Organization is key to any business, and it is especially true for any company operating a fleet of vehicles. One of the ways commercial fleets stay organized is by having drivers use DVIRs to track vehicle defects.
These DVIRs, short for driver vehicle inspection report, are checklists that drivers use to complete pre- and post-trip inspections. They inspect the vehicle to see if the vehicle is in good operating condition, which includes checking if the brakes work, if the tire pressure is sufficient, if the side mirrors are attached correctly, and so on. Vehicle fleets are also required by U.S. and Canadian federal law to complete inspections, and failing to do so could result in thousands, or tens of thousands, of dollars in fines.
Checking for defects every morning can be a mundane task, but it is critically important for any fleet. What if a truck’s engine is overheating and a driver doesn’t report it? That truck could be used again by a driver unaware of its issues, and all of a sudden it breaks down in a remote area. If that does happen, that would be a huge expense for any company.
Many fleets use paper inspection forms and that can lead to some vehicle problems slipping through the cracks. On the surface, paper forms seem like they would be a fine way for drivers to record deficiencies, but this process leads to a lot of information reaching management late, or not at all.
With all that in mind, consider these reasons as to why your fleet should stop using paper DVIRs:
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Digital Options Make Things Easier
Modernize your fleet with a digital DVIR solution. Digital pre-trip inspections simplify the process by having drivers use a smartphone app to go through the vehicle inspection checklist instead of using pen and paper.
The drivers just check off boxes on their phones and upload pictures of vehicle damage to the app. This information then goes directly to the back office so management knows the exact conditions of a vehicle right away. A digital solution expedites the whole process without sacrificing accuracy, and more up-to-date vehicle knowledge gives fleet managers a better idea of when a vehicle needs to be promptly repaired, or if it’s a minor defect that can be fixed down the road.
This type of technology will also help your fleet comply with local regulations since many services provide access to past inspection reports on the app. That way, if a driver is stopped by local authorities, they have proof the vehicle was inspected and your company avoids fees, fines, and tickets.
Quickly Learn About Issues
Paper inspection forms are often collected by management at the end of the work week, and that can lead to vehicle issues going unchecked for multiple days.
It may not sound like a big deal, but if a truck’s lug nut starts to come loose on a Tuesday and management only learns about it on Friday, that is a huge safety concern and could potentially lead to a tragic traffic incident.
Digital inspections share information immediately so vehicles can be fixed right away if need be, as opposed to waiting until the end of the week and getting stuck with lengthy, costly repairs. It also limits existing damage from getting worse because it is not getting repaired in a timely manner.
It’s Expensive
Paper reports may seem like the cheap option at first, but it winds up being more expensive than a digital solution in the long run. Having a paper inspection setup means that the company needs extra full-time employees to review and process mountains of inspection paperwork.
The larger the fleet, the more of an issue this becomes. If a fleet has 100 trucks in rotation with drivers doing pre- and post-trip inspections each shift, that is 200 paper forms per day. Expand that out over a five-day work week and the company is left with 1,000 forms to process by the end of the month.
That amount would require more than one staff member to properly review. Oftentimes this gets done on the weekend, too, which in some cases means the employees processing the forms get overtime pay as well.
And in the unfortunate event that paperwork goes missing, the company could fail a government audit and lose even more money due to the ensuing hefty fines.
No More Bad Handwriting
Truck drivers are not exactly known for their excellent penmanship skills. In fact, it is just the opposite. Since most fleet drivers are men and they generally have terrible handwriting when compared to women, it is understandable why companies should consider removing pen and paper from the inspection equation entirely.
Paper forms frequently return to the home office with illegible handwriting, and that leads to gaps in communication. If a driver documents that their truck has a faulty brake, but nobody else is actually able to read what he wrote, then the problem can go unchecked for a long time, which could lead to an accident or a breakdown.
Digital inspections on the other hand, do not rely on handwriting at all. If drivers do have specific comments about a certain vehicle part, they would just type it out in the app as opposed to writing down chicken scratch that has to be deciphered later on.
Conclusion
Paper DVIR reports have been a familiar inspection tool for commercial fleets for years, but digital inspections are the wave of the future. It just makes everything easier for drivers and fleet managers.
Digital inspections help crews catch defects quickly, limit vehicle damage from getting compounded, save money by eliminating paper costs, and don’t rely on drivers’ penmanship.
Old-school drivers may not love digital inspections at first, but once they get the hang of it, they’ll never go back to paper.