NHVAS Maintenance Management and the move to Heavy Vehicle Accreditation

Standard 1: the daily check

A daily check for each vehicle when in use, including trailers, with a documented instruction saying when, by whom and how it is recorded. The person completing it must acknowledge the vehicle to be safe to the limits of the inspection and be identifiable on the record. The minimum items are:

• Wheels and tyres
• Lights and reflectors
• Windscreen, mirrors and wipers
• Structure and bodywork
• Fluid or air leaks
• Brakes: failure indicators, pressure or vacuum gauges, draining air tanks
• Tow couplings and drawbars
• The NHVAS label

Standard 2: fault recording and reporting

Faults found during a journey must be recorded and retained in the vehicle and reported to the maintenance provider. On a phone, the record is in the vehicle wherever the driver is, and the fault lands on the defect board the moment the phone finds signal, ready to pass to your maintenance provider.

Standard 3: fault repair

Fault repair must be assessed and prioritised. A deferral must name the decision maker and set a time, distance or hours limit. Brakes, steering and suspension can never be deferred. The repair record must show when the fault was fixed and tested, with brakes tested before return to service. In Escudo Fleet a safety critical fault cannot be deferred, and it is cleared by a named person who records their qualification and the test.

Standards 4 and 5: servicing, the vehicle register and the records

Servicing by time, distance or hours against a schedule, with the records of each service. A vehicle register with VIN, GVM, tare and unit type, the workshops and people who maintain the vehicles, and the documented procedures, with superseded versions kept.

Standards 6 to 8: responsibilities, review and training

Who is responsible for each maintenance task. Internal review of the system, with non-conformances recorded, corrected and closed. A quarterly compliance statement counting checks done and missed per vehicle, services done and missed, faults repaired and outstanding, and notices issued. Training records with trainer, trainee, date and subject.

Heavy Vehicle Accreditation

The Heavy Vehicle Accreditation (HVA) scheme started on 1 August 2026. An NHVAS accreditation runs until it expires. We have not yet mapped our records to the HVA standards, so the auditor pack is arranged under the NHVAS Maintenance Management headings, Standards 1 to 8.

Retention

Everything kept for a minimum of three years, including superseded procedures. Records can be kept in any format, and electronic records are accepted under NHVAS. Audits occur at entry, six months after accreditation, then within the last nine months of each period, plus triggered audits and spot checks.

TruckSafe

The industry scheme’s maintenance standard is substantially the same as NHVAS, plus an annual roadworthiness assessment. The same records serve it.