Where is last year's certificate?
The site manager is preparing for a busy period and wants to be sure all three testers are up to date with their training and assessment. One tester keeps their certificates in a folder in the office. Another did the training online and the certificate went to a personal email address. The third says they did it, and probably did, but nobody has the paperwork.
It takes an afternoon of asking around and searching inboxes to piece it together. Nobody is sure when each tester's next assessment is due.
Why tester records scatter
Training and assessment requirements for MOT testers recur, and the evidence is produced by different people: training providers, assessment providers, and the tester themselves. Some of it arrives by email, some as a download, some on paper. It goes wherever the tester or the manager happens to put it.
The requirements themselves are set outside the centre and can change. A centre manager has to keep up with them while also running the day. Without one place that holds the evidence and the dates, it becomes a scramble each time.
Testers also move between centres more than many other staff. A tester who joins you brings their history with them, often as a set of screenshots and PDFs, and one who leaves takes their own copies. Unless the centre keeps its own record from the day someone starts, there is no complete picture of who was qualified to test what, and when.
What scattered records cost
| Gap | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Certificates in personal inboxes | Evidence lost when a tester leaves |
| Due dates not tracked | Training or assessment left late |
| No summary per tester | Manager spends hours checking |
| New starters' records incomplete | Uncertainty about what they can test |
| Paper folders only | Records at risk and hard to share |
What exactly must be kept, and for how long, is set by the requirements that apply to your centre and by your own advisers. The problem this solves is being able to find it and see what is coming up.
There is also a planning cost. Training and assessments take testers away from the bay. If due dates are only discovered at the last minute, they land in busy weeks, and the diary has to be cut back at short notice instead of being planned around a quiet period.
How we build one record per tester
- Each tester has a profile listing the vehicle classes they test and the training and assessment requirements you tell us apply.
- Certificates and evidence are added by uploading, photographing or forwarding an email to a dedicated address, and filed against the right tester and requirement.
- Each item has a completion date and, where it recurs, a next due date, set by the rules you give it.
- Upcoming due dates appear on a manager's screen and are emailed as a reminder to the tester and the manager well ahead.
- A summary shows every tester at a glance: up to date, due soon, or overdue, with the evidence one click away.
- When a tester leaves, their records stay with the centre, archived under your retention rules.
We store records where you choose, such as your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, so they belong to the centre rather than to a person.
The manager's afternoon, given back
The site manager opens the summary. Two testers are up to date with evidence attached. The third has an assessment due next month, flagged in amber, and a reminder has already gone to them. The certificate that went to a personal email was forwarded to the records address and filed.
When someone asks to see the evidence, it is found in a minute.
- One profile per tester with all evidence
- Due dates set by your rules and flagged early
- Records kept by the centre, not in personal inboxes
- A summary for the manager at a glance
Are tester records hard to find?
- Tester certificates are spread across folders and inboxes.
- You are not sure when each tester's next assessment is due.
- Checking everyone is up to date takes hours.
- Records left with a tester who moved on.
- New starters' evidence is incomplete.