The problem
Paper defect sheets come back crumpled, late or not at all, and a defect written on Monday's sheet may not reach the workshop until Friday. A 12-truck fleet produces about 264 sheets a month (12 x 22 working days). If each takes a minute to collect, check and file, that's 4.4 hours a month, before anyone acts on what's written.
What the AI does
FleetCheck is UK fleet management software. Its pricing page lists customizable checksheets, instant defect notifications, photographic evidence uploads and fit-to-drive declarations on the Driver plan, at $4£3€4A$6C$6 per vehicle a month excluding VAT. Drivers do the walkaround check on their phone, take a photo of any defect, and the office is alerted straight away. You decide whether the truck goes out and record the repair. The records are stored by vehicle, ready to show the DVSA or your maintenance provider.
A worked example
A 12-truck haulage firm in Felixstowe running container and curtainside work. Drivers fill in paper defect books that the yard manager collects at the end of each week.
Before
264 paper sheets a month at about a minute each (4.4 hours), and defects reaching the workshop days late
After
Checks done on the phone, defects alerted the same morning, and about 1 hour a month reviewing records
What it's worth
About $113£85€101A$163C$160 a month saved in office time, against $48£36€43A$69C$68 for FleetCheck's Driver plan. That's 3.4 hours a month (4.4 minus 1) at an assumed $33£25€30A$48C$47 an hour. The cost is 12 trucks at $4£3€4A$6C$6 a vehicle, excluding VAT. Faster repairs and fewer prohibitions at the roadside aren't counted.
How to set it up
- Book the 14-day trial of the FleetCheck Driver app and copy your current walkaround checklist into it.
- Set who gets defect alerts: the yard manager in the day and an on-call phone out of hours.
- Train each driver on a real check in the yard, including how to photograph a defect.
- Run the app and the paper books side by side for two weeks, then stop the paper.
- Each week, check that every truck that went out has a completed check, and follow up any gaps.
What goes wrong
- The contract is 36 months, with a 90-day guarantee, so use the trial properly before you sign.
- Billing has a 10-vehicle minimum ($40£30€36A$58C$56 a month), so a 6-truck firm still pays for 10.
- A tick-box check done in 30 seconds is still a bad check. Spot-check drivers doing walkarounds in person.
- The driver remains responsible for the check and the operator for acting on defects; an alert nobody reads changes nothing.