Comp 2 Hands on experience

Thanks for the info baz657. Good to know I can still use my phone if I want to.

Can you explain this PIN number generator thing? First I've heard of it.

Yep

You will type in your user ID (probably the same as it is now)

You will then type in your password (and sorry but you'll still have to change it every three months)

You will then be asked to enter a reference or pin number. Using your personal credit card size number generator you press a button and a six digit number appears in the window. You then have to enter the number in the box on screen. It wont work if you use another testers number generator (there is a proper name for it but I can't remember what it was). There will be one spare for every VTS which will work for all testers.

The way it's currently set up you have to enter this number when starting a test and when printing a certificate, which reminds me.........

Certificates will be printed for the foreseeable future. There was a train of thought that printing could be optional, just like insurance documents, but that's been knocked on the head.

While talking of certificates, they will be downloaded for each test as a .pdf file. They will stay on your computers' hard drive until you delete them. We asked for that to be looked at as in giving a site manager/AE the option for the system to delete them daily, weekly or what ever. Might be awkward to do as they will just be downloaded into your standard browser file download folder the way it's set up for now.

It sounds like logging onto online banking which is a bloody faff as it is. Doing it numerous times a day is going to get tiresome by the looks of it. Please tell me they haven't adopted that sort of log in system.

Yeah, doesn't sound like the simplest of methods

The original plan was to only use the PIN number once a day on the first test. Apparently it's government policy to use this "more secure" method of logging in each time, although for most other jobs/applications they wouldn't have to log out to do their work like we have to to go out into the workshop.

Although thinking about it now, the software didn't ask us to log out and I didn't notice an option for it - maybe that's something that's still to be worked on. I don't think your VE turning up and seeing your laptop in the office still jogged on while you're out doing a test would go down too well.

The people developing the software don't know the difference between a front bumper and a rear wiper! As the system can't be linked up to DVLA yet they've had to make up a small database of 50 vehicles themselves for us to play with. Typical registration numbers we had to enter were N32K3KJ and OID4HUI - maybe that gives you an indication of their understanding of the world in which we work. That's why this time we're getting a look in before it all goes live so that practical problems can hopefully be ironed out in advance.

Immediate things we found that will be easily rectified:-

problems with inputting brake readings and getting correct results (class 7 when unladen plus other classes when having low readings with lock-ups)

RfR location for "inner" missing in tyres (class 7 twin wheels), CV boots, etc

problems where there was a change of class, change of colour, etc

poor visibility of general information on front page (remaining slots and location)

testers having access and editing powers in AE/manager areas and information

slot purchasing on a site basis


Things that need to be thought about to find a fix:-

having to generate a PIN every time you do anything on the system after leaving it for more than a few minutes

page readability inc. excessive up & down and left to right scrolling on certain tablets

using the browser back button instead of the buttons within the program causes the system to hang or crash (is it my fault I use the back button all the time??    )

an issue where pressing the print certificate button doesn't actually print the certificate  - it creates a new .pdf tab/page that you may have to find (it doesn't automatically open in all browsers) from where you have to press another button to actually print onto paper, an unnecessary step in our views

There is daily progress and there is more testing planned for early in the new year with more VTS staff getting their hands on it.

We're not out of the woods just yet @excessive, will start a new thread re the future of testing as soon as mate..