“The driver may view inspections for the current trip right on the mobile device, handy for roadside inspections. The data is also sent to the website as soon as the inspection is certified so that backoffice users may view the reports. Users can opt to receive an alert if a vehicle is designated as unsafe to operate,” said Kam Roshan, product manager for Omnitracs XRS. “The Certify Repairs tool on the website allows shop users to enter repair information for specific defects. When a defect is updated to a repaired status, the driver who performs the next inspection for that vehicle will be asked to certify that the repair has been completed, complying with FMCSA requirements.”

PeopleNet Director of Safety and Compliance Elise Chianelli explained that eDVIRs allow for a full customizable product that allows fleets to determine what data the driver is required to complete during his or her pre- and post-trip inspections, with as much or as little information as is required.

“For example, if the driver completes an inspection and no defects are found, fleets can maintain an audit trail that the inspection was completed by asking the driver to fill in one piece of data,” Chianelli said. “Once a driver completes an inspection on our FMS, the data is immediately sent to the fleet’s maintenance department. The data is often shared with a PeopleNet integration partner upon fleet request. This is the preferred method since this is how parts are inventoried and maintenance is scheduled by the fleet.”

Communication within the eDVIR process is one of the solution’s greatest strengths. It can streamline your fleet’s equipment maintenance messages throughout your operation from the truck issue on the road to the technician in the shop who will end up working on the equipment.

“When an eDVIR is completed, it will automatically sync back to OneView [Pedigree Technologies’ back-end management software], at which point it can alarm and notify fleet managers of failed inspections via email or text, or it can generate reports on failed inspections, inspection history and missing inspections by tractor, trailer or driver,” said Joshua DeCock, Pedigree Technologies’ solutions director. “Reports can be sent out automatically on a schedule or as needed to any user in the system. Failed inspections can even be set up to automatically generate a maintenance task to fix whatever caused the failed inspection. All of this happens in real time.”

Through the back-end fleet management software, fleet managers can set up alerts based on eDVIR equipment failures. If a driver completes an inspection report and indicates that there is an issue, the fleet manager is notified practically the second the report is filed electronically.

“Alerts will automatically send eDVIRs received, with defects, to the appropriate email addresses or SMS phone numbers,” GPS Insight’s Rhodes explained. “Multiple alerts can be defined to match your company’s internal hierarchy with options for how and when you want them delivered.”

Today’s eDVIR solutions are completed the same way as with the tried-and-true, pen-and-paper reports. You have to trust that your drivers are getting out of the truck and doing the inspection. While the next generation of solutions from solution providers will increase driver accountability—Rand McNally, for example, stated that it is exploring options that would require drivers to take photos to complete their eDVIRs—today’s solutions still offer some protection to ensure reports are being completed properly.

“Our eDVIR solution tracks the total time it takes the driver to complete the inspection. This helps to prevent drivers from ‘pencil-whipping’ and just filling out the report quickly in-cab,” PeopleNet’s Chianelli explained. “We have ensured that the process is seamless for fleets to implement, and have found that transitioning the driver from paper to electronic is best managed by allowing them to do what they’re used to doing, and not implementing additional processes such as scanning tags.”

PeopleNet went onto explain that conducting inspections using mobile devices helps to promote the walk-around inspections by keeping it ingrained in the driver’s daily regime.

Even more eDVIR questions

It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of complexities created by today’s technology solutions. When you’re shopping around for an eDVIR solution, which is likely married to an ELD solution and holistic fleet management software system, here are the top questions you should be asking of any potential provider as defined by our panel of technology experts.

• Is the workflow easy and does it make it easier for the driver?
• Does the eDVIR support creating a customized defect parts and defects list for the driver to pick from?
• Is the inspection a forced process or can the driver simply ignore or forget to do it?
• Can the system notify someone of defective eDVIRs only?
• How long does the vendor store eDVIR data for?
• Can it integrate into another fleet management system?
• Is the eDVIR itself expandable and customizable?
• Can you customize the eDVIR dashboard? Is it searchable? Can you set custom filters?