of reports. You can’t go wrong.

Paolo Necchi | Assistant Fleet Manager | Power Day

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