Following feedback, the Maintenance Investigation Visit Reports (MIVR), which DVSA carries out to ensure operators have the right systems and facilities in place to maintain their vehicles, are changing.
The MIVR assessment guides are being combined and updated to reflect this. The guides are used by DVSA staff to help them complete the report during a site visit. These reports can be given to the Traffic Commissioners if the operator’s systems or facilities are not good enough.
Operators will always receive a copy of these reports, along with other feedback to help them improve if necessary.
The changes
There are some updates to what DVSA will be checking on MIVR visits, some of them include:
clear evidence walkaround checks are not carried out
vehicles being used with reported safety defects
clear evidence of poor maintenance standards resulting in safety-critical defects
deliberately modified emissions control systems or removal of the manufacturers emissions plate values
clear evidence of a tyre manufactures date code being modified or removed
there is no genuine link between the transport manager and the operation
You should read about the changes to ensure you stay compliant.
The guide for operators on MIVR includes helpful links on improving your maintenance systems.
The maintenance investigation visit report has 14 question sections:
Operator legal entity
Condition of vehicles examined at the fleet check
Operating centre
Inspection and maintenance records
Driver defect reporting
Maintenance facilities and arrangements
Vehicle emissions
Wheel and tyre management
Load security – heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) only
Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) – public service vehicles (PSVs) only
Prohibition assessment
Security requirements
Previous reported shortcomings, conditions and undertakings
Transport manager/responsible person
Request for explanation response (where applicable)
There is a maximum of 4 assessment outcomes for a question section:
satisfactory – the operator does not need to take any action
mostly satisfactory – DVSA gives advice to the operator
unsatisfactory – operator action and explanation required
report to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain – operator action and explanation required
Investigation outcome
Satisfactory and mostly satisfactory
The operator does not need to take any action, unless DVSA has given them advice to improve any systems or procedures.
Unsatisfactory
The operator must respond with an explanation to show what action they’ll take to address the issues. Further action depends on the operator’s response but could include:
DVSA closing the case
deferred checks by the DVSA Remote Enforcement Office
DVSA sending the maintenance investigation visit report with any operator explanations to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain
Report to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain
The operator must respond with an explanation to show what action they’ll take to address the issues. DVSA will send the maintenance investigation visit report with any operator explanations to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.