Inventory Compliance: Inspections, Testing, and Next-Due Dates

Use inventory records to keep an item's inspection history, test reports, and next deadline together. Start by checking what's due, record the work after it happens, then review the next dates and assign any follow-up.

These screenshots show the product with sample data. Select an image to view it full size. The pressures and dates shown are examples; use your equipment's requirements when recording a real test.

Choose the right workflow

An inspection event groups items checked on the same date by the same personnel or vendor. Each item keeps its own result. These events are separate from property inspections and personnel compliance programs.

Use events for work already performed. Adding an item immediately records a Pass and applies the testing profile's default due date, if available. There is no draft or final approval step. Review every result and date before leaving the event.

Set up the item first

Give each cylinder, pack, hose length, or ladder its own record if it needs a separate history. Enter its serial number or asset tag, category, assignment, and status so you can identify it during testing.

Under Inventory → Categories, set Inspection Interval (days) for routine checks. Enter known deadlines on the item's Dates & Compliance and SCBA Equipment cards. Keep retirement and expiration dates separate from testing dates.

A missing due date cannot trigger an overdue alert. Enter your starting dates even if you aren't adding the full inspection history.

Record one item

1. Open the item and select Record in Inspections & Tests.
2. Choose Inspection for a routine check or Test for testing. Enter the date the work happened, its result, and who performed it.
3. For a test, choose the profile under Test profiles and enter the report's readings. For cylinder hydro testing, choose SCBA hydrostatic test (DOT). Writing “hydro” in Notes alone will not update the hydro dates.
4. Review Next Due Date and change it if needed. Add notes and attachments, then select Save.

Open the saved entry in Inspections & Tests to review it later.

The dialog has one Next Due Date for all selected profiles. Record flow and hydro tests separately when their next deadlines differ.

Record a batch testing event

Use an event for cylinders tested together, a hose testing day, or a ladder service visit. Use separate events for different testing dates or profiles.

1. Open Inventory → Inspection Events → New event. To start with selected inventory items, select them in the list and choose Record test event.
2. Enter the Type, Date, and Testing profile. For a cylinder hydro visit, choose Test and SCBA hydrostatic test (DOT). Add a title, tester, location, and any shared notes.
3. Select Create event, then Add items if needed. Match each serial number or asset tag to the vendor's report.
4. Under Items tested, check each result: Pass, Fail, or Cond. (Conditional). Enter readings and notes, review Next due, and save each changed card.
5. Attach the shared report to the event and any item-specific documents to that item's entry.

Each entry also appears in the item's inspection history, with a View event link.

The event is marked Fail if any item fails. With no failures, it is Conditional if any item is conditional; otherwise it is Pass. An empty event has no result.

If every item needs the same date, use Set next-due for all items. This replaces the dates on the entries already in the event. Items added later start with the profile's default, so check those separately.

How next-due dates work

The form suggests a date for the inspection or test. When you save, the system applies that date to the item using the rules below. The dates stored on the item drive its compliance alerts.

How the suggested date is calculated

The calculation starts from the date the work happened. For example, a hydro test performed September 8, 2026 suggests September 8, 2031, even if you enter the report a week later.

These are software defaults. Check the manufacturer's instructions, applicable requirements, and vendor report before accepting a date. Cylinder requalification depends on its specification or special permit; see PHMSA's cylinder requalification resources. A hydro test does not extend the cylinder's retirement deadline.

The fallback differs by form:

• In the single-item dialog, one selected profile uses its default interval. If there is no profile default—or you select several profiles—the suggestion uses the category's inspection interval, or 365 days if none is set. A calendar year can differ from 365 days around a leap year.
• In an event, only the profile supplies a default. If it has none, Next due starts blank. Set the date per item or with Set next-due for all items.

Once you manually edit Next Due Date in the single-item dialog, the form keeps your entry. Check it again if you change the performed date, profile, or result. Choosing Fail clears an automatic suggestion, but preserves a date you already edited yourself.

Which dates are updated

An event updates the dates for its profile. Profiles without their own date fields use the general inspection or test dates, based on the event's Type.

The single-item dialog also updates the general inspection or test dates, along with any selected profile's dates. Several profiles share the general next-test field; they do not each get a separate schedule.

When a saved record changes the item

• Older records stay in the history but cannot replace dates from more recent work of the same kind.
• A record performed on the same day or later can change that deadline. Pass and Conditional can move it earlier or later; Conditional does not automatically shorten the interval.
• Fail can bring an existing deadline earlier, but cannot postpone it. If no deadline exists, a failure can set a follow-up date.
• Leaving a record's due date blank—or clearing it on an event—does not erase a deadline already stored on the item.

Handle failed tests and corrections

For a failed or conditional result:

1. Record the problem in Notes and set the appropriate follow-up date.
2. Update the item's service status if needed, following your department's procedure. Recording a failure does not change its status automatically.
3. Select Create work order from the saved event card or the single-item confirmation. Review and submit the work order to assign follow-up; it is not created automatically.
4. After repairs and retesting, record the new result and review the item's dates again.

For an event failure, check the date as well as the result. Adding the item already applied a passing default. Changing Pass to Fail does not restore its previous deadline. Enter the appropriate earlier follow-up date and save the card.

Keep on top of what's due

Make Inventory → Items part of your regular equipment review:

1. Check Overdue first, then Due Soon. Filter by category or assignment to plan work for a particular equipment group or apparatus.
2. Review Items Due. It groups multiple deadlines under each item and shows the most urgent first.
3. Assign the work through work orders. Use recurring work orders for repeat tasks, then record the results after the work happens.
4. Check the item again after recording a result. An up-to-date hydro test does not clear a separate inspection, certification, or retirement deadline.

For a quick dashboard view, add the Inventory compliance and SCBA fleet compliance widgets. The SCBA widget shows each item's earliest SCBA test deadline.

The inventory summary and alerts mark past dates as overdue and today through 30 days ahead as due soon. An item with both is counted as overdue. The inventory list's due filter uses the item's earliest deadline.

“Compliant” means no tracked date currently needs attention. Missing dates and unrecorded tests will not produce alerts. Review failed results and missing records even when no date alert appears.

See Inventory Management Best Practices for setup and Work Orders for assignments, repairs, and recurring schedules.