So we’re buying a new truck, we sell gas so it’s a tanker. When we buy it it’ll need re-certification which will take a week. After this it’ll be added to our o license and collected. My question is, when starting the 6-weekly inspections, does it get inspected when first put on the road/o license then every 6 weeks? Or is the first inspection 6 weeks after first put on the license? We have to collect the truck half a country away from our inspection service provider?
If it is second hand, then you should be given the service records with it going back 15 months. Also insist that it gets an inspection before you buy it, even if it has had one recently. That will then “buy” you a bit more time until you get your own maintenance on it in place.
If it is new, then don’t worry about it, and just set up with your maintenance provider, going forward, and start the service intervals from the day it goes on the road.
The guidance keeps referring to “first use inspection…”. I’ve not scanned to a specific section but I’d say Once it’s back at the yard, you need to inspect it and that is the start date/ week1. On the new deliveries I’ve seen, the delivery salesman/ rep will have a sign off sheet that you confirm it’s all in good condition.
Are you really going to have a nice shiny tanker join the fleet and not nose around to se it’s all okay? I’d say it’s an inspection rather than a service.
If it goes on the road with a defect, it would impact you’re O licence and not the providers so the common sense is to just check it.if you are in any doubt, read the guidance so you can quote why you took that route rather than a guess.
Before purchase it’ll be sent to MAN do have a report stating the condition etc of the truck (tank doesn’t come into it) as with maintenance it’s split into two. So I’d be okay with getting it the once over at MAN, If no defects then once it’s back in the yard I start my own maintenance?
Get it delivered on trade plates and then once it is in your yard and ready to go have it inspected. Since you can’t trust anyone the tank and gear will have to be checked as well.
It’s going to MAN to be checked before purchasing, if all is okay then it’ll be bought and sent to have re-certification work done to the tank/pump. My only worry is, how does the o-license work if it’s to be collected without inspection, dropped off, tested and then collected again without inspection and finally landing in our yard!
The problem with trade plates is they rarely cover tankers with product in them, new tankers are obviously empty and not gas charged.
At what point are you going to have product in the tank before its delivered to your depot?
You are not using the vehicle for hire/reward or in the course of your business, or at least not until it has been to your depot and yo have done an inspection. Why can’t you add it to your licence at the point you buy it.
It may help you to revisit the maintenance guidance as well as the O licence requirements to put your mind and decisions at ease.
It’ll have product in the tank on the way back to the depot as we’ll drop into the refinery. Is there a number that you can call to discuss operator license issues like this? Obviously it’s a little unique! Thanks everybody for their input so far.
So, once the vehicles yours and axed, add it to licence. Then when it’s ready to head out, do an initial,new vehicle inspection. Thereafter take it to the refinery. Job done. As morecambe and wise said… it’s all the right notes, just in a different sequence. Where you save by heading home via the depot, you’ll just have to send a suitably competent person to do the inspection.
the only problem is we’re on an island and the maintenance/inspections are done on the island. So is it best to:
Have the old owner drop it at MAN, have it checked and do an initial first inspection.
Insure, tax and add to olicense
Drop it to be re-certified
Collect after a couple days, drive to refinery
Load then drive back to the island and have an inspection done?
Does all that sound okay?
A 6 weekly inspection is not set in stone, dependent on the mileage and job the vehicle does the inspections could be every 2 weeks, (Think muckaway tipper) to 14 weeks (think farmer taking his pigs to market.
I get the 6-weekly inspection, my own worry is can an initial first inspection be done by somebody other than your usual maintenance and repair garage? I don’t want to send a mechanic 6 hours to inspect a truck just for it to be brought back a couple days after anyway. I’d ideally like the initial first inspection to be done by a local dealership then to bring it back to the depot.
So we spend a huge amount on a nw chassis, a huge amount on a dedicated specialist tanker, but then quite happy to have it signed off by a 3rd party before sending it to a refinery and to start work!
Your business can’t be the only one whose had a vehicle back from inspection/ service only to,find they have left something off or forgotten to check something.
Yes, imho,you could have the dealer do an inspection on your behalf, but Justbtye teeniest, tiniestbthing wrong and it would be down to,you/ the company and I’d say that would also apply from the dreaded health and safety side of things - under PUWER.
Is it fair to say, you have planned and looking for this dodgy approach!
Is there a reason why you as the boss can’t go and receive / do initial inspect before putting a driver into the vehicle?
Operators need not stick to six-weekly inspection periods if they can prove to their TC that they can operate safely for longer periods - up to 13 weeks, in fact.
In a Q&A session published next week in Motor Transport, VOSA customer director Kevin Rooney says the majority of operators are confused about inspections: "[The six-weekly inspection cycle] is intended for new operators with no experience or knowledge of the performance of their fleet - and yet that’s what everybody seems to stick to forever. And we don’t want you to!
"We want you to decide what suits your fleet - and the maintenance of it - best. Safety remains the priority.
“If you can show that you can run to 13-weekly inspections with no serious defects, and any defects [that do arise] are minor and rectified, [we don’t have a problem].”
He advises that operators should write to their TCs, providing evidence to justify an extension between inspections.
In the same Q&A session, Rooney also reveals that, within certain limitations, VOSA can supply information on the performance of third-party maintenance providers to the operators that use them.
This information could help operators to better manage the service level provided by their maintenance provider.
I’m not saying I’m not going to go see the vehicle, I’m going to inspect the tank/pumping gear and chassis as much as I can. However I’m limited in my knowledge of MAN trucks although they’re all pretty similar. The dealer checking it over is simply to check if we’ve missed anything. The initial first inspection done by a dealer is simply to satisfy the TC until it’s back at the yard.
Operators need not stick to six-weekly inspection periods if they can prove to their TC that they can operate safely for longer periods - up to 13 weeks, in fact.
In a Q&A session published next week in Motor Transport, VOSA customer director Kevin Rooney says the majority of operators are confused about inspections: "[The six-weekly inspection cycle] is intended for new operators with no experience or knowledge of the performance of their fleet - and yet that’s what everybody seems to stick to forever. And we don’t want you to!
"We want you to decide what suits your fleet - and the maintenance of it - best. Safety remains the priority.
“If you can show that you can run to 13-weekly inspections with no serious defects, and any defects [that do arise] are minor and rectified, [we don’t have a problem].”
He advises that operators should write to their TCs, providing evidence to justify an extension between inspections.
In the same Q&A session, Rooney also reveals that, within certain limitations, VOSA can supply information on the performance of third-party maintenance providers to the operators that use them.
This information could help operators to better manage the service level provided by their maintenance provider.
Just a thought. Whilst the key elements of this quote are still fairly true, that a reputable person such as Rooney refers to VOSA rather than DVSA suggests the quote is pre-DVSA or before mid 2013. Just suggesting a look for more recent quote may avoid including some older info.
Stuart.lammie.albion:
So am I correct? Can It be driven with an initial inspection done at somebody other than your inspection advisor?
I am saying yes, do the normal driver checks, tyres, lights, air leaks, oil leaks, mirrors, screen, etc. worry about the inspection when you get the vehicle to your operating centre where you have a facility, or take it to someone who has a brake tester and headlight meter. Put it on your margin when you buy it, not before.
Stuart.lammie.albion:
So am I correct? Can It be driven with an initial inspection done at somebody other than your inspection advisor?
I am saying yes, do the normal driver checks, tyres, lights, air leaks, oil leaks, mirrors, screen, etc. worry about the inspection when you get the vehicle to your operating centre where you have a facility, or take it to someone who has a brake tester and headlight meter. Put it on your margin when you buy it, not before.
So no problem with your view of doing an initial inspection at the Home Depot, but how do you sanction that when we know it will already have been used for work because it’s heading to a refinery first? Now the challenge,is that if you find a fault at initial Inspection, you have to manage that knowing it’s a fully laden ADR vehicle!
Surely there is a refinery close to the base that is normally used than running to a refinery enroutento base?