Health check templates

Summary

A health check template is your paper VHC sheet, set up in Torqueflow. It holds sections (such as Brakes or Tyres) and the items under each one. When a technician starts a health check, they pick a template and work through its items. Every garage gets a ready-made Standard health check template with 37 checks in 7 sections, so you can run a check on day one and change the sheet later. This page is also where you set the wording of the five verdicts, the heading and ready-made phrases for the comment at the foot of every check, and the statement at the top of every report your customers receive.

Prerequisites

• You are signed in as an Owner or Manager. Other roles need the Manage health check templates permission for templates and verdict wording, Manage health check comment settings for the comment heading and phrases, and Manage health check report settings for the customer report statement. See Roles and Permissions.

Steps

Opening the page

1. Click Settings in the main navigation.
2. Click Health checks.
3. The page shows up to four cards: Templates, Verdict wording, Check comments and Customer report. You see the first two with Manage health check templates, the third with Manage health check comment settings and the fourth with Manage health check report settings. Owners and managers see all four.

The Templates card lists every template in use, in the order technicians see them. Each row shows the name, a count such as “7 sections, 37 items” and a Default badge on the default template.

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The starter template

Every garage starts with Standard health check. Its seven sections are:

1. Interior and controls
2. Levels, belts, hoses and battery
3. Lights, body, underside and glass
4. Brakes
5. Steering
6. Suspension
7. Tyres

It has 37 items. 36 take a verdict. Other items noted is a note-only item for anything else the technician spots.

The starter also sets up readings and saved findings on the tyres and brakes. Tread depth is measured at inner, centre and outer, with Amber at 3 mm and Red at 1.6 mm. Pad thickness has Amber at 4 mm and Red at 2 mm. Disc thickness has no threshold, because the right figure depends on the disc. Change any of these to suit your garage.

To add another copy of the starter at any time:

1. Click Add the starter template on the Templates card.
2. A dialog opens with a suggested name. Change it if another template already uses that name.
3. Click Add template.

The copy is written in the language you use Torqueflow in. See Language support.

If your garage has no template in use at all, the card shows Start with a ready-made template, with Use the starter template and Build by hand.

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Creating your own template

1. Click Create template on the Templates card.
2. Enter a Name (for example “Full vehicle health check”) and, if you like, a Description.
3. Click Create. The template editor opens.
4. Type a section name, such as “Tyres”, into the Add section box and press Enter or click Add section.
5. Under the section, type an item name into Type an item name and press Enter and press Enter. Keep typing and pressing Enter to add the next item. Work down your paper sheet one heading at a time.
6. Repeat for each section.

Changes save as you make them. There is no Save button for the whole template.

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Editing an item

1. Click the item in the editor. The item dialog opens with four tabs.
2. Details: change the Item name. Switch on Note only for an item that takes a free-text note and no verdict. Switch on Photo expected on Red or Amber for items where you want a photo. When a technician gives the item a Red or Amber, the check shows a reminder to take one. It never stops them.
3. Readings: click Add reading for anything the technician measures on this item. Enter the Reading name and Unit (for example “Tread depth” and “mm”). Under Which way is worse?, choose Lower is worse or Higher is worse, then enter the Amber and Red values. Add Positions if it is measured in more than one place, such as inner, centre and outer. Switch on Always measured to have readings taken even when the item is Green.
4. Saved findings: click Add saved finding. Pick the Verdict, then type the Customer wording (what the customer reads) and, if you like, a Technician note (not shown to the customer). When a technician picks the finding, its customer wording becomes the starting wording for that item on the customer’s report.
5. Linked job: choose the service from your services list that fixes this item. When a technician gives the item a Red or Amber, the pricing view prices it from that service at today’s price: its base price, or its time at your default labour rate, plus its parts. Your service advisor checks the price before sending. See Pricing a health check.
6. Click the save button on each tab (Save details, Save reading, Save finding or Save link).

If you close the dialog with unsaved changes, Torqueflow asks “Discard unsaved changes?” first.

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What technicians see from readings and saved findings

• Readings appear as boxes on the item’s row on the check, one per position, with the unit beside each.
• Amber and Red values suggest a verdict once a technician types a reading past them. The suggested button gets a dashed ring and a line names the reading that drove it, for example “Amber suggested: Tread depth, Outer 2 mm”. The technician still taps to record it.
• Which way is worse? decides whether a low reading (tread depth, pad thickness) or a high one counts against the item. A reading with no direction or no values never suggests anything.
• If a technician records a different verdict from the one your thresholds suggest, they can say why. The reason is always optional.
• Always measured asks for the readings even on a Green item. Without it, readings are only asked for on Red or Amber. Either way, an empty reading is a reminder (“Reading still to take”), never a block.
• Saved findings appear as a Findings list in the item’s notes box. A tap puts the finding’s text into the technician’s note. The Technician note shows if you wrote one, otherwise the Customer wording. On an item with no verdict yet, a finding also suggests its verdict.

See Doing a vehicle health check for what the technician does.

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Arranging and tidying a template

• Reorder sections, items, readings or saved findings by dragging the handle on the left of the row. With a keyboard, focus the handle, press Space, use the arrow keys, then press Space again.
• Rename a section, or the template itself, from its menu. The template’s Rename button sits at the top of the editor.
• Duplicate a section or item from its menu to copy it with everything on it.
• Move to section from an item’s menu moves it to another section.
• Retire a section, item, reading or saved finding from its menu. Nothing is deleted. Retired rows are hidden from new health checks and keep their history. Click Show retired to see them and Restore to bring one back.

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Managing templates

Use the menu on a template’s row on the Templates card:

1. Open goes to the editor.
2. Copy makes a new template with “-Copy” on the end of the name. Use it to try changes without touching the one your technicians use.
3. Make default sets the template that is selected first when a technician starts a health check.
4. Retire stops technicians picking the template. It keeps its history. Click Show retired on the card to see retired templates, then Restore or Restore and make default.

Drag templates into the order you want technicians to see them.

If you change a template while checks on it are still in progress, its row shows a line such as “2 checks in progress use an earlier copy”. It is information only. Those checks keep the copy they started with, and new checks use your changes. Any change to the template’s sections, items, readings or saved findings counts, including renaming, retiring or reordering them. Changing the default template or the verdict wording does not.

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Changing the verdict wording

The Verdict wording card lists the five verdicts. Each has a Code, a Name and a Description. The defaults are:

Code	Name	Description
R	Red	Needs attention now
A	Amber	Will need attention later
G	Green	Visually OK
NC	Not checked	Not inspected this time
NA	Not applicable	Does not exist on this vehicle

1. Type your own wording into any field. The default shows in grey until you do. A code can be up to 4 characters, a name up to 40 and a description up to 200.
2. Click Save on that verdict. It shows Customised once changed.
3. To go back to the default, click Reset to default. The message that appears has an Undo button.

You cannot add, remove or recolour verdicts. There are always five.

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Setting the check comments

Every health check ends with a comment box. The Check comments card sets its heading and the ready-made phrases technicians can tap to add to it.

1. Type a heading into Comment heading (up to 60 characters). Leave it empty to use “Additional comments” in each person’s own language. A new heading also shows on checks already signed off.
2. Under Ready-made phrases, edit any phrase by typing into it. Each phrase can be up to 200 characters.
3. Click Add phrase to add one. A list can hold up to 50 phrases.
4. Drag a phrase by its handle to move it. With a keyboard, focus the handle, press Space, use the arrow keys, then press Space again.
5. Click the remove button on a phrase to take it off.
6. Click Save. The card shows Saved. Technicians see the new heading and phrases the next time they open a check.

Nothing saves until you click Save. While you have changes, Unsaved changes shows beside it, and Torqueflow asks before you leave the page.

Suggested phrases. Until you change the list, the card shows Torqueflow’s suggested phrases under the label “Suggested phrases - edit or remove any of them”. They are in your garage’s language. Changing only the heading keeps them as suggestions. Once you edit, add, remove or reorder a phrase and save, the list becomes your garage’s own and stays as you wrote it.

The first 8 phrases. Technicians see the first 8 phrases straight away and the rest behind More phrases. With more than 8 phrases, a divider after the 8th marks the cut-off. Put your most used phrases at the top.

No phrases. Remove every phrase and save to offer technicians none. To go back to the suggestions at any time, click Use the suggested phrases, then Save.

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Setting the customer report statement

Every health check report your customers receive opens with a short statement saying what the check covered. The Customer report card sets it. Until you change it, every report uses the standard wording: “This health check is a visual inspection of the items listed in this report, carried out while your vehicle was with us. Nothing was taken apart and the vehicle was not road tested, so it cannot find every fault.”

1. Type your own statement into Scope statement. It can be up to 400 characters, line breaks included. The count under the box shows how many you have used.
2. Check it under How it appears on a phone.
3. Click Save. The card shows Saved.

To go back to the standard wording, click Use the standard wording, then Save.

• Your own wording is shown exactly as written to every customer, whatever their language. The standard wording is translated into each customer’s language.
• A change affects only reports sent afterwards. A report already sent keeps the statement it was sent with.
• The statement is plain text. It is always shown in full at the top of the report.

See Sending a health check report to the customer.

Expected Outcome

• The Templates card lists your templates, with one marked Default.
• When a technician chooses Start health check on a job, your default template is selected and its sections and items appear on the check page.
• The verdict buttons on the check page show your codes.
• Readings you set up appear as boxes on the check, and your thresholds suggest verdicts.
• The foot of every check shows your comment heading and phrases.
• A Red or Amber on an item with a linked job arrives priced on the pricing view.
• Reports sent after you save the Customer report card open with your statement.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Health checks does not appear in Settings. Cause: Your role has none of Manage health check templates, Manage health check comment settings or Manage health check report settings, or it has no Settings access. Service Advisors and Technicians do not have these by default. Fix: Ask your owner to give your role the permission it needs in Roles and Permissions. A role also needs Settings access to see the Health checks card.

Problem: The page shows some of the cards but not others. Cause: Each card has its own permission, and your role has some of them. Fix: Ask your owner to add the permission you need to your role.

Problem: Saving the Customer report card says “Someone else saved these settings while you were editing.” Cause: Another manager saved the statement after you opened the page. Fix: Your text is still in the box. Click Save again to save yours over theirs, or reload the page to see theirs.

Problem: The Check comments card says “Someone else saved these settings while you were editing”. Cause: Another manager saved the card after you opened it. Fix: Your changes are kept on screen. Click Keep my version to save yours over theirs, or Use theirs to load what they saved. Use theirs shows “Your edits were replaced” with Undo for a few seconds if you change your mind.

Problem: “A template with that name already exists.” Cause: Two templates in use cannot share a name. Fix: Choose a different name, or click the suggested name shown under the field.

Problem: Technicians see “No health check template has anything to check in it yet.” Cause: Your templates in use have no items, or every section is retired. Fix: Open a template and add items, or restore a retired section.

Problem: A warning says “Code R is also used by Amber.” Cause: Two verdicts share the same code. Fix: It still saves, but the verdicts are hard to tell apart on the check. Give each verdict its own code.

Problem: “Choose whether a lower or a higher reading is worse before entering a threshold.” Cause: You entered an Amber or Red value without picking a direction. Fix: Choose Lower is worse or Higher is worse first.

Problem: A readings note says “With these values Red is reached first, so Amber will never be suggested.” Cause: The Amber value is past the Red value. For tread depth with lower is worse, Amber must be higher than Red. Fix: Swap the two values.

Notes

• What the health check uses today. Technicians see your sections, items, verdict wording, note-only items, readings, thresholds, saved findings and your comment heading and phrases. Photo expected on Red or Amber shows an Expected photo reminder on a Red or Amber item, and the sign-off dialog lists any such item still without a photo. Neither one blocks anything. Linked jobs are not shown to technicians. They price Red and Amber items on the pricing view. See Doing a vehicle health check and Pricing a health check.
• Checks already started are not changed. A health check copies the template when it starts. Editing or retiring the template afterwards does not change checks in progress. The comment heading and phrases are not part of the template, so a change to them shows on the next check opened.
• The comment and the customer. Technicians can switch a comment to show on the customer’s report. When it is on, the comment appears on the report your service advisor sends, under “Comment from the technician”.
• Verdict wording and language. Wording you set shows in every language. Wording you leave alone follows each person’s language.
• Renaming a reading keeps its history. To measure something different, add a new reading instead.
• Health check templates are separate from checklist templates, which add tasks to a job’s Tasks tab.

Permissions

Action	Required permission
Build, edit, copy, reorder and retire templates, and edit verdict wording	Manage health check templates (Owner and Manager by default)
Set the comment heading and ready-made phrases	Manage health check comment settings (Owner and Manager by default)
Set the customer report statement	Manage health check report settings (Owner and Manager by default)
See the Health checks card in Settings	Any of the three health check permissions, and Settings access
Start and record a health check	Access to the job. See Doing a vehicle health check.