GarageDoorBossPro Blog — Garage Door Software

The Door Safety Inspection Checklist in Garage Door Software

Most garage door companies already inspect the door on a tune-up. The difference is whether that inspection lives in the tech's head, on a scrap of paper, or in a record the office and homeowner can actually see. GarageDoorBossPro puts a door safety inspection checklist right on the tech app.

Where the Inspection Fits

The inspection uses the equipment that the picker fills onto each job, covered in The From House Picker: Filling In a New Garage Door Job From the House Record. With the door, opener and springs already on the job, the tech can go straight to checking them.

The checklist can be run on a yearly tune-up, a repair call or a first visit to a new customer. It is especially useful on tune-ups, because it is the clearest way to show the homeowner what they are paying for.

The Checklist Items

The tech works down the list and marks each item:

• Springs
• Cables & drums
• Rollers
• Hinges & brackets
• Tracks aligned & secured
• Door balance
• Auto-reverse safety test
• Photo-eye sensors
• Opener force & limits
• Lubrication
• Bottom seal & weatherstripping
• Emergency release
• Keypad & remotes

That covers the door, the hardware, the opener and the controls. Because it is the same list every time, a tune-up done by a newer tech covers the same ground as one done by the owner.

The Readings

Alongside the checklist, the tech records readings:

• Door size, which also double-checks the size saved on the house
• Spring turns
• Balance, as pounds off
• Door age and opener age
• Estimated spring cycles used
• Issues found, in the tech's own words

These readings are the tech's judgment, recorded where the office can see it. They give context when a homeowner asks why a repair is recommended, and they give the next tech a starting point a year from now.

Condition and Recommendations

Every inspection ends with an overall condition, one of three:

• Good
• Needs attention
• Repair recommended

Then the tech writes recommendations. “Rollers are worn on both sides, recommend replacing with the next service.” “Bottom seal is torn at the left corner.” “Springs show wear, recommend replacing the pair.” Plain words, the way the tech would say it to the homeowner in the driveway.

Recommendations are for your company to act on. They are a reason to quote the work, not instructions for the homeowner. Springs and cables are under serious tension and are a job for a trained tech.

What the Office Sees

When the tech completes the job, the inspection is attached to it. The office sees the checklist, readings, condition and recommendations alongside the photos and notes. From there the office can:

• Print a Garage Door Safety Inspection report for the homeowner
• Build an estimate for the recommended repairs from your service list
• Text the homeowner to talk it through

The printed report gets its own article: The Printed Garage Door Safety Inspection Report: What the Homeowner Takes Away.

Why It Matters for Tune-Up Plans

A tune-up customer who gets a quick visit and an invoice can wonder what they paid for. A tune-up customer who gets a written inspection with every item checked, readings and a condition can see it. That is the difference between a customer who renews the plan and one who does not.

It also helps your techs. A checklist means nothing is skipped on a busy day, and the readings from last year are there when the tech comes back. Tune-up plans come due on the Waiting List, covered in The Waiting List: How Garage Door Software Brings Yearly Tune-Ups Back on Time.

Using It on Repair Calls

The inspection is not only for tune-ups. On a broken spring call, a tech who runs the checklist after the repair can note worn rollers or a weak opener while already on site. The homeowner gets a report showing the whole door was looked at, and the office gets a clear lead for the next piece of work.

Training Techs on the Checklist

A checklist is also a training tool. A new tech riding along with a senior tech can follow the same list on the phone and see what gets checked and in what order. After a few tune-ups, the new tech runs the checklist alone, and the office can read every inspection to see how it is going. Readings that look off, or recommendations that are hard to follow, are easy to spot and talk through at the shop the next morning.

Because the list is fixed, it also keeps experienced techs honest on long days. The emergency release and the keypad are easy to skip at the end of a full route. On the checklist, they are right there waiting to be marked.

The door safety inspection is one of the tools built for garage door companies specifically. See the rest on the GarageDoorBossPro garage door software page.