Arsenault Associates has introduced a new Audit Trail option to Dossier, its fleet maintenance management software. The new feature, it says, opens a window on maintenance operations by providing a history of all transactions in Dossier, including who in an organization did what and when.
Audit Trail expands the scope of vehicle history by enabling management to see not just what was done to a vehicle, but who did it, and when. Also tracked are any additions, changes, and deletions as they apply to vehicles, parts, personnel, and work requested, done, or cancelled.
“With Audit Trail, you have a clear record of responsibility. You know exactly who did what and when,” said Bob Hausler, vice president of marketing and technology for Arsenault. Companies that use the feature are not mistrustful, he noted.
“Audit Trail helps improve processes and performance,” He explained. “In that sense it is not punitive, but simply practical and responsible.”
Audit Trail’s chronological record can find and help correct errors that were entirely inadvertent.
“Say someone is distracted by a phone call and makes an incorrect entry while working in Dossier. That error may go unnoticed for some time. Audit Trail can help find that mistake so it can be corrected,” Hausler explained. “Think of Audit Trail as the data equivalent of insurance You hope you don’t need it, but you’ll be very glad it’s there if you do.”
Citing a worst-case scenario in which someone might maliciously attempt to trash the database, “Audit Trail can find every transaction that person performed in chronological order so you can undo any damage,” Hausler said.
Audit Trail also provides documentation for purposes of regulatory compliance and personnel management, he noted, and it makes records easier to access. Every Dossier item has a Details link that enables authorized users to bring up the complete history of that item in an Event Log. They can see additions, changes, and deletions as well as who made them. They can search, print, and export that information.
Items supported by Audit Trail in Dossier include Unit (vehicle, typically), Part, Personnel, Vendor, Repair Order, Fuel Item, Customer, Tire, Purchase Order, Part Receipt, and more. Audit Trail search results can be focused by user, by item type, or by time range.
Dossier users can limit the resources used by Audit Trail. An Auditing Options window offers choices such as the period of time to retain data.
Audit Trail is optional in Dossier Professional and is standard in the Dossier Enterprise Edition.
“We have shown that granular maintenance tracking and analysis pays off. Audit Trail brings that proven approach to the human element in maintenance management. The result is better performance, improved compliance, and peace of mind for managers,” Hausler said.
