The pre-CVRT and pre-NCT check, section by section

What a pre-test check is, and what it is not

It is not a test. Only a test centre can issue a CVRT or an NCT, and a passed pre-check is not a certificate. What a workshop sells is the check: the same items, looked at and put right before the vehicle goes for its test. No authorisation is needed to offer one.

That is also why Workbay never moves a vehicle's test date when a pre-check is passed. The date is typed in off the disc, and only a real test changes it, so a reminder cannot fall silent because the workshop did the check.

What the check covers

The pre-CVRT check for vans up to 3.5 tonnes is taken item for item from the RSA's Light Commercial Vehicle tester's manual, and the pre-NCT check for cars from the RSA's NCT manual for M1 cars. Every row carries the manual's own item number, so what the workshop checks is what the test centre will. 68 items on the first, 66 on the second.

For trucks and trailers

Workbay does not yet have a pre-CVRT sheet for heavy goods vehicles. What it has is the HGV Vehicle Inspection, the periodic inspection a heavy goods operator needs on file, 67 items in the sections below, and the service inspection.

How the check runs in the bay

• Pass and fail are 60-point targets, sized for gloves on a trolley-mounted iPad.
• It runs entirely on the device: answers, notes and photographs are sent when signal returns.
• A fail raises a defect on the vehicle with its severity. A check whose answer raises a defect or needs a note offers a photograph there and then.
• The sheet is signed on the screen and rendered as a PDF report with every finding, and it goes to the customer with the invoice.

How a workshop sells it

• Get the date on record. The test date is typed in off the disc when the vehicle is in; until then it shows as “not on record” rather than saying nothing.
• Watch for amber. A date turns amber three weeks out, red once it has passed, and the compliance list puts the whole fleet in that order, soonest first.
• Offer the check at amber. Three weeks is enough time to fix what it finds before the test.
• Turn findings into work. Each fail is a defect on the vehicle; an estimate goes to the customer by email and comes back approved with one tap.

Fair questions

Can a workshop certify a CVRT or an NCT with Workbay?

No — only a test centre can. A CVRT or NCT happens between the customer and the test centre. What a workshop sells is the pre-test check: the same items, checked and rectified before the vehicle goes for its test. Workbay's pre-CVRT and pre-NCT sheets are that check, and no authorisation is needed to offer one.

Does completing a pre-test check update the vehicle's CVRT or NCT date?

No, deliberately. A passed pre-check is not a test. The compliance date is typed in off the disc when the vehicle is in, and only that changes it — so a reminder never falls silent because the workshop did the pre-check.

Which vehicles does the pre-CVRT check cover, and which the pre-NCT?

The pre-CVRT check is for vans up to 3.5 tonnes, taken from the RSA's Light Commercial Vehicle tester's manual. The pre-NCT check is for cars, taken from the RSA's NCT manual for M1 cars.

What does the customer get?

A PDF inspection report with the outcome, every finding, the photographs and the signature, attached to the job report and the invoice. Findings become defects on the vehicle, so the next visit starts from what was found last time.

Do the sheets work without signal?

Yes. The whole sheet is on the device, and answers, notes and photographs are sent when signal returns.