Derived from domain/nzta-model-qms-requirements.md. This maps the regulator’s 14-item Master Records List to plausible product modules. It’s a starting scope, not a final one — see opportunity/open-questions.md for the “must-have vs should-have” and beachhead-discipline questions this still needs to answer. Use this to give customer discovery something concrete to react to, not to lock the build.

Tier 1 — core record-keeping (the regulator-mandated minimum)

Straightforward digitisation of the 14 mandated records, with the main value-add being that they’re linked rather than siloed spreadsheets:

• Staff record ↔ Delegation record ↔ Training record ↔ Induction record (one staff member, one connected view)
• Equipment record (with maintenance/calibration due-date tracking — the spec explicitly requires calibration “as specified by the manufacturer,” which implies recurring reminders)
• Technical information record (version/currency tracking for VIRMs etc.)
• Controlled documents record + Duplicate labels register (stock levels, loss/theft reporting workflow to Police + Waka Kotahi)

Tier 2 — the linking layer (the acknowledged gap in the Totara prototype)

This is where the earlier notes said the existing build fell short — “automated record linking (e.g. complaint → improvement record → training record)”. Updated 2026-08-10: this is no longer an unclaimed gap — WoFMate’s “QMS Compliance Centre” tier already ships an “improvement-record hub linking findings to corrective actions,” functionally the same linkage. See research/nz-specific-trade-compliance-check.md. Doesn’t change this tier’s scope, but the framing should be “catching up to a live competitor’s linking layer,” not “building something nobody’s done yet”:

• Complaints record → auto-prompt to open a linked Improvement record item
• Improvement record → optionally link back to a Training record update if the fix requires staff upskilling
• Internal Performance Assessment → auto-populate follow-up items into the Improvement record

Tier 3 — performance & audit readiness (the differentiated value prop)

• Internal Performance Assessment checksheet, digitised, with the minimum-annual cadence enforced by reminders (general + technical parts, per IO and per employed VI)
• A dashboard view answering “if Waka Kotahi walked in today, what would they flag?” — mapped directly to the six categories, so an operator can self-check before an actual review
• Retention of the two most recent performance assessment reports (explicit requirement in 6.4)

Tier 4 — optional / later

• LMS-style training push-and-sign-off (from the embedded-LMS product vision) — layered on top of the Training/Induction records rather than a separate system
• NZTA-facing dashboard/export (speculative — depends on Waka Kotahi willingness to engage, unvalidated)
• Integration hooks to enterprise LMS (Totara) for larger operators

What this does NOT cover

• Actual vehicle inspection/technical certification logic (VIC/LANDATA remain the system of record for certification data itself — Benchmarq’s scope is the QMS/compliance layer around that, not a replacement for it)
• Legal interpretation of VIRM technical requirements — Benchmarq should stay in the compliance-workflow lane, not technical certification advice