Inspection, maintenance and repair

Key messages

By law, every employer must make sure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.

Inspection

Daily checks Drivers should check tyres, lights and indicators at the start of every shift. They will need instruction or training on carrying out appropriate checks and reporting problems. Employers may find it helpful to give drivers a list of daily checks to sign off for their vehicles.

Planned maintenance

Regular preventive maintenance inspections may be based on time or mileage. Each vehicle you purchase or hire should come with a handbook giving manufacturer's guidance on regular maintenance.

Planned maintenance helps to prevent failures during use. It should be thorough, regular and frequent enough to meet the manufacturer's guidelines and common sense. Pay special attention to:

Safety precautions when maintaining vehicles

Retrofitting

Fitting further features to existing vehicles ('retrofitting') needs careful planning.

Resources

Updated 2021-12-13