Part of our Operator Questions series. What DVSA asks for, the 7 to 14 day deadline, the .ddd files and reports you must produce, and how the outcome feeds straight back into your OCRS score.
This is one of the questions we're regularly asked by transport managers and operators - so here's the straight answer from our analysts.
DVSA Desk Based Assessments (DBA) involve the handing over of raw tachograph data along with infringement records and analysis reports for a full off-site examination by DVSA officers to ascertain the level of operator compliance. Operators will receive a request letter outlining a strict time frame, usually 7-14 days, to provide the required information.
Raw tachograph files in .ddd format and readable analysis and infringement reports must be made available covering the specified time frame, usually between three months and twelve months, while complying with the availability deadline. Deliberate non-compliance with the production of records at request of an enforcement officer is an offence pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 Chapter VI Article 26 (3), as amended, which requires that record sheets, printouts and downloaded data ‘shall be produced or handed over at the request of any authorised inspecting officer’; wilful obstruction or failure to produce constitutes a criminal offence.
Desk based assessments are triggered through poor OCRS scores, directly highlighting poor compliance efforts. Roadside enforcement patterns can trigger DBA’s, where patterns of roadside stops highlight suspicion and the requirement for increased scrutiny and transparency. Complaints and routine sampling may also trigger DBA’s, dependent on individual grievances and randomised sampling of the operator pool.
Desk based assessments use a score matrix that filters into the OCRS system directly affecting OCRS scores and onward risk-based enforcement. Evidence of corrective action for negative scenarios is critical to help safeguard the operator licence along with the requirement for consistently low infringement percentages and an obvious demonstration of ‘effective and continuous’ fleet management.
Poor DBA outcomes can result in formal warnings, improvement notices, driver conduct hearings, and potential referral to the Traffic Commissioner.
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