In this episode of Straight Talk on Fleet, Erin sits down with Stefano Denari, Fleet Ecosystem Strategist at Fleetio, to talk about a topic every fleet leader wrestles with: maintenance. And not just oil changes and tire rotations—we’re talking about building a proactive, compliant, driver-first maintenance culture that actually works.

Erin and Stefano break down why so many fleets stay stuck in reactive mode, what “maintenance as a cost center” gets wrong, and how to start shifting your program—from chaos to consistency. You’ll hear real strategies you can steal today, from digging into your last 10 breakdowns to getting drivers to speak up (and actually giving them a way to do it).

They also cover how tech like IntelliShift and Fleetio help connect the dots between data, inspections, and PM schedules—so you can get ahead of issues before they blow up your budget, your customer satisfaction, or your safety score.

Spoiler: A great maintenance program doesn’t just reduce downtime—it builds trust, retains talent, and maybe even lets you take a vacation.