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Many Commercial Fleet Owners are wasting thousands of pounds outsourcing their brake
testing. This type of expense is not only costing fleets thousands but also leads to vehicle
downtime, resulting in valuable business time being lost.

Brake testing is a legal requirement set out by the DVSA to ensure that all commercial
vehicles are safe to drive on the roads. This is to help prevent the chances of any incidents
occurring on the roads due to brake test failures. Every brake test is important, however they
come at an external cost of vehicle downtime as well as a higher maintenance expense,
especially when you have a large commercial fleet. Whether it’s voluntary tests, compulsory
tests or PMI’s (Preventative Maintenance Inspections) it is down to you as the Commercial
Fleet Owner to cover the expense.

This of course, can quite easily mount up to huge amount of additional costs. Therefore, so
many Commercial Fleet Owners take the plunge and invest in their own brake testing
equipment to save valuable business time and money.

How can in-house brake testing equipment help Commercial Fleets?

Investing in your own commercial brake testing equipment allows you to drastically reduce
your brake testing costs. This means that thousands of pounds could be saved per year.
Vehicle downtime can also be reduced as owning your own brake testing equipment gives
you the flexibility and control of your commercial vehicles. You will decide how long your
vehicles are and can afford to be off the road. No more waiting in ques at test testers and
booking appointments which can interfere with your transporting schedules.

Here are just a few questions you should ask yourself before investing in brake testing
equipment…

1. How many commercial vehicles do you own and how often do you get each of
your vehicle’s brake tested?

This figure is so important! As when you outsource your brake testing needs it’s important to
realise that each vehicle within your fleet will need to be brake tested. This means that the
cost of a brake test will need to be multiplied by how many commercial vehicles you have
within your fleet. It’s only then, that you’ll realise just how much money you are spending on
brake testing alone. Money which can be saved by bringing brake testing in house.

2. How long is your vehicle off the road for when you take them to an out of house
test centre?

Knowing how long each vehicle is out of action for is also amongst the most essential
information you need to see if bringing brake testing in-house could benefit you. This doesn’t
just include how long the brake test takes to perform but needs to counter in the time spent
finding a test centre that can fit you in for a brake test, driving to the test centre/garage, the
duration of the brake test itself plus how long it’s then kept at the garage for after the test is
complete due to opening/closing times etc. Plus, the labour time taken for the driver to travel
to and from the test centre.

Remember when you’re thinking about this, to also bear in mind the number of times you’ve
had to hire commercial vehicles, despite having your own fleet. As, as you’ll know if a test
centre can’t get you booked in for a brake test within your time frame, your vehicles must
remain off the road until a brake test can be performed. This alone, can cause your vehicles to
be off the road for days, if not weeks.

3. How much does each brake test cost?

Remember, test centres charge per axle for brake tests. You must consider exactly how many
vehicles you have, how much a brake test is normally and times that by the number of
vehicles you have to know a rough estimate of how much you’re currently spending on
outsourcing brake tests. Now use your business sense… Is it worth it for all the hassle that
comes with it? Or could you invest in a brake testing unit yourself and bring it in-house for
complete convenience.

4. Could you be using that valuable business time for something else?

9 times out of 10 we all have those tasks which need to be done, but we fail to find the
realistic time. The labour time you save by visiting test centres and waiting in ques can be put
to better use!

5. How long would it take for a brake tester to pay for itself?

Luckily for you, we have a fantastic return on investment calculator which gives you an
estimate of exactly how long it would take for your brake testing unit to pay for itself. Speak
to our team today for an estimate.

It is a fact that the larger your fleet the quicker you will see the savings you’ve made, by this
one investment.

6. How much money can be saved by bringing it in-house?

The larger your fleet the more money that can be saved over a shorter duration of time.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it for smaller fleets as you are still able to save
a huge amount of money. Whilst of course reducing vehicle downtime.

It’s only with a full understanding of your situation and the out-going costs that you can start
to really think about brake testing and truly determine whether investing in your own brake
testing equipment would make more logical business sense. We’d advise anyone who is
thinking about investing in brake testing equipment to consider these points.

7. Perform Brake Testing for other fleets

For the times you don’t use your brake tester for your own fleet, you can generate more
income by offering brake tests to local commercial fleets. We’ve seen many of our clients
increase their business income by offering these services which is a clear additional
advantage.

8. Installation, Training, Aftercare

The team at V-Tech can provide professional installation along with on-site training to make
sure your team are fully aware of the procedure to perform compliant brake testing. For peace
of mind we also provide various aftercare service plans to make sure your equipment is
regularly maintained along with emergency breakdown callouts if necessary.

Join the many nationwide fleets that we’ve helped to bring brake-testing in-house:

Contact our experts to find out which model is suitable for your business along with an on-site meeting to demonstrate our return on investment analysis specific to your fleet.

Call: 0800 3277 263
Email: sales@v-techuk.com
Alternatively, you can view our full range of BM Brake Testers online.

The DVSA have recently sent out a communication to MOT sites to inform them of MOT testing equipment approvals, and how their brake testing equipment must be compliant with the DVSA. This will mean that for many MOT workshops, their brake testing units will need to be upgraded with the latest MTS software which allows for all of their MOT testing data to be easily transferred directly to the DVSA straight after a test is completed.

MOT stations required to take action include:

• Those who are replacing their Brake Tester
• Stations that are changing the AE (Authorised Examiner)
• Those who are changing the test station details for example: their company name

V-Tech are unique in being able to fully upgrade mainly all units to the latest version to ensure that MOT workshops are connected and compliant.

What is included in the software upgrade?

• A site visit by one of our professional, highly qualified Engineers
• An upgrade to the firmware and software of the Brake Testing Unit
• An upgrade to the latest version of operating software

Once you have realised the need for an upgrade, and have initially consulted our team, you will need to:

• Contact DVSA to obtain the key/certification code for the required software
• Speak to our V-Tech team to let us know that you have the code
• Our V-Tech Engineers will then come to site and perform the upgrade, installing a new PC and the correct software
• Your MOT testing data will then automatically be transferred to the DVSA every time a test is completed

Click here to find out how to request your key/certification code.

If your Roller Brake Tester is old, why not upgrade to a current one? View our wide range of professional, high quality Roller Brake Testers online or contact our team to enquire.

0800 195 1245

info@v-techuk.com