The problem
Every lorry on an operator's license has dates that can't slip: safety inspections at the interval you declared, the annual test, vehicle tax and tachograph calibration. With 12 trucks and trailers on six-week inspections, that's dozens of dates a year on a wall planner, and one missed inspection is the kind of thing a traffic commissioner asks about.
What the AI does
FleetCheck's Essential plan, $5£4€5A$8C$8 per vehicle a month excluding VAT, lists live MOT and vehicle tax information, key dates for vehicles and drivers and maintenance planning. Its site describes a traffic-light alert system for key dates such as MOTs, road tax and servicing, and email reminders to users. Your forward planner and your maintenance provider's schedule stay the main record. FleetCheck is the second check: it shows what is coming up and turns amber and red before you run out of time.
A worked example
A 12-truck haulage firm in Wakefield with a standard national O-license and six-weekly safety inspections done by a local workshop. The transport manager keeps a wall planner and a spreadsheet.
Before
Dates for 12 trucks in 2 places, a wall planner and a spreadsheet, that drift apart
After
Dates entered in the forward planner first, copied into FleetCheck, and both checked against each other every Monday by 2 people
What it's worth
No money saving is claimed: this is a backup so an inspection, test or tax date is far less likely to be missed. The cost is 12 trucks at $5£4€5A$8C$8 a vehicle on Essential, $64£48€57A$92C$90 a month excluding VAT. Its value is in avoiding a truck running past its inspection date and the questions that follow at a public inquiry.
How to set it up
- Record every inspection, test, tax and calibration date in your forward planner first, with the transport manager checking each one against the paperwork.
- Start FleetCheck's 30-day trial and add each truck and trailer, letting it pull in MOT and tax data where it can.
- Add your inspection intervals and any other key dates, and set email reminders to go to two people, not one.
- Every Monday, compare the forward planner with FleetCheck's alerts and resolve any difference the same day.
- When a truck is sold or a new one arrives, update the planner and FleetCheck together.
What goes wrong
- Alerts can fail silently: an email goes to spam, a user leaves, a date is typed wrong. The weekly check against your forward planner is what catches it.
- Your safety inspection interval is what you declared on your license. FleetCheck only knows the interval you enter.
- Contracts are 36 months with a 10-vehicle minimum charge, so a small fleet pays for at least 10.
- O license compliance features are listed on the Professional plan at $8£6€7A$12C$11 a vehicle, not on Essential. Check which features you need before choosing.