In-house tire shop checklist: entry, execution and departure

When a tire loses useful life ahead of time, the investigation usually starts with the product: a bad brand, a defective batch, a supplier that delivered below standard. But in many operations, the problem is not the tire; it is what happens to it inside the tire shop.

Without a standardized process for the entry, execution and departure of services, the in-house tire shop runs on individual experience. Calibration is done but not recorded, or rotation happens but nobody knows which tire was in which position before.

Put like this, these actions hardly seem like a problem, but when they add up and become regular, they compromise tire traceability, generate rework and make maintenance management and tire management hostage to the memory of whoever was on shift.

A simple tool can solve the lack of standards: the checklist. Read on:

• Why an in-house tire shop needs its own checklists
• Vehicle entry checklist at the tire shop
• Service execution checklist
• Vehicle departure and release checklist
• Periodic checklist for the fleet's scheduled inspection
• The role of the electronic checklist in this routine

Why an in-house tire shop needs its own checklists

There is an important difference between the inspection the driver does before hitting the road and the control the tire shop needs to carry out.

The driver checks whether the tire is visibly fit to run. The tire shop needs to go further: assess the technical condition, carry out services to a standard and ensure the traceability of everything that was done.

These are different responsibilities, with different levels of detail. And when the tire shop does not have its own tire checklists, three things happen frequently:

• Loss of traceability: without a standardized record, it is not possible to reconstruct a tire's history (such as how many times it was calibrated, when it was rotated and who did the last repair), and if the tire fails prematurely, there is no way to identify the cause.
• Rework: without a departure checklist, vehicles are released with incorrect calibration, tires with unidentified damage or swapped positions. The problem comes back within days and generates a new visit and vehicle downtime that could have been (easily) avoided.
• Loss of standards: each tire technician works with their own criteria, and this works while that professional is there. When they leave, change shifts or are replaced, the knowledge goes with them because it was never documented.

Vehicle entry checklist at the tire shop

Every visit to the tire shop should start with an entry record. It seems obvious, but in many operations the vehicle arrives, the tire technician goes straight to the job and no information is recorded before the intervention.

The entry checklist serves to document the vehicle's condition at the moment it enters the tire shop, before any service is carried out. This creates the baseline that makes it possible to compare before and after.

What to record at entry:

• vehicle identification (license plate, fleet number) and current mileage.
• reason for the visit: scheduled (inspection, rotation, routine calibration) or corrective (puncture, damage, driver request);
• visual condition of each tire by position and axle;
• pressure measured before the intervention;
• tread depth (measured with a gauge);
• Identification of visible damage: cuts, bulges, embedded objects, irregular wear;
• fire number (the serial number branded on the tire) and/or DOT of each tire.

This record is the starting point of any tire management that intends to generate better results for the operation. Without it, what happens inside the tire shop has no reference and what happens afterward has no explanation.

Service execution checklist

A carrier's in-house tire shop carries out a set of services that are repeated daily. Each of them should have a standard operating procedure (SOP) and a checklist that ensures the procedure was followed.

The main services and what each checklist should cover:

Calibration:

• Pressure measured with the tire cold (or with a documented temperature correction);
• reference value by position and axle according to the manufacturer's/operation's specification;
• record of the pressure found and the adjusted pressure;
• check of the valve's condition.

Tread depth inspection:

• Depth measurement at at least three points on the tire (center and sides);
• record of wear by position to identify patterns (center, shoulder or irregular wear);
• comparison with the minimum limit defined by the operation.

Rotation:

• Original position and destination position of each relocated tire;
• reason for the rotation (irregular wear, equalization, scheduled preventive);
• update of the position record in the system.

Mounting and dismounting:

• Inspection of the rim and components before mounting;
• check of the tightening torque according to specification;
• record of the mounted tire with fire number and position.

Puncture repair:

• Assessment of whether the repair is viable (location and extent of the damage);
• type of repair performed (patch, plug, cold/hot repair);
• photographic record when applicable;
• disposal criterion when the repair is not recommended.

Disposal and sending for retreading:

• Casing assessment according to defined criteria (bead condition, presence of structural damage, tire age);
• classification: definitive disposal or sending to the retreader;
• record of the write-off in the system with the reason.

It is important to remember that standardizing these procedures does not eliminate the tire technician's experience; it only complements it. The professional should keep making technical decisions, but now within a standard that ensures consistency regardless of who is doing the job.

Vehicle departure and release checklist

Releasing the vehicle is the moment when the tire shop “signs off” on the quality of the service. If the entry checklist documents how the vehicle arrived, the departure checklist documents how it is leaving and under whose responsibility.

What to confirm before release:

• final pressure of all tires measured and recorded;
• tread depth updated in the record;
• identification of each tire (fire number) checked and updated in the system, especially if there was a relocation;
• service performed recorded with date, mileage, service type and technician in charge;
• absence of untreated damage or pending service items.

This checklist seems simple, but it is the one that fails most in practice. The pressure of the operational flow (the vehicle needs to leave soon, the driver is waiting, the next visit is in the queue) makes departure the moment when steps are skipped most. And that is exactly why a ready, standardized checklist is essential: so that it works even under pressure.

Periodic checklist for the fleet's scheduled inspection

The previous checklists depend on the vehicle entering the tire shop for some reason. The scheduled inspection is different: it happens by calendar, regardless of whether the vehicle shows a problem.

This scheduled inspection routine looks for what the driver did not notice and what the corrective visit did not capture. It should cover:

• a full inspection of the pressure and tread depth of all the vehicle's tires, including spare tires;
• a check for irregular wear that indicates alignment, balancing or suspension problems;
• a reconciliation of the inventory of tires in use (mounted) vs. what is recorded in the system;
• a check of spare tires for usable condition and pressure;
• control of the inventory of tires on hold (new, retreaded and casings awaiting a decision).

The recommended frequency depends on the operation, but a common reference is to inspect 20% of the fleet per week. This means that, in five weeks, every vehicle has gone through the inspection at least once. For fleets with intensive mileage, shorter intervals may be necessary.

The scheduled inspection is also the opportunity to update the database: correct discrepancies between the system and what is mounted, identify tires without a record and ensure the physical inventory is aligned with the digital one.

The role of the electronic checklist in this routine

Everything described so far can be done on paper. The question is: does paper scale? With 5 vehicles, a printed form and discipline do the job. With 50 or 100, the volume of records makes manual control unfeasible.

The electronic checklist solves this by digitizing collection at the source. The tire technician fills it in on a phone, the data goes up to the system automatically, anomalies generate alerts or work orders, and the manager accesses consolidated reports without having to transcribe any form.

Besides scale, the electronic format brings enforced standardization (mandatory fields that do not allow steps to be skipped), records with date, time and person in charge (automatic traceability) and integration with the tire management system (the inspection data feeds the CPK, the tire's history and inventory control).

Structured checklists for each stage of the visit are the minimum needed for control to stop depending on people and start depending on process.

Want to see how Prolog's Electronic Checklist works in practice? Learn about the solution and see how it applies to your tire shop's routine.