PSV safety inspection software. Sheets checked before they are signed.

A safety inspection sheet is the record an examiner reads most closely. It is also the one most likely to be let down by small things: a brake test with no printout attached, no tyre pressures, a defect written up with no note of who fixed it, a signature in the wrong box. None of those mean the vehicle was unsafe. All of them make it harder to prove it was safe.

What an examiner looks for

Inspection and maintenance records are question 4 in DVSA’s maintenance investigation questions. The examiner samples files across the fleet and asks whether records are suitable and available, whether they are completed, whether inspection intervals are kept, whether there is a forward planner, and whether the VOR system holds up. Minor gaps such as a missing model can still leave you mostly satisfactory. Missing or wrongly completed records, or poor inspection procedures, lead towards unsatisfactory. Clear evidence of falsification is reported to the Traffic Commissioner.

The detail comes from DVSA’s Guide to maintaining roadworthiness. In short, an inspection record should show:

• the operator, the date and ISO week, who inspected it and where
• the vehicle identity, make and model, and the odometer reading where relevant
• every item inspected and its condition, with any defects
• the inspector’s name and signature
• what was repaired and who did the work
• a named, signed and dated declaration that the vehicle is roadworthy

The guide expects every inspection to include a brake performance assessment, by roller brake tester, an electronic braking performance monitoring system, or a decelerometer with brake temperatures. A signed printout should be attached to the record. Where the equipment cannot print, the inspector writes the results on the sheet. The examiner’s questions add that a road test alone is not enough, and that the inspector should record which method was used. Tread depths and tyre pressures go on the report too, and a tyre reaching nine years old should be noted.

Before the vehicle goes back into service, the transport manager or responsible person should have access to the completed sheet and review it. Records are kept for at least 15 months. The guide also asks operators to analyse completed sheets for gaps and repeating faults, because a fault that keeps coming back can point to an interval that is too long, weak walkaround checks, or repairs that did not hold. Our guides to safety inspection intervals and brake testing at safety inspections cover both rules in more depth.

The sheet on a tablet

The technician works through the inspection item by item on a tablet, using granular PSV inspection items. Each vehicle has a not fitted list, and every item has a remember not applicable option, so the technician is not marking the same absent kit on every visit. Odometer readings are taken on the sheet.

Brakes

Brake performance can be entered as figures, with pass and fail guidance based on DVSA’s published brake efficiency requirements, or the roller brake tester printout can be attached as a PDF or photo. A two-circuit secondary brake is supported. Brake wear is recorded as what is left, in percent or millimetres, so the next technician can see how fast it is going.

Tyres and smoke

Tread depth readings, pressures recorded before inflation, tyre pattern and condition all go on the sheet. A low pressure is recorded as a defect, not quietly pumped up and forgotten. The readings feed the tyre register. The smoke test is a pass or fail, with readings if you take them.

Repeat faults and items to monitor

An item faulted on consecutive inspections is flagged as a repeat fault. Items the technician wants watched are carried forward to the next walkaround as directed checks, so the driver is asked about them by name.

Checked before anyone signs

Before a sheet can be signed, PSVault checks it the way an examiner would and lists what needs attention. Examples:

• no brake test result or printout
• no record of who did the brake test
• steer tyre date codes showing a tyre over ten years old on a front steered axle
• tyre pressures not recorded before pumping up
• brake work done with no brake test after it
• a wheel removed with no re-torque booked
• a fault repeated from the last inspection
• an inspection that is late with no VOR record covering the gap

It is far cheaper to fix these on the day, with the vehicle still in the workshop, than to explain them to an examiner later.

Sign-off and office scrutiny

Technicians have saved signatures. The supervisor signs the sheet off, then the office signs it, with an optional second signatory if you want two people to sign. An office scrutiny checklist guides the review of each sheet, so the person signing has looked at the brake figures and the tyre readings rather than the bottom line alone.

Every compliance-relevant change goes in an audit trail. Nothing is deleted: a mistake is voided with the reason and the name of the person who voided it, and the original stays on file. Sheets print as PDFs, including DVSA-style layouts, and everything can be downloaded as an export if an examiner asks for hard copies.

How it feeds the self-check

The maintenance investigation self-check uses the same examiner-style checks to report records not fully completed. It also looks at late inspections and whether VOR covered them, how far ahead the planner runs, and re-torques and tyre management. Each answer comes with its reason, and the office confirms or changes it before signing. Gaps become actions with an owner and a due date, and the next self-check looks back at them.