"background": "The management of industrial machinery fleets is critical for infrastructure development, yet robust empirical evidence on the cost-effectiveness of systematic fleet management in developing economies is scarce. Existing evaluations often lack rigorous counterfactual analysis. ", "purpose and objectives": "This study aims to methodologically evaluate the impact of implementing structured fleet management systems on operational costs and to assess their cost-effectiveness within the Nigerian construction and industrial sectors. ", "methodology": "A quasi-experimental difference-in-differences (DiD) design was employed, analysing panel data from firms with and without formalised systems. The core model is Y{it = \0 + \1 + \2 + \ (\) + \₈ₓ, where \ captures the causal effect. Inference is based on cluster-robust standard errors at the firm level. ", "findings": "The DiD estimator revealed that firms adopting structured fleet systems achieved a statistically significant reduction in average monthly maintenance costs of 18. 7% (95% CI: -22. 3%, -15. 1%) relative to the control group. The benefit-cost ratio for implementation was estimated at 3. 2 over the study period. ", "conclusion": "Formalised fleet management systems are a cost-effective intervention for industrial machinery operations, leading to substantial and significant reductions in operational expenditures. ", "recommendations": "Industry stakeholders should prioritise investment in integrated fleet management systems. Policymakers are encouraged to develop frameworks and incentives to support their adoption across the sector. ", "key words": "fleet management, difference-in-differences, cost-effectiveness, industrial machinery, maintenance, Nigeria", "contribution statement": "This paper provides the first application of a quasi-experimental DiD framework to isolate the causal effect of fleet management systems on costs in this context, introducing a robust methodological approach for
Adebayo et al. (Sat,) studied this question.