The system is down and the bay is full
At ten o'clock the testing system stops responding. The desk checks, and it is not just you. Under the contingency arrangements that apply to your centre, the manager decides testing can continue, and the testers start recording details on paper as they go.
By the afternoon the system is back. There is a stack of forms, each needing to be entered. One is missing a mileage. One has a registration that could be read two ways. One seems to be on the back of a job card. Two days later the manager realises one test was never entered at all.
Paper is the fallback, and paper gets lost
Outages are infrequent, so the contingency procedure is rarely practised. Testers do what they remember, on whatever paper is to hand. Each form may be filled in slightly differently, and some required details are missed because the form does not prompt for them.
Entering the tests once the system is back is a separate job, often done in a hurry to clear the backlog. Nobody tracks which forms have been entered, so a single missed one can go unnoticed until a customer asks why their test does not appear in the records.
What exactly the contingency procedure requires, and how long you have to enter tests afterwards, is set by the rules that apply to MOT testing, not by the centre. We name those in general terms only. Your centre's procedure and advisers decide the detail.
What paper contingency records cost
| Gap | Risk |
|---|---|
| Required details missed | Tests that are hard to enter correctly later |
| Illegible handwriting | Registration or mileage errors |
| Forms lost or misplaced | Tests never entered |
| No list of what has been entered | Backlog status unknown |
| Customers not told clearly | Confusion about when their record will appear |
The consequence of a missed entry falls on the customer, whose vehicle may not show a current test, and on the centre, which has to explain why.
How we build a contingency log
- The fields your contingency procedure requires are built into a short tablet form, so testers are prompted for every one, in the right format.
- The registration is checked as it is typed, and mileage and other key fields are checked for obvious errors.
- Each contingency test gets a status: recorded, entered into the testing system, or checked. The form can also hold any reference the procedure provides.
- Once the system is back, the person entering tests works through the list, marking each as entered, so the backlog is visible at a glance.
- Any test not marked entered after a time you set is flagged to the manager.
- Customers tested during the outage can be sent a message explaining that their record will appear once the backlog is entered, using wording you approve.
The log does not replace the official system or change the procedure. It keeps your centre's side of it organised and complete.
The next outage, better organised
The system goes down. The manager opens the contingency log. Testers record each test on the tablet, prompted for every field. When the system returns, the list shows eleven tests to enter. The desk works through them, ticking each. By the end of the day, all eleven are marked entered, and nothing is waiting on a sticky note.
A week later, nobody is surprised by a missing record.
- Every required field prompted at the time
- Registration and mileage checks as tests are recorded
- A visible backlog when the system returns
- Flags for any test not yet entered
Would an outage leave loose ends?
- Contingency tests are recorded on paper.
- Different testers record different details.
- Nobody tracks which tests have been entered afterwards.
- You have found a test that was never entered.
- The contingency procedure is rarely practised.