Introduction

This article and video provide a walk-through for creating PM Inspection Forms. PM Inspection forms can be attached to PM services for your service technicians to complete an inspection report as part of the preventative maintenance service.

Video Walkthrough

Click on the square at the bottom right-hand corner to view the video in full screen mode.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

PM Inspection Form Example

We'll begin by taking a quick look at examples of PM inspection forms.  When a service technician, or service manager, adds a PM service activity that is tied to a PM inspection form, a window will pop-up when they click on the activity to enter notes.

Each section of the PM inspection form is represented by a button on the pop-up window.  For example, there is an EXTERIOR CAB button in the example below for inspecting items on the exterior of the cab.  The names of these sections are user defined, and you can have as many, or as few, sections as you want or need.

Clicking on a button will take you to a list of checks for that section.  The checks can be Pass / Fail selections, a field for entering a number (i.e. brake pad thickness), a date/time selector, or text data entry.

By default, Pass/Fail items are pre-filled with Pass selected.  This is controlled by a system parameter and can be disabled so Pass is not selected automatically.  Please contact our customer experience team if you want to change the default setting in your EMDECS system.  In addition, parameters can be set to require notes for any failed items, and to control whether defects must be included on the repair order.  These can also be set for you by our customer experience team.

A completion status is displayed underneath each button as the form is being completed.

Upon completion, the user needs to open the Defect Summary.

The signature requirement is optional.  If enabled, users need to click Sign.

A technician signature example is displayed below.  Additional signatures (i.e. a supervisor signature) can also be required.

Print Inspection Forms

Service managers can print inspection forms from the Complete RO screen (Service → Complete RO). Open the repair order then click on the labor description and click the Inspection button to print a hard copy of the inspection form.

Service technicians can print the inspection form by clicking on the labor description then click the Inspection button to open a PDF of the inspection form for printing.

Create a New PM Inspection Form

1.       To create a new PM inspection form, open the Fleet menu and select PM Inspection Manager.

2.       Open the PM Inspection Setup tab.

3.       If you have not created any PM inspection forms yet, the screen will be blank.  Click the Add button.

4.   This opens the PM Inspection Form Setup Wizard to step you through the process of creating your inspection form.

Select the appropriate Task and Reason codes from the drop-down lists then enter a Code , Title , and select a Type.

The DVSA Type drop-down list is for customers in the United Kingdom only.  If you are in the UK and you use EMDECS with the DVSA Earned Recognition program, then the appropriate DVSA type needs to be selected.

Click Next at the bottom-right to continue.

5.    The next screen is where the inspection form sections and each individual check will be created.

Begin by adding the first section to your form by clicking Add New Section.

Each section that you add will create a separate button on the PM inspection form for technicians to click on and complete a checklist, as demonstrated in the "Example of a PM Inspection Form" section.

6.       Enter a name for the section and click OK.

7.       To add checklist items to a section, click Add.

8.       Each inspection check item needs to be tied to a VMRS code.  If a defect is reported on an inspection form, the VMRS code that you select will be the VMRS code required to repair the defect.  For example, if the check is for measuring brake pad thickness, you would want to choose the VMRS code for replacing a worn out brake pad.

You can search for a VMRS code, or click on an icon to drill down and locate the appropriate service activity, just as you would when adding labor activities to a repair order in EMDECS.

9.       Once you have found the appropriate VMRS code, click the green plus to select it and add it to the list on the right-hand side.

10.   Edit the description to describe what information the technician should enter for this checklist item.

11.   Repeat these steps to add additional items for the new section, then click Add.

12.   Repeat steps 5-11 above to add additional sections and inspection checklist items for each section.

13.   When adding inspection items, the default type is Check .  A Check is a Pass/Fail condition.  Technicians select a radio button to pass or fail the item.

14.   The following options are available for the inspection type:

1. Check :  Provides a Pass or Fail option.
   
2. Number :  Provides text fields for entering a numeric value (i.e. tire tread depth, brake pad thickness, etc.).  You can define the minimum and maximum numbers that can be entered, along with pass minimum and pass maximum numbers, and a precision (number of decimal places).  For example, new brake pads might be 4 inches thick, so the maximum number permitted for the measurement would be 4 inches, the minimum allowed number would be 0 inches (if the pad is completely worn down), and the pass requirement might be a range between 1 inch and 4 inches.  Once the brake pad thickness is below 1 inch, a defect is recorded.
   
3. Reading :  Used to enter equipment reading information (i.e. odometer or engine hours).
   
4. Text :  Text data entry field.  Note: Min and max values are not required.
   
5. Date :  Allows the user to select a date and time.
   

           

           

           

            Example of date type:
           

15.   Check boxes are available to set inspection checklist items required ( Req. ) or not applicable ( NA ).  If Req is unchecked, technicians can complete the form with the checklist item left blank.  If a check has the NA option checked, technicians will have an option to select NA to indicate it is not applicable.  For example, you might use the same inspection form for both single axle and double axle trucks, in which case checking tires or brakes on a second power axle might not be applicable.

16.   To remove a row / checklist item, click on the red X.

17.   In the Move section are arrows you can click on to rearrange rows/items in the checklist.  The up and down arrows will move rows up and down within a section, while the double arrow can be clicked on to move a row to another section.

18.   Note:  If you are building a large inspection form and cannot finish it in one sitting, you can click Save and Exit at the bottom of the screen to save your progress and return later.

After you have completed your inspection form, click Next.

19.   Signatures can be required when forms are completed, to confirm failed items, and when defects have been fixed.  To add a signature requirement, click Add.

20.   Enter a label (i.e. Technician or Supervisor) and then select an option from the When drop-down list.

21.   Repeat the steps 19 and 20 to add multiple signature requirements for different circumstances, as shown in the example below, then click Next to save and continue.

22.   The Attach to Service screen is where you set which PM services will trigger your inspection form to pop-up. Each inspection form can be attached to many PM services.  This step controls whether the PM inspection form pops up to be completed when the service is done on a repair order.

If the new inspection form should be used as a default form for a specific PM service for all customers in EMDECS (i.e. this is a standard PM DOT form that you will use for any PM DOT service, regardless of who the customer is), then click on Select to choose the PM service.

23.   In the pop-up window, search for and select the VMRS of the service activity.

Note:  Each PM service can only be linked to one inspection form.  If an inspection form is already linked to a service, you will see the linked inspection code and you will be unable to attach the new form.  To attach the form, you will first need to revise the linked inspection form and remove it from the service.  Revising inspection forms is covered in the next section.

24.   Alternatively, PM forms can be added to multiple PM services by customer.  To attach the form to different services, click Add.

25.   Select a customer name from the drop-down list, put a check next to the PM services that should pop-up the inspection form, then click Add.  You can repeat these steps to use the form with different services for different customers in EMDECS.

           

Each PM service for each customer can only be linked to one inspection form. If an inspection form is already linked to a service, you will see the linked inspection code and you will be unable to attach the new form. To attach the form, you will first need to revise the linked inspection form and remove it from the service for the selected customer. Revising inspection forms is covered in the next section.

26.   After you are done attaching services, click Activate Inspection to complete the wizard.

27.   The new inspection form will be added to the list with the current date as the approved date.

Revise an Existing PM Inspection Form

1.       To edit an existing PM inspection form, click on the appropriate Revise button.

2.       After clicking revise, the inspection form will be listed twice.  One row is the previously approved version which cannot be edited, and the second line is for your new revision.  A Delete button is available in the right most column if you decide you want to delete your revision.  Click on the PM inspection code for your new revision to make changes.

3.       The PM Inspection Form Setup Wizard will appear on the screen.  Click Next to step through the wizard and make changes to the inspection form and settings.

4.       Click Activate Inspection on the final screen of the wizard when done making changes.

5.       The new revision will now be listed by itself, with the current date set as the approved date, and an updated revision number.