Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Vehicle Maintenance Coordinator oversees the planning, scheduling, tracking and administrative functions that keep a commercial fleet safe, compliant and available. This role acts as the operational hub between drivers, technicians, external vendors and fleet leadership—ensuring preventive maintenance programs run on schedule, repairs are completed efficiently, parts and material flows are optimized, and fleet performance KPIs (uptime, cost-per-mile, mean time to repair) are continuously improved. The Coordinator is accountable for accurate work orders, timely vendor invoicing, DOT/state regulatory compliance, and daily troubleshooting to minimize vehicle downtime.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Fleet Technician / Heavy-Duty Mechanic
Maintenance Planner or Scheduler
Fleet Administrative Assistant / Parts Clerk

Advancement To:

Fleet Maintenance Manager
Maintenance Operations Manager
Director of Fleet Operations / Fleet Manager

Lateral Moves:

Operations Coordinator / Dispatch Supervisor
Logistics or Transportation Supervisor

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Manage the entire maintenance work order lifecycle in the CMMS: create, prioritize, assign, monitor status, close out, and ensure accurate labor and parts entries to maintain clean maintenance records and cost data.
Develop, maintain and enforce the preventive maintenance (PM) schedule for all fleet assets (light-duty, medium-duty, heavy-duty trucks, trailers and specialty equipment) to maximize uptime and extend useful life.
Coordinate and prioritize in-shop repairs and outsourced vendor work; communicate scope, expectations and timeframes with technicians, vendors and dispatch to meet operational needs.
Administer parts inventory management and procurement: forecast usage, reorder stock, manage minimum/maximum levels, perform cycle counts, reconcile discrepancies and reduce expedited/overnight shipments.
Lead vendor and subcontractor relationships, including sourcing, negotiating terms, managing purchase orders, validating invoices, enforcing SLAs and maintaining vendor scorecards for quality and timeliness.
Ensure fleet compliance with DOT, state and local regulations (inspections, permits, CDL/driver vehicle logs where applicable), manage corrective actions and prepare documentation for audits.
Review and approve routine maintenance and repair invoices; reconcile vendor billings to work orders and purchase orders to prevent billing errors and control maintenance spend.
Monitor and analyze fleet maintenance KPIs (uptime, mean time to repair, mean time between failures, cost-per-mile, first-time fix rate) and prepare weekly and monthly performance reports for leadership.
Triage breakdowns and roadside service events: coordinate towing, field repairs, rental vehicle logistics and communication with operations to restore service as quickly and cost-effectively as possible.
Manage warranty and recall processes: identify eligible warranty claims, submit documentation to OEMs, track recoveries and ensure recall work is performed and documented.
Maintain accurate service history, VIN-level records, title and registration documentation and vehicle cost records for audit readiness and lifecycle decision support.
Coordinate vehicle acquisition, decommissioning and rotation in partnership with fleet procurement: prepare condition reports, final repair estimates, and recommendations for replacement vs. rebuild.
Enforce shop safety and environmental compliance programs, lead regular safety meetings, ensure appropriate PPE usage, and maintain hazardous materials and waste disposal records.
Develop, update and communicate standard operating procedures (SOPs) for maintenance workflows, shop processes, parts handling and equipment use to standardize quality and throughput.
Conduct root cause analysis on repeat failures and systematic issues, propose corrective actions, and coordinate engineering or process-change projects to reduce downtime and cost.
Schedule, track and verify technician certifications, training and licensing (e.g., ASE, DOT certifications) to ensure the shop maintains required competencies and regulatory compliance.
Support budget planning and forecasting for maintenance operations: provide detailed labor, parts and vendor spend projections and identify opportunities for cost reduction.
Serve as the primary point of contact for internal stakeholders (operations, safety, procurement) during planned maintenance windows and emergency fleet incidents to ensure clear status updates and expectations.
Manage spare vehicle pools and temporary replacements during major repairs or scheduled maintenance to minimize operational disruption.
Implement and maintain digital tools and integrations (telematics, CMMS, parts e-procurement) to automate alerts, work order generation, and data capture for data-driven decision making.
Coordinate warranty/insurance repairs and claims processing with carriers and risk management, including damage assessments, cost approval workflows and subrogation efforts.
Oversee seasonal maintenance programs (e.g., HVAC, winterization, summer cooling) and ensure seasonal equipment readiness aligned with operational schedules.
Conduct periodic shop audits and quality checks on completed work orders to verify repair quality, time accuracy, and adherence to diagnostic and safety standards.
Prepare and present maintenance summaries, CAPEX requests and ROI analyses to support leadership decisions on fleet renewals, shop investments, and tool purchases.
Maintain continuous improvement initiatives by leading small projects to streamline workflows, reduce turnaround time, and capture recurring maintenance cost savings.

Secondary Functions

Provide backup support for dispatch and scheduling during peak periods or staff shortages to keep operational continuity.
Assist in cross-functional projects such as route optimization, asset utilization studies and capital planning exercises.
Support procurement on vendor RFPs by providing technical specifications, parts usage history and repair frequency data.
Participate in incident investigations and coordinate corrective actions with safety and HR when vehicle incidents involve personnel or potential policy violations.
Help onboard new drivers and internal stakeholders on maintenance request processes, preventive maintenance expectations, and reporting tools.
Maintain relationships with OEM technical support and local dealerships for escalations, technical bulletins and recall coordination.
Facilitate periodic training sessions or briefings for drivers on pre-trip inspections, defect reporting and basic preventative measures to reduce avoidable failures.
Archive retired vehicle records and support disposal processes including auction coordination, title transfer and final asset reconciliation.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Expertise with CMMS platforms (e.g., FleetWave, Maximo, TMW, ManagerPlus, Fleetio) including work order lifecycle and reporting.
Strong Microsoft Excel skills: VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, pivot tables, data tables, basic macros for reporting and trend analysis.
Familiarity with ERP and financial systems (SAP, Oracle, QuickBooks) for invoice reconciliation and PO matching.
Solid understanding of DOT regulations, state inspection requirements and fleet compliance processes.
Experience managing parts inventory systems, procurement workflows, vendor purchasing and SKU rationalization.
Ability to read and interpret vehicle service manuals, diagnostic trouble codes, and technical service bulletins (TSBs).
Proven competence in using telematics and diagnostic tools to correlate fault codes with maintenance strategy.
Budgeting and cost control skills, including cost-per-mile calculations, maintenance forecasting and variance analysis.
Experience handling warranty claims, recalls and OEM reimbursements.
Knowledge of safety and environmental regulations related to shop operations, HAZMAT handling, and waste disposal.

Soft Skills

Excellent written and verbal communication; able to clearly brief drivers, technicians and senior management.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail to manage multiple vehicles, vendors and deadlines simultaneously.
Analytical mindset with the ability to turn maintenance data into actionable insights and continuous improvement plans.
Problem solving and decision making under pressure, particularly during roadside breakdowns and service disruptions.
Collaborative team player who builds relationships across operations, procurement and finance to achieve fleet goals.
Leadership and coaching ability to direct technicians, contractors and temporary staff during peak workloads.
Time management and prioritization skills to balance preventive vs. corrective work effectively.
Customer-service orientation focused on minimizing disruptions to internal and external stakeholders.
Negotiation skills for vendor contracts, parts pricing and service-level agreements.
Adaptability and willingness to learn new systems and technologies as fleet tools evolve.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

High school diploma or GED with relevant fleet/maintenance experience.

Preferred Education:

Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology, Diesel Mechanics, Fleet Management, Logistics, Business Administration or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Automotive Technology / Diesel Mechanics
Fleet Management / Transportation Management
Logistics / Supply Chain
Business Administration / Operations Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of hands-on fleet maintenance or shop coordination experience, including direct experience with CMMS and vendor management.

Preferred: 5+ years of fleet maintenance coordination or supervisory experience, with exposure to mixed fleets (light and heavy duty), budget ownership, and regulatory compliance (DOT). ASE certifications, supervisory experience and demonstrated success implementing preventive maintenance programs are highly desirable.