Inspections
Pre-trip inspections: from a paper form to a record you can actually audit
The pre-trip inspection is the check a driver runs before starting the shift. Almost every fleet has a printed form for it. Almost none can produce the last thirty days signed when somebody asks.
What it is and why it turns into paperwork
A pre-trip inspection checks, before each shift, the items that can strand a vehicle or cause a crash: brakes, lights, tires, fluid levels, mirrors and safety equipment. It is short by design, because it has to fit in the five minutes before departure.
The problem is the record. A paper form gets filled quickly, filed in a folder and never read again. When an incident happens and somebody asks for that day inspection, the paper is either missing or signed blank.
A digital checklist changes two things: it forces the record to carry a real date, time and vehicle, and it turns each finding into something someone can act on. A brake reported as faulty stops being a ticked box and becomes a maintenance work order.
What the checklist should cover
Items vary by vehicle type. This is the common core for a light fleet vehicle; heavy cargo and public service add their own.
- Brakes: pedal travel, parking brake and no visible leaks.
- Lights: high and low beams, turn signals, hazards, brake and reverse.
- Tires: tread depth, pressure, sidewall condition and the spare.
- Fluids: engine oil, coolant, brake fluid and washer fluid.
- Mirrors, glass and wipers in usable condition.
- Safety equipment: current fire extinguisher, first-aid kit, reflective triangles and jack.
- Documents on board: current insurance and safety inspection certificate.
- Visible leaks under the vehicle and general body condition.
How it works in Ruvi
The driver opens the checklist on a phone
The list adapts to the assigned vehicle type. It works with no signal and syncs when the connection returns, because yards rarely have good coverage.
A finding requires a photo
Marking an item as faulty asks for photo evidence. That removes the generic report nobody can verify afterwards.
The finding becomes a work order
When a driver reports a fault, a maintenance ticket opens with the vehicle, date and photo already attached. Nothing has to be retyped somewhere else.
History stays searchable
You can pull inspections for a vehicle or a driver across a date range, which is exactly what an audit or a post-crash review asks for.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a pre-trip inspection be done?
Before every operating shift. In fleets running shifts it happens at the start of each one, because whoever takes the vehicle is responsible for its condition.
Is a paper or spreadsheet form good enough?
It satisfies the form but not the proof. The weakness of paper is that it cannot show when it was filled in or by whom, and those are precisely the two facts that matter after an incident.
What happens if the driver finds a serious fault?
The checklist lets the driver mark the vehicle as not fit for service. That notifies the fleet lead and records that the fault was reported before operating, not after.
Does it work offline?
Yes. The driver completes the inspection with no signal and the record uploads once the phone reconnects, keeping the real inspection time.
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