May 24, 2022
Last week, the DVSA released their business plan for the next year – we’ve gone through it (so you don’t have to!) and have picked out the most important parts for MOT providers.
In this blog, we’ll talk about what the upcoming DVSA plans mean for you, and how MOT Juice can help your business stay compliant & risk-free.
The DVSA are looking at how they can better use the data available to them, in order to target & identify MOT businesses who are:
1. Doing something seriously wrong (serious non-compliance)
2. Repeatedly failing to do the things that the DVSA expect of them (serial non-compliance)
Serious fraud & criminal activity is still thankfully rare in our industry. The vast majority of AEDMs, Site Managers & testers are honest people, who want to do right by their customers.
However (often due to lack of knowledge and/ or time pressures), we know that some people don’t always complete the required routine compliance tasks. If these tasks are repeatedly ignored, this could well lead to your business being found ‘serially non-compliant’.
Alongside vehicle technology & physical surveillance tools, DVSA are increasingly using TQI & test log data to identify & target non-compliant VTS’s. This is one of the quickest, easiest ways for them to identify both serious & serial MOT non-compliance.
Yes! Thankfully, your test log data is made available to you too. Therefore, you have the power to find, investigate & deal with any concerning issues/ incidents – before the DVSA have to bring it to your attention.
But DVSA test log data is vast and not very easy to work with – every single test has almost 30 bits of info attached to it! Even if you’re an absolute whizz-kid at spreadsheets, it would be very difficult & time-consuming for you to check each MOT record, and see if (for example):
• A tester has logged a fraudulent MOT off-site
• Your testers regularly forget to end a test & log themselves out
• Testers often perform very quick, or very long MOTs
• There are tiny gaps between MOTs – not long enough for vehicle pre-checks to be carried out properly
Our system, however, can automatically do this complicated analysis for you each month, and flag any potential MOTs of concern.
In MOT Juice, Site Managers are able to evidence regular test log reviews, and record any actions related to the flagged tests.
When businesses can prove they have both:
• Identified & rectified an issue independently, in a timely manner
• Put preventative measures in place to stop the issue re-occurring
…disciplinary action against an AE is much less likely.
MOT Juice reminds your testers to review their TQI data each month, and you’re able to easily track completion through your account. All records are kept safe, and are easily available if a VE asks to see evidence.
Managers are also now able to view comparisons on e.g. item failure rates, to investigate any areas of concern.
Our system ensures this all takes no longer than 10 minutes each month.
If you’d prefer to do it all independently, you could instead ask your testers to:
1. Print out their TQI data from the MTS
2. Get the calculator out – work out which item failure rate percentages are of most concern
3. Hand-write comments on all of the above
4. Make sure they never lose any of the papers
5. Give the documents to you, so you can be sure they’ve done it – and can analyse it all yourself to ensure nothing’s been missed
6. Repeat each and every month forever…
It’s up to you whether TQI & test log reviews take up hours and hours of everybody’s time each month, or just a few minutes.
Either way, these reviews are mandatory – and the new DVSA plans mean that not doing them is now riskier than ever.
The DVSA expect you to find issues sometimes – if you don’t, they say your quality management system is probably not working properly.
Source: MOT Testing Guide, Section B6.
When AEDMs are not aware of compliance issues (until a DVSA letter or VE arrives at their door), disciplinary action is increasingly severe, and puts the whole business at risk.
Ignorance is not a successful defence for non-compliance.
MOT Juice assists everybody (at all levels of your business) in meeting all of their MOT compliance responsibilities, as shown below. You are easily able to monitor compliance levels across your business, safe in the knowledge that it’s all been recorded & evidenced to DVSA standards.
Is it possible to trial the MOT Juice system, to see if it works for us?
Absolutely! We’d love to have the opportunity to show you how MOT Juice can protect your business.
You can take a look at our packages, or sign up for a full 30-day free trial here.
As always, MOT Juice have an excellent Support Team on stand-by ready to help you with whatever questions you have. You can call us on 01293 911 120, email us at support@motjuice.co.uk, or submit an enquiry form on our contact us page.
