Reference
Fleet compliance glossary
Short, plain-English definitions of the terms that show up on inspection reports, work orders and compliance notices — each linked to the authority that defines it.
How to use this page
Definitions here are intentionally brief. Where a term carries a legal requirement, the governing agency's own page is linked and controls — this glossary summarises, it does not set the rule, and it is not legal advice. Last reviewed . See our sources and methodology.
Terms
- BIT (Basic Inspection of Terminals)California terminal inspection program
- The California Highway Patrol program under which motor carrier terminals are inspected and rated. Carriers subject to it keep inspection, maintenance and driver records available for review, and the CHP determines the terminal rating. The program name was formerly Biennial Inspection of Terminals.90-day vehicle inspection softwareCHP — Basic Inspection of Terminals
- 90-day inspectionCarrier vehicle safety inspection under CVC §34505.5
- The motor carrier's recurring vehicle safety inspection under CVC §34505.5 for covered trucks, tractors and trailers. It covers specified safety systems, records defects and repairs, requires carrier attestation, and must be retained for two years. It is separate from the CHP-conducted BIT terminal inspection.Guide: what the 90-day requirement meansCalifornia Vehicle Code §34505.5
- DOT annual (periodic) inspectionFederal yearly inspection under 49 CFR 396.17
- The federal periodic inspection every commercial motor vehicle subject to the rule must pass at least once every 12 months. The vehicle must carry proof of the inspection, and the carrier keeps the report on file for the period the regulation specifies.DOT annual inspection software49 CFR 396.17
- Qualified inspectorWho may perform a periodic inspection
- A person who meets the training and experience conditions in 49 CFR 396.19 and whose qualification the carrier documents and retains. Software can store the evidence of qualification; it cannot make someone qualified.49 CFR 396.19
- Clean Truck CheckCARB heavy-duty inspection and maintenance program
- The California Air Resources Board program requiring periodic emissions compliance testing and reporting for covered heavy-duty vehicles operating in California. Applicability, testing frequency, fees and phase-in dates are set by CARB and change over time.Clean Truck Check complianceCARB — Clean Truck Check
- DVIR (Driver Vehicle Inspection Report)Driver's daily condition report
- The report a driver completes on a vehicle's condition, noting defects that would affect safe operation. Defects that are reported have to be addressed and the correction recorded before the vehicle goes back into service.FMCSA regulations
- Out-of-service (OOS)A vehicle or driver barred from operating
- A condition or violation serious enough that an enforcement officer prohibits further operation until it is corrected. The correction and its documentation are what release the unit back into service.
- Preventive maintenance (PM) intervalThe trigger that makes a service due
- The rule that says when a service is due — a distance, an engine-hour count, a calendar period, or whichever comes first. The interval is set by the operator, usually from the manufacturer's schedule and how hard the unit works.Preventive maintenance
- Engine-hour (hour-meter) serviceMaintenance scheduled by run time, not miles
- Scheduling based on how long an engine has run rather than distance travelled. It is the normal basis for equipment that works without moving much — excavators, generators, aerial devices, compressors.Heavy equipment maintenance software
- Asset historyThe permanent record for one unit
- Every inspection, defect, repair, part, technician hour, cost and document attached to a single vehicle or piece of equipment, kept for the life of the asset rather than the life of a job.The AssetStacc Platform
- Work orderThe authorised record of work performed
- The record that captures what was authorised, what was actually done, which parts and labour were used, and by whom. It is what an invoice and an audit trail are both built from.How it works
- EstimatePriced work awaiting approval
- A priced description of proposed work sent for approval before it starts. Approving it is what turns it into authorised work rather than a surprise on an invoice.
- Service requestHow work gets asked for
- A customer- or driver-initiated request for service on a specific asset. It carries the symptom, the asset and the location, and it is the starting point of the inspection-to-invoice chain.Request service
- Motor Carrier Permit (MCP)California operating authority for intrastate carriers
- The permit the California DMV issues to motor carriers operating in the state. Its status and renewal date are commonly tracked alongside inspection and registration dates.California DMV
- Terminal ratingThe CHP's finding after a terminal inspection
- The outcome the CHP assigns after inspecting a terminal, based on its records and vehicles. AssetStacc can hold the evidence a carrier presents; it does not assign, predict or influence a rating.90-day vehicle inspection softwareCHP — Basic Inspection of Terminals
Track these dates instead of remembering them
AssetStacc keeps inspections, intervals and documents on one record per asset.