Maintenance & inspection
What is defect rectification?
Defect rectification is the repair of a reported fault and the record of it. A defect report without a rectification record shows a fault was found and nothing closing it.
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<img src="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/rectification/diagram.svg" alt="defect rectification — diagram from FleetOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk/glossary/rectification">What is defect rectification?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://fleetoptix.co.uk">FleetOptix</a>
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</figure>An examiner reads the pair together. The report shows the system found something; the rectification record shows the system did something. Either alone is worse than useless.
The record needs detail. 'Rectified' with a signature says nothing about what was done, by whom, or whether it was a repair or a deferral, and those distinctions are what an investigation turns on.
Where a defect cannot be fixed immediately, the decision about whether the vehicle can still be used is the important one, and it needs to be recorded as a decision by a named person rather than left implicit.
What goes wrong in practice
- Closed with 'rectified' and no description of the work.
- Deferrals with no record of who decided the vehicle was still safe to use.
- Rectification recorded against the wrong vehicle, which is common where fleet numbers and registrations both circulate.