When you’re busy managing a fleet of commercial vehicles, the last thing you want is to be bogged down by procedure. With the fast-paced world you operate in, any delays — no matter how necessary they may be — can wreak havoc on your schedule and hamper your productivity.
However, some processes are simply too essential to forgo, leaving you with the option to push forward through the inconvenience and its accompanying strife or to find a better way of accomplishing the same objective, one that might actually make your business more effective and efficient than it was before.
For many in your position, the above pretty accurately describes their feelings toward driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIR). Sure, it’s a necessity from a safety and precautionary standpoint, but that doesn’t mean that DVIR’s don’t run the risk of adversely affecting everything you’ve worked so hard to build.
Your fleet of drivers does absolutely need to conduct and file these reports, but over time, you may have seen their quality noticeably dip, likely due to the simple fact that your drivers don’t feel they have enough time to devote to regular inspection reports without sacrificing their focus on the task at hand.
Thankfully, there is another option. Electronic driver vehicle inspection reports — or eDVIR, for short — takes all the benefits of their paper-focused counterparts but adding in the comfort of modern technology. Still not convinced? Stick around as we discuss why Whip Around’s eDVIR could be the game-changing tool you need to take your fleet’s operation to the next level.
EDVIR EXPLAINED
We all know how the old DVIR process worked. Due to federal law, your drivers are required to maintain a daily report of whatever vehicle they operate and update the previous one as necessary. For a single driver, this should be no problem at all. But for someone managing an entire fleet, keeping track of these daily DVIRs and completing action items that arise can easily become overwhelming.
To keep up with it all (and to remain compliant in the eyes of the law), your best bet is to go digital with the entire process.
eDVIR takes an antiquated methodology and streamlines it, deftly cutting down the amount of time you and your drivers need to keep your reports updated and filed on time, every time. With digital documents, you’ll be able to bid farewell to those stacks of paperwork that once took up so much of your precious office space.
Moreover, you can customize the specific reports your fleet uses so that only the fields you need are included. This approach trims all unnecessary steps, getting your drivers back on the road as soon as possible, and by creating a smoother process for them means less work for you and (hopefully) fewer reporting errors in general.
Your schedule is already likely jam-packed with countless administrative duties. Now, rather than dealing with report troubles or being forced to keep track of your drivers, you’ll be able to simplify their reports and more easily mediate this required element of running your business.
Even better, you can access submitted reports with just the click of a button, since eDVIR relies on the cloud to house and share data across any distance. This emerging alternative to paper DVIR removes all the guesswork and saves you loads of time and infinite hassle. Isn’t fleet management complex enough and fraught with troubleshooting as it is without tackling DVIR issues?
After all, there’s no getting around the DVIR requirement. This law isn’t just federally mandated to protect your business the safety of your drivers and others on the road. These reports also serve as evidence to protect your business against liability. Should an incident occur, you’ll be able to maintain a clear record that your vehicle was in top condition just prior to encountering a collision or other altercation.
As it stands, such accidents are among the top causes of death, and any steps you can take to guard against litigation and, of course, injury is certainly worthwhile. With eDVIR, you’re able to satisfy this responsibility without sacrificing the performance of your fleet.
At long last, the burden of traditional DVIR has been lifted, and brighter, easier days lie ahead. If eDVIR doesn’t already sound like a dream come true, then you might want to stick around for more on how Whip Around manages to leverage this new system to great effect, extrapolating the built-in benefits of a completely digital solution to make a truly impressive impact on far more facets of your business than you may realize.
THE WHIP AROUND DIFFERENCE
Although such a design is on the verge of going mainstream, Whip Around is one of the only companies currently offering the mobile capabilities that eDVIR delivers. We’ve already addressed the most obvious benefit of this system, namely the revolutionary paperless approach we offer.
However, the abilities to toss out your old files and access reports at a moment’s notice — and from any location, we might add — are simply the beginning. eDVIR facilitates improvements across the board, opening up new possibilities for efficiency that you could only dream of.
Here are a few of the biggest advantages to stepping into the future and embracing eDVIR today:
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Unlimited storage: We’ve all been in the dreadful situation of misplacing that key piece of paperwork. What a nightmare, right? Well, with eDVIR, you no longer risk the chance that a driver’s report might get lost on the journey. Instead, reports are saved in the system for future reference. And, because your account automatically boasts an unlimited amount of storage space, you’ll never run out of room or be forced to purchase more memory to keep all your reports housed in one consolidated location. They all remain there safe and sound and waiting for your review.
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Rapid submission: If you need a report in at a specific time (especially if the Department of Transportation comes knocking), the worst thing to have to face is the reality of waiting for a report to be mailed over or, worse yet, for a driver to return to the office with his or her reports in tow. eDVIR makes it a cinch to ensure that your reports are up-to-date whenever you absolutely must have them accessible for a DOT audit or other reason.
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Remain in compliance: Okay, we’ve referenced this advantage briefly, but considering how much damage a violation can do to your business’s reputation, it bears repeating. The DOT’s regulations regarding DVIR are abundantly clear, and you simply cannot afford to compromise your fleet’s credibility, especially when such an occurrence is so easily prevented. Facing a fee may be a passing obligation, but with compliance entering the public consciousness now more than ever before, the time is right to insulate your company.
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Outshine your competition: Nowadays, virtually every industry is teeming with companies vying to top each other. So, your fleet could use every distinguishing factor it can. The capability to act in real time regarding your reports most definitely qualifies, as it maximizes productivity and extends your resources. Both you and your driver will be able to work faster and more accurately with digital files, an easy-to-use interface and completely customizable inspection forms. Reports will be completed and submitted in a mere fraction of the time they once were.
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Enhanced analytics: Another worthwhile benefit of having all your inspection reports in a digital format is that this data is easily searchable and therefore able to be applied to analytics. Identify common issues across a particular type of vehicle, calculate the cost of parts or track outstanding defects from across your fleet. The possibilities are endless, and every bit of information will guide your decision-making process and create more opportunities for improvement. You’ll even be able to verify which of your drivers have neglected their DVIR duties. If knowledge is truly power, prepare to soup up your fleet management.
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Decrease your downtime: If your drivers are constantly having to deal with complicated reports and/or persistent vehicle issues, there’s no way around it: your bottom line is suffering. Such activities can cost you hundreds of dollars each day and may ultimately lead to long-term decline of your business prospects. But with eDVIR on your side, you’ll be equipped with the tools you need to minimize downtime and keep your drivers on the road and your vehicles in optimum condition.
BY THE NUMBERS
So we’ve made our case for eDVIR. Whip Around and our clients have already experienced tremendous success thus far, and we’d love you to join their ranks. By now, you might even be considering introducing this system into your fleet management plan.
However, if you need a little help casting your worries aside, allow us to clear up any concern with the power of statistics. After all, your business lives or dies by the numbers it racks up. Therefore, it stands to reason that you would desire some empirical evidence before you decide to make such a major improvement.
If that is the case, let’s get to it with a few of our favorite eDVIR stats.
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80 percent less processing: You might think that your tried-and-true DVIR process provides you with all the speed you need, but consider the following. Once you make the transition to digital reports, you’ll cut the amount of time needed to process each report by a massive 80 percent. Imagine how much smoother your days will go with all that extra time at your disposal. Forget about feeling left behind. You may actually be able to finally get to those pesky items that keep getting pushed further down your to-do list.
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From days to seconds: We all know what a pain it is to prepare an audit for the DOT or any other report, for that matter. Using traditional means, such a project could take as long as two entire business days, as you scramble to coordinate and organize the required data. With eDVIR, you’ll be wondering what to do with all your newfound time. Now all you need to do is search for the report in your digital files, and you’re all set. What once took hours of manpower to collect can now be cleared up in a matter of seconds, thanks to the highly intuitive Whip Around web application.
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Save up to $1,000 a day: Remember when we praised Whip Around’s ability to keep your vehicles off the side of the road and focused on the task at hand? Well, we weren’t kidding about how much that significant downtime can hurt you. We’ve crunched the numbers, and using eDVIR can actually save you as much as $1,000 in resources each day that these issues persist. That’s potential profit you can’t afford to lose, especially as your industry continues to evolve and your competitors hone in on the valuable asset eDVIR can be.
GET INVOLVED
Enough of all the discussion of what eDVIR is, how it works and why it is a must-have tool for your business. Hopefully, you’re already anxious to just get started already, and if so, we can’t wait to help facilitate that for you. Before we go ahead and start your setup, let’s walk you through just how easy the process really is.
Once you register your account, you’ll be instructed to log in to our secure web application dashboard. This will serve as the central hub for your eDVIR management and the location from which you’ll access your data, make adjustments and generate reports. Just add all of your vehicles and drivers into the system, and you’ll be able to create and customize your own inspection report using our straightforward user interface.
After the initial setup is complete, you’ll then be able to use your login credentials on our mobile application, where your drivers can begin entering reports instantly. That’s all there is to it! Best of all, if you have any questions, you’ll have Whip Around’s 24-hour customer support team at your service, ensuring that your issue is resolved as soon as possible. A whole new way of completing your inspection reports is right around the corner. So don’t delay for another moment. Welcome to the Whip Around family!
Ready to introduce your fleet to the power of eDVIR? Click here to sign up!
