1. What a pre-delivery inspection is, and setting its checklist
A PDI is the last full check before a vehicle goes to its owner. In BuildTrack it is a workshop job of type Pre-delivery inspection, and you give that type its own QC and Delivery lists. Start here.
Where it is
Settings for this
- Settings → Workshop → Checklists — “+ Different list for a job type…” on Quality control and Delivery & handover
- Settings → Workshop → Job types — Pre-delivery inspection must be Shown
Who this is for: technicians, workshop managers and vehicle sales. The checklist setup is for managers (it needs the settings.edit permission); everyone else can read it.
What a PDI is
A pre-delivery inspection (PDI) is the last full check of a vehicle before it goes to its owner. It answers one question: is this vehicle fit to hand over, exactly as we promised it?
You do one when:
- a new or used car from your lot is about to go to its buyer;
- a customer's own car is going home after a big fit-out or build;
- anything else where you'd be embarrassed if the owner found the fault before you did.
It isn't the same as the other checks BuildTrack knows about:
| The question it answers | Where it lives | |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in | How did the car arrive? | The job's Inspection tab (Workshop course, lesson 3) |
| Digital inspection | What does the car need? | Workshop › Inspections (Inspections course) |
| Pre-delivery inspection | Is it ready to hand over? | A job of type Pre-delivery inspection, on its QC & Handover tab |
How BuildTrack does it
A PDI is an ordinary workshop job whose Job Type is Pre-delivery inspection. Two things make it a PDI rather than any other job:
- Its checklists. Its 1 · QC step is the inspection, and its 2 · Delivery step is the handover. You give the Pre-delivery inspection type its own lists, so a PDI asks PDI questions.
- Where it's linked. For a car from your stock, it's made from the stock unit and the deal checks it (lesson 4).
Delivery Prep is a different built-in job type, for getting a car ready (washing, fitting plates). Only jobs of type Pre-delivery inspection count as a PDI on a deal.
Where to find it
Sidebar Settings, then Workshop under "How you work". The tabs across the top include Job types and Checklists.
Step by step: check the job type
- Open Settings › Workshop › Job types.
- Find Pre-delivery inspection. It's built in, so every business has it.
- Make sure the box beside it reads Shown. A hidden type stays on old jobs but can't be chosen for a new one.
- You can rename it or change its colour. Renaming changes the label everywhere, so keep it obvious.
Step by step: give PDI its own QC list
- Open Settings › Workshop › Checklists. There are three cards: Vehicle check-in, Quality control and Delivery & handover.
- On the Quality control card, under Per job type, open + Different list for a job type… and choose Pre-delivery inspection.
- The editor opens as Quality control · Pre-delivery inspection jobs only. It starts as a copy of your main QC list (or BuildTrack's, if you've never changed it).
- Set the top of the list:
- List name, such as "PDI: final check".
- Signature to finish: Technician signs is a good start for a PDI.
- The job's parts and labour on this list: leave it on Summary of the job's lines.
- Leave A failed line blocks "Pass QC" ticked. A PDI with a fail on it should never pass.
- Rename the section in its title box, use + Add line to add a line, and + Add section to group them.
- Click the small summary on the right of a line to set how it's answered:
- Answered by: Tick, Pass / Fail / N/A, Measurement or Text answer.
- Photo and Note: Off, Optional, Required or Required on fail.
- For a Measurement, the Unit, Min (pass) and Max (pass). A reading outside the range fails by itself.
- Guidance for the tech (optional): a line of small print under the question.
- Must be answered before the list can be completed. Untick it only for a line that's truly optional.
- Try it in Technician's view on the right: tick, fail and type to see what a technician sees.
- Press Save checklist.
Then do the same on the Delivery & handover card: + Different list for a job type…, Pre-delivery inspection. That's the handover list (lesson 3). For a handover, Signature to finish: Technician and customer sign is usual.
Example PDI lines
These are examples to start from. Your manufacturer, your state and your own standards decide the real list.
| Section | Line | Answered by | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fluids | Engine oil, coolant, brake and washer fluid at level | Pass / Fail / N/A | Note required on fail |
| Fluids | Battery voltage | Measurement, V, min 12.4 | |
| Tyres | Tyre pressures to placard | Measurement, psi, with your range | |
| Tyres | Wheel nuts torqued and marked | Tick | |
| Lights | Every exterior light works | Pass / Fail / N/A | Photo required on fail |
| Lights | No warning lights on the dash | Pass / Fail / N/A | Photo required on fail |
| Accessories | Every accessory on the deal fitted and working | Pass / Fail / N/A | Photo required |
| Paperwork | Owner's manual and service book in the car | Tick | |
| Paperwork | Number of keys | Text answer | |
| Clean | Inside and out clean, protective film removed | Pass / Fail / N/A | Photo required on fail |
| Road test | Road test completed, no faults | Pass / Fail / N/A | Note required on fail |
What happens by itself
- Every job of type Pre-delivery inspection uses these lists. Every other job keeps your main lists.
- A job that hasn't saved its QC (or Delivery) step yet picks up a changed list straight away. A list already saved on a job is never rewritten.
- Remove variant in the editor sends PDI jobs back to the main list.
Where it ends
Pre-delivery inspection is Shown, and it has its own QC and Delivery lists. Next, run one (lesson 2).
Lesson 1 of 5 in Pre-delivery and handover. Next: 2. Running the PDI: the QC step.