DVSA launches tacho centre checks reform
DVSA has changed the way that it undertakes its approved tachograph centre and nominated technician checks.
The routine visit check has been replaced with a biennial desk-based assessment for each centre, with half the authorised centres being checked each year, and a site assessment and technical check for 10 per cent of all sites and their technicians every year.
The desk-based assessments require the centre to fill in and return a form, with the information provided being very similar to that which was obtained previously by DVSA staff undertaking routine visits. DVSA said that designated managers should be able to complete the forms with no difficulty at all, as all the information required should be readily available.
A completed desk-based assessment will also qualify as one of the mandatory three-monthly centre quality control checks required to be completed by the quality controller.
The approved tachograph centre technical audit will be a verification of the details disclosed by the approved tachograph centre in its desk-based assessment.
Technical audits of nominated technicians will take place in one of two ways: either witnessing a nominated technician undertake a calibration in “real time” to ensure calibration procedures are followed correctly, or instructing and witnessing a nominated technician re-performing a calibration of a very recently calibrated vehicle still in the approved tachograph centre.
This is to ensure full compliance with calibration practices, that procedures have been followed and maintained, and that no manual intervention of the calibration characteristics has occurred.
Where any significant areas of non-compliance are identified, then formal disciplinary action may take place as per the procedures outlined in the approved tachograph centre manual.
DVSA personnel are currently receiving formal training to nominated technician standards in order to support them with this new task.
To offset any additional burden on approved tachograph centres created by this change in procedures, DVSA will count any technical audit check undertaken by them as a qualifying quality assurance check required to be undertaken on the nominated technician as specified in the approved tachograph centre manual.
Meanwhile, nominated tachograph technicians have had the ‘window’ for the recertification courses extended from one month prior to expiry to three. Technicians can therefore attend recertification training at any time within the three-month period prior to the expiry of their current certificate without any loss of time.
However, the DVSA warns, there is no latitude if certification is allowed to expire. Technicians who fail to undertake the recertification training prior to the expiry of the current certificate will have to sit the whole course to requalify.
DVSA has also recently reminded operators and tachograph centres that recent changes to truck speed limits on non-motorway roads in England and Wales have had no effect on truck speed limiter settings.
European speed limiter requirements remain unchanged and these must be set at 56mph or lower, so no changes to the over-speed setting are to be made on digital tachographs.
