Vehicle walkaround inspections on a phone instead of paper

A digital walkaround inspection replaces the paper check sheet with a guided photo round on the driver’s phone. The driver follows the same positions around the vehicle every time, takes a photo at each, marks damage that is already there on the panel where it sits, and the phone produces a dated report. Because every inspection follows the same sequence, the next one can be compared with it, and a discussion about a new dent starts from photos instead of memory.

Why paper walkaround checks fall short

A paper sheet records that someone ticked a box, not what the vehicle looked like. “Scratch, left side” does not say which panel, how big or whether it was there last week. Sheets get lost in the cab, are filled in afterwards, and cannot be laid next to the previous check. When a driver, a renter or a workshop disputes a damage, a ticked box rarely settles it.

What a good digital walkaround captures

• A fixed sequence. Front, driver side, rear, passenger side, interior. The same order every time, so nothing is skipped and two inspections line up.
• Damage on the panel. Each damage is placed on the panel where it sits, with a type (scratch, dent, crack…) and a severity, and a close-up photo.
• The vehicle and the moment. Plate or VIN, date and time, and the reason: a handover, a return, a weekly check or a check after an incident.
• No dependence on signal. Depots, underground car parks and rural yards often have no network. Capture should work offline and send later.

Make the report hold up

An inspection is only useful in a dispute if nobody can say it was edited. Keep the original photos, not compressed copies. Seal the inspection when it is finished: a hash of every file, signed on the device, with a timestamp from an independent authority. Put the report in a format anyone can open, such as a PDF, and keep a copy outside the phone.

Then compare. Damage that was already recorded on a panel should be recognised as known, so only new damage needs a question. Start with the moments that cause disputes: handovers, returns and checks after an incident. Keep the walkaround short, so it is done every time instead of skipped in a hurry.

How Konvoi does it

Konvoi Inspect is a free iPhone app that needs no account. It guides a walkaround in five stations (front, driver side, rear, passenger side, interior), damage is marked on the panel with its type and severity, and capture and sealing work without signal. Every file is hashed and signed with a key in the phone’s Secure Enclave, and an independent RFC 3161 authority timestamps the seal once the phone is online. The PDF carries the seal and a QR code, and anyone can check a report or a single photo at inspect.konvoi.ai/verify. Ready-made templates cover a rental check-out and check-in, an after-incident check, a weekly fleet check and a used-vehicle purchase, and can be shared as a QR code.

When a fleet uses Konvoi, the driver can send the inspection to the workspace. Konvoi checks the seal again against the files it received, links the inspection to the vehicle by plate or VIN, and updates the vehicle’s damage record: damage of the same type on the same panel is matched to what was already recorded. AI can also analyse inspection photos for damage. More on the vehicle inspections page.