Was Admiral William H. McRaven really talking about DVIR?
“If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”
– Admiral William H. McRaven
What has this got to do with DVIR you might ask? Surely making your bed in the morning has nothing to do with the compliance of my vehicle fleet, but we believe it does. DVIR or driver vehicle inspection reports are an essential part of a fleet staying compliant. The intention is to ensure that the vehicle is safe to head out on the road each day. Makes sense really, to preserve other road users, the drivers, the value of the asset and the possible cargo.
The problem we hear every day is that companies aren’t doing their DVIR’s properly, or the drivers are simply ‘pencil whipping’ the paper forms without a thorough inspection of critical aspects of the vehicle. If we think back to the analogy above, inspecting your vehicle each day is like making your bed, it sets a behavior that promotes future success. The vehicles if properly inspected will stay in better condition, spend less time off the road and have less chance of being involved in an accident or incurring fines or violations. Pencil whipping a DVIR is like just pulling the covers up on your bed each morning, without fixing the sheets underneath. You’ll regret it later.
By using technology to ensure that inspections are taking place when they should and how they should is important in several ways. Configurable forms mean you can enforce photos to be taken of key parts of the vehicle to ensure the driver is outside the cab when completing the inspection, you can also get time, date and location data to prove these inspections are being done when they should be.
We have learnt that this added accountability around DVIR’s leads to better behavior from drivers who know they cannot game the system, leading to genuine inspections, earlier identification of important issues and a more engaged and professional attitude when out on the road. Essentially, they begin to make the bed each day and set themselves, and the business up for future success. Tomorrow will always be better if you are ensuring your fleet is well maintained and ready for the task at hand.
So don’t pull the covers up on your most valuable assets, ensure it is compliant, well maintained and looked after. To learn more about how we can help revolutionize your DVIR process, contact us.
