Inspections for a city that builds transport
Derby is a centre for advanced transport manufacturing. A major car maker has its UK headquarters at Burnaston, south-west of the city; trains are still built at the Litchurch Lane works; and in 2023 the city was named the headquarters of the new national railway body. Around those employers runs a supply chain of hauliers, parts carriers and van fleets working to fixed delivery slots. For an operator in that chain, a missed or poor inspection is a risk in several ways: it shows up at DVSA roadside checks, it drags on the OCRS score, and a pattern of them can put the operator licence itself in question.
What a PMI at Melbourne involves
Vehicles from Derby come to our workshop at Calke Mill Farm, Ashby Road, Melbourne, for inspection against DVSA's published standards, including the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness and the HGV inspection manual. The technician works from the brakes and air system, with brake performance assessed every time, through steering, suspension, tyres and wheel fixings, to the lights, chassis, coupling gear, body and load security, the cab and the driver's view. Defects found on the day are repaired and rechecked before anyone signs, so the sheet that goes in your file describes the vehicle as it actually drove away.
Preparing for the annual test
A test failure costs a retest, another lost day and a mark on the record. Preparation turns that round: we go through the items that most often catch vehicles out, fix what needs fixing, and send the vehicle to the test centre having already been looked at the way a tester would look at it. If a Derby vehicle has already failed, bring the failure sheet. We will clear the items for the retest and look at why the inspection routine let them through, because that is the part worth fixing for next time.
Keeping the intervals honest
Inspection intervals are written on your licence and depend on each vehicle's age and work. The simplest way to keep them is to stop relying on memory: give us the dates and we will plan inspections into the calendar, paired with servicing where the timing allows, so each vehicle makes the trip south of the city once rather than twice. Trailers, coaches, minibuses and light commercials are inspected in the same workshop.
Ring 01332 916028 to book. The workshop is open for planned work Monday to Friday, 07:30 to 17:00.
