FleetMS — Open-Source Fleet Maintenance & Management Platform
Built FleetMS — a full-featured, open-source fleet maintenance and management platform covering vehicle lifecycle management, DVIR inspection checklists, work orders, parts inventory, fuel log tracking, and automated service reminders. The platform serves fleets of 75+ vehicles across web and mobile, built on Elixir/Phoenix with a PostgreSQL backend and real-time data processing.
Client
FleetMS
Project Value
$110,000+
Rating
The Challenge
Fleet operators managing 50–200 vehicles were running maintenance on gut feel and disconnected spreadsheets. Insurance renewals were missed, inspection records were scattered across clipboards, fuel costs were invisible, and mechanics were writing work orders in notebooks that nobody else could read. The software they could afford was either too simple (a spreadsheet in disguise) or too expensive and rigid (enterprise fleet systems costing $500+/vehicle/year). What the market needed was a production-grade, self-hostable platform that a single fleet manager could stand up in under an hour and run without an IT department.
The Goal
Design and deliver a modular, open-source fleet management SaaS that handles every operational touchpoint — vehicle profiles with document renewal reminders, DVIR-style inspection checklists, issues tracking, work orders with mechanic assignment, parts and inventory, fuel log with efficiency analytics, and a real-time dashboard giving fleet managers a live operational pulse from any device.
Solution & Implementation
1Analysis
Ran structured discovery interviews with fleet managers, mechanics, and drivers across logistics, construction, and municipal operations to map 12 core daily workflows. Identified that 80% of operational pain was concentrated in four areas: missing inspection records at roadside checks, unplanned maintenance from ignored service reminders, manual fuel data entry with no cost-per-mile visibility, and work orders that existed only in a mechanic's head. Designed the module architecture around those four pain clusters first — ensuring every other feature served them.
2Designing Solution
Selected Elixir + Phoenix Framework as the foundation for its unmatched concurrency model (the BEAM VM), fault tolerance, and real-time capabilities via Phoenix LiveView — critical for a platform where multiple fleet managers and mechanics update records simultaneously. Ash Framework provides a declarative resource layer that eliminates boilerplate CRUD and enforces consistent business logic across all 8 modules. PostgreSQL handles relational data with JSONB for flexible asset attribute storage. Tailwind CSS + Flowbite deliver a responsive, professional UI that works on desktop, tablet, and mobile without a separate app build.
3Customizing Business Logic
Built a complete DVIR (Driver Vehicle Inspection Report) module where fleet admins define custom inspection form templates — tyre checks, brake inspections, lights, transmission, safety equipment — and drivers submit digital reports with pass/fail status, photo attachments, and issue escalation. Each open issue automatically surfaces in the dashboard with priority and work order status. Integrated renewal reminders for Insurance, Emissions Test, and any custom document type — with configurable advance warning intervals and push notification delivery. The Fuel Log module captures cost-per-litre, odometer reading, and location for every fill — generating per-vehicle and fleet-wide fuel efficiency trend charts.
4Scale & Optimize
Delivered a Work Orders module where mechanics log every repair, part used, labour time, and cost — creating a full maintenance audit trail per vehicle. Parts and Inventory module tracks stock levels with low-stock alerts, reorder thresholds, and part usage linkage to work orders. The asset profile page consolidates vehicle specs, current driver assignment, active work orders, fuel efficiency trend, upcoming renewals, and recent inspection results in a single view — giving fleet managers complete situational awareness in under 30 seconds. Optimised LiveView socket connections to support 200+ concurrent users with sub-100ms update latency on the real-time dashboard.
Results & Impact
Vehicles Managed
Active Vehicles Tracked
Open Work Orders
Fuel Cost Visibility
Inspection Compliance
DVIR inspection module: fleet admins define custom checklists; drivers submit digital reports with issue escalation and work order auto-creation
Ash Framework resource layer enforces consistent business logic and authorization across all 8 modules — zero ad-hoc CRUD controllers
Phoenix LiveView real-time dashboard delivers live fleet KPIs (active vehicles, open work orders, maintenance queue) with sub-100ms update latency
Fuel Log module captures every fill event and generates per-vehicle fuel efficiency trend charts — giving fleet managers true cost-per-mile visibility
Renewal reminder engine covers Insurance, Emissions Test, and any custom document type — with configurable advance warning intervals and push notifications
Parts and Inventory module tracks stock levels, reorder thresholds, and links part consumption directly to work orders for accurate maintenance cost accounting
Self-hostable via Docker Compose — a single fleet manager can deploy, configure, and begin managing vehicles in under 60 minutes with no IT department required
Asset profile page consolidates vehicle specs, driver assignment, fuel efficiency, upcoming renewals, and open work orders in one view — 30-second operational pulse
Key Technologies
Project Gallery
"Before FleetMS, our inspection records lived on clipboards, fuel costs were a mystery, and half our service reminders got missed. Now every driver submits their DVIR digitally, I can see fuel efficiency trends per vehicle in the dashboard, and work orders go straight to the mechanic's phone. We have not had a missed renewal since we went live. The platform runs itself."
Marcus Webb
FleetMS
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