Structured Compliance Support
Built Around Your Operation

Tachograph analysis is the systematic review of digital and analogue tachograph records to identify infringements of drivers' hours rules, missing manual entries, incorrect mode selections, and card download failures. Under EU Regulation 561/2006 (as retained in UK law) and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 (tachograph requirements), professional HGV and PSV operators are legally required to download, analyse, and retain tachograph data — and to take action on infringements identified. Operators who fail to demonstrate a working tachograph analysis system face serious consequences at DVSA roadside checks, compliance audits, and Traffic Commissioner hearings.

The law requires operators to download data from driver cards at intervals not exceeding 28 days, and from vehicle units at intervals not exceeding 90 days. Beyond the download requirement, operators must actively analyse the data and address infringements — not simply store records. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's Statutory Document No. 3 sets out the expectation that Transport Managers will ensure tachograph analysis is being conducted regularly, that infringements are investigated, and that patterns of non-compliance are addressed through driver management and, where necessary, disciplinary procedures.

BFT's tachograph analysis service reviews your downloaded tachograph data against EU and domestic drivers' hours rules, identifies infringements by category and severity, and produces structured management summaries that demonstrate active operator oversight. Where patterns indicate systemic issues — consistent rest period shortfalls, repeated mode errors, or persistent card download failures — BFT provides targeted guidance to address the root cause rather than just recording the symptom.

PMI analysis — preventive maintenance inspection analysis — is the structured review of a vehicle's periodic safety inspection records against the standards set out in the DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness and the operator's own declared maintenance intervals. A preventive maintenance inspection (also known as a safety inspection or periodic safety inspection) is a scheduled check of a vehicle's roadworthiness condition, conducted by a competent person at intervals agreed with the Traffic Commissioner. Under the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995 and the Road Traffic Act 1988, operators are required to ensure that vehicles are maintained in a fit and serviceable condition — and PMI records are the primary evidence of how that obligation is being discharged.

PMI frequency is one of the first things examined during a DVSA compliance audit. Intervals that are too long — particularly for older vehicles or those operating in demanding conditions — are treated as a direct indicator of maintenance system failure. The DVSA Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness specifies that maintenance intervals should be set based on the age, mileage, type of work, and operating environment of the vehicle, and that intervals should never exceed 13 weeks for goods vehicles under standard conditions. For vehicles operating in demanding environments or with recorded defect patterns, intervals should be shorter.

BFT's PMI analysis service reviews your inspection records against your declared intervals, checks that inspections were completed on time, and identifies any systematic gaps — missed inspections, overdue dates, or a pattern of recurring defects that suggests the maintenance system needs strengthening. Where defect patterns indicate a maintenance effectiveness concern, BFT provides structured recommendations to address them before they attract enforcement attention.

Brake test analysis is the review and assessment of roller brake test (RBT) results against the minimum performance standards set by DVSA, to confirm that braking systems are meeting legal roadworthiness requirements. The DVSA's Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness requires that a roller brake test is conducted as part of every preventive maintenance inspection — not just at MOT. Brake performance below the minimum DVSA thresholds (generally 50% efficiency for the service brake on goods vehicles and 25% for the parking brake) is classified as a dangerous defect, requiring the vehicle to be taken off the road immediately and rectified before further use.

Brake test records are scrutinised at every DVSA compliance audit and are central to roadworthiness assessments at Public Inquiry. Operators who cannot produce roller brake test results for each vehicle at each PMI interval — or who have results showing borderline or failing performance without documented rectification — are placing their operator licence at risk. The Traffic Commissioner's Statutory Document on maintenance standards makes clear that effective braking is a non-negotiable element of roadworthiness, and that operators are expected to have systems in place to detect and address brake performance issues proactively.

BFT's brake test analysis service reviews your RBT results across your fleet, identifies vehicles with declining brake performance trends or results below DVSA minimum thresholds, and flags where rectification evidence is missing. Where a pattern of brake issues emerges across multiple vehicles or inspections, BFT provides structured recommendations on maintenance interventions and documents the analysis in a format suitable for regulatory scrutiny.

The Daily Driver Inspection (DDI) — also referred to as the daily walkaround check or pre-use vehicle inspection — is the check that every professional driver must carry out before taking a vehicle onto the public road. Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, it is both a driver responsibility and an operator obligation to ensure that daily defect checks are completed, that defects are reported promptly, and that reported defects are assessed and rectified before the vehicle is used. The written record of each check — the defect report — is one of the most frequently reviewed documents at DVSA roadside checks, compliance audits, and Traffic Commissioner hearings.

Despite being a straightforward legal requirement, defect reporting is consistently identified as one of the most common areas of non-compliance across both HGV and PSV operations. Drivers failing to complete checks, drivers completing checks but not recording them properly, operators failing to sign off defect reports, and reported defects not being actioned within a reasonable timeframe are all findings that appear regularly in DVSA enforcement reports and Traffic Commissioner decisions — each representing a direct failure of operator management.

BFT's DDI management service ensures that daily inspection records are being completed, submitted, and reviewed systematically. BFT monitors compliance with your defect reporting process, identifies gaps where checks have not been completed or recorded, and flags defects that have not been actioned within an appropriate timeframe. The service creates a continuous, auditable record of daily inspection compliance that demonstrates active management — the standard the Traffic Commissioner expects.

Compliance event alerts are proactive, structured notifications issued to operators when a compliance obligation is approaching, overdue, or at risk of lapsing. The majority of operator licence compliance failures are not caused by deliberate non-compliance — they are caused by administrative gaps: a PMI that falls due while a vehicle is on a long-distance contract, a driver's DQC that expires without anyone noticing, an MOT missed during a repair period, or a tachograph card download overlooked under operational pressure. These are the kinds of failures that, individually, may seem minor — but that collectively tell a Traffic Commissioner that the operation is not being properly managed.

Under the Senior Traffic Commissioner's Statutory Documents, operators are expected to have systems in place that proactively identify and manage compliance obligations — not systems that respond only when something has gone wrong. An operator who can demonstrate a working alerting system, and who can show that alerts are acted upon, is in a fundamentally stronger position at DVSA audit and at Public Inquiry than one who relies on manual calendars or memory.

BFT's compliance event alert system monitors your fleet's upcoming obligations across all eight compliance areas — maintenance, tachographs, MOTs, driver licences, DQC renewals, operator licence conditions, and more — and issues structured alerts before obligations fall due. Where an event is not actioned within a defined period, the alert escalates. Every alert and its outcome is logged in the Vault, creating a continuous, timestamped record of active compliance management available for regulatory scrutiny at any time.

A Customised Policy and Procedures Pack is a set of written operational policies tailored specifically to the operator's licence conditions, fleet type, driver profile, and operating environment — designed to meet the documented management system standards expected by the Traffic Commissioner and DVSA. The Senior Traffic Commissioner's Statutory Document No. 3 sets out clearly that operators are expected to have documented systems for managing drivers' hours, vehicle maintenance, defect reporting, driver conduct, drug and alcohol compliance, mobile phone use, and load security. The absence of documented policies is a consistent finding in Public Inquiry call-up letters and DVSA compliance audit reports, and is treated as evidence of ineffective management.

Generic policy templates are regularly scrutinised and dismissed at Traffic Commissioner hearings because they do not reflect the actual operations of the business. A policy that refers to a fleet of 50 tractor units when the operator runs three rigid vehicles, or that references depot procedures that do not exist, undermines the credibility of the entire evidence bundle. Policies must be specific, proportionate, and demonstrably implemented — meaning that drivers have read, understood, and signed them, and that there is evidence the policies are being followed in practice.

BFT's Customised Policy and Procedures Packs are written from scratch around your operation. They cover the eight core policy areas required for a sound compliance position, and each policy is drafted in plain language, legally accurate, and formatted for driver signatures and version control — so your evidence of implementation is built in from day one.

Customised Toolbox Training is short, focused, operational compliance training delivered at an operator's premises — or remotely — designed specifically around the operator's own compliance profile, known risk areas, and the specific obligations that apply to their fleet, drivers, and licence conditions. Unlike generic Driver CPC training that covers broad syllabus topics, toolbox training addresses the specific issues that BFT has identified in an operator's own operation — whether that is tachograph errors, defect reporting inconsistencies, or driver awareness gaps identified through compliance record analysis. It is documented, signed-off training that creates direct evidence of operator management.

The Traffic Commissioner's Statutory Documents are explicit that operators are expected to train their drivers and staff in their compliance obligations — and that evidence of ongoing training is a positive indicator of a well-managed operation. At Public Inquiry, operators who can demonstrate that training sessions were conducted in direct response to compliance gaps — with signed attendance records and evidence of improved performance — are significantly better placed than those who rely on initial induction alone.

BFT designs each toolbox session around the specific training need — whether a 45-minute briefing on correct tachograph mode selection, a practical walkaround check demonstration for a depot with inconsistent defect reporting, or a comprehensive compliance briefing for a new driver cohort. Every session produces signed attendance records, session materials, and a training summary stored in the Vault as evidence of ongoing operator compliance management.