What is MOT Connected equipment?

From 1st October 2019, The DVSA, in association with the Garage Equipment Association (GEA), announced they would be enforcing the use of Connected Equipment for MOT testing across the UK, meaning that all new or replacement MOT testing equipment must be able to connect to this new electronic recording service. However, due to the number of garages, manufacturers and pieces of equipment involved, the rollout of this new legislation was to be phased in over several years. From the proof of concept in Q3 2018, the first piece of equipment this applies to in a live environment was roller brake testers (RBTs).

How does Connected MOT equipment work?

The MOT Connected equipment will record the MOT test results in the usual manner, but during the setup and entry of the vehicle data, the software will communicate with the DVSA MOT Testing System (MTS) system to inform the MTS that an MOT test is being done and that this particular test is being carried out for the vehicle currently being MOT tested. Once the test (for example a roller brake test) is completed, then these results will be sent directly into the MTS system and recorded against this vehicle MOT test To enable the above to happen, the MOT Testing System (MTS) has an Internet of Things (IoT) application programming interface (API) which the garage-based equipment will connect to during the setup and testing process. This API connects via the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud to send and receive data between the MOT testing equipment and the MOT Testing System (MTS) itself. The MTS API currently has the capability to accept results from Roller Brake Testers, Decelerometers, Exhaust Gas Analysers and Diesel Smoke Meters and further capability is also planned. There are 2 ways for MOT connected equipment to connect to the MOT Testing System (MTS)

What are the reasons for Connected MOT equipment?

• Reducing MOT fraud
• Reducing human error
• Increase Garage Efficiency
• Reduce Costs
• Preparing for vehicles of the future (more ADAS, Electric Vehicles EV, Self-driving / Autonomous Vehicles AV)

When did Connected MOT testing equipment come into force?

As of the 1st of October 2019, the DVSA began a phased introduction of connected MOT testing equipment beginning with roller brake testers (RBTs).

To who do the MOT Connected equipment rules apply?

The rule around connected MOT equipment applies to any applications to:

• open a new MOT test centre
• reopen a closed MOT centre (regardless of how long it’s been closed)
• change of ownership of an MOT centre (where the MOT centre moves from one authorised examiner (AE) to another, even if this is a family member)

You must also have, or add connected MOT equipment if you plan to:

• replace the current MOT equipment and connected alternatives are available and enforced, such as Roller Brake Testers (RBTs)
• add an extra test lane including new MOT equipment

The rules around connected equipment DO NOT apply if:

• You are making a change to an existing Authorised Examiner (eg. you add a new partner and keep the same AE number)
• your application was received by DVSA before 1 October 2019 – you can install any RBT that was approved at the point you applied

Read the full special Connected MOT Equipment notice on this on the gov.uk website – see useful reference links at the bottom of this article.

Read more about Connected MOT Equipment

See our full blog post for more in-depth information about connected garage equipment for MOT bays:

https://concept-ge.co.uk/learn-about-mot-connected-equipment/

Help with MOT Connected Equipment

If you are considering setting up a new MOT Bay or upgrading your existing MOT Equipment and are unsure if you will need connected MOT Equipment, please give our sales team at Concept Garage Equipment a call first. 

We can offer you advice over the phone at 0113 469 0572. We have built and set up hundreds of MOT Bays across the UK and we have a huge range of MOT equipment and tools.

Call us today on 0113 469 0572 or visit our website today.