Quick answer
Use this guide to understand fleet management, prepare the right records, and complete the workflow in 5 clear steps.
Start here
What this guide helps you do
- You assign patrol vehicles to officers or shifts.
- You need maintenance history and service due controls.
- You need auditable vehicle usage and handoff records.
Access
Before you start
What you can view or change depends on your Arcova role. If a button or page in this guide is missing, ask an account administrator to check your access.
- Fleet managers maintain master vehicle records and work orders.
- Supervisors can assign and return vehicles.
- Officers can submit inspections when mobile permissions allow it.
Know the pieces
What Arcova keeps track of
These are the records you will see in this area. You do not need to memorize them—use this list when a field or status is unfamiliar.
Vehicle
Primary asset assigned to sites, teams, or shifts.
- Information you will see
- VIN, plate, status, odometer baseline.
- Statuses it can move through
- Available, assigned, maintenance, out of service.
Vehicle Assignment
Links a vehicle to an officer or dispatch unit.
- Information you will see
- Start and end time, assignment reason, handoff notes.
- Statuses it can move through
- Planned, active, returned.
Work Order
Maintenance action against a vehicle.
- Information you will see
- Issue, vendor, cost, due date, evidence files.
- Statuses it can move through
- Open, in progress, completed, cancelled.
Inspection
Pre or post shift checklist tied to assignment.
- Information you will see
- Checklist results, photos, defects.
- Statuses it can move through
- Pending, submitted, reviewed.
Step by step
Follow the workflow
- 1
Register a vehicle and define service intervals.
- 2
Assign vehicle to shift, officer, or dispatch unit.
- 3
Capture pre-shift inspection and odometer values.
- 4
Track incidents, fuel, and maintenance during active use.
- 5
Close assignment with post-shift inspection and return status.
Arcova in the background
What happens automatically
Arcova may update connected records, notify the right people, or check rules while you work.
Updates after a change
Other records that may change when you save or approve work.
- Out-of-service vehicles are excluded from the default assignment pool; users with force-assign permission can override.
- Completed work orders update next service due counters.
- Inspection defects can auto-create maintenance tickets.
Who gets notified
Messages Arcova may send during this workflow.
- Service due reminders send to fleet managers.
- Failed inspections notify supervisors immediately.
- Assignment changes can notify dispatch board users.
Checks Arcova performs
Rules and safeguards that may run before an action is completed.
- Mileage thresholds trigger maintenance reminders.
- Assignment conflict checks prevent double-booking by default; users with override permission can force-assign.
- Inspection failures can escalate based on defect severity.
See it in context
A practical example
Situation
Unit 14 is assigned to overnight patrol and fails brake check at shift start.
- 1
Supervisor opens assignment for Unit 14 at 21:45.
- 2
Officer submits pre-shift inspection marking brake issue critical.
- 3
System holds activation and sets vehicle to out of service.
- 4
Work order is created and alternate vehicle is assigned.
- 5
Dispatch receives the change in real time.
Expected result
Unsafe vehicle stays off the road and patrol coverage continues with replacement.
Avoid rework
Common problems to check
- Odometer rollbacks are restricted by default and require an admin correction workflow.
- Open work orders can prevent assignment even when a vehicle appears available.
- Archived vehicles remain in historical reports and should not be deleted.
- Assignment overlap checks use exact timestamps, not shift labels.
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