8.6 Vehicle maintenance

Preventive maintenance of vehicles is essential to minimise vehicle downtime, reduce costs and avoid breakdowns that result in safety and security risks.

It is mandatory for all employees who are assigned vehicles to carry out daily vehicle checks. This should be the first activity of a driver or person in charge before the commencement of any activity for that day. A Daily Vehicle Maintenance Checklist is attached at Annex 18.46.

All vehicles should be serviced on a monthly basis, at least every 3,000 km to account for the severe conditions that CARE vehicles are often subjected to. A checklist for the monthly vehicle service is available at Annex 18.47.

In CARE operations with a large vehicle fleet, it is more cost-effective to have a transport coordinator and private workshop. If CARE has an in-house mechanic, it is their responsibility for managing monthly servicing. In a smaller CARE operation, it may not be feasible to set up a maintenance facility. The Administration unit should put in place a contract with a reputable service provider for CARE’s vehicle servicing requirements (see Annex 18.48 Sample Contract with External Workshop Facility) and all works assigned to the external repair facility must be monitored, using Annex 18.49 Vehicle Repair Tracking Sheet.

All repairs and maintenance jobs carried out on a CARE vehicle-whether through the CARE workshop or an external repair agency-should be done through a formal Vehicle Work Order Form (Annex 18.50) submitted by the driver and signed by the mechanic and transport assistant.

It is essential to maintain an accurate inventory of all spare parts, using Annex 18.51 Vehicle Spare Parts Bin Card. All spare parts should be issued through Annex 18.52 Spare Parts Request Form. This form should be submitted by the mechanic, supported by the Vehicle Work Order Form to the transport coordinator, and approved by the Administration manager.