Pistonlog splits the inspection system into two halves that look similar but do different jobs:
| Half | What it is | Who works in it |
|---|---|---|
| Template | A reusable form definition — the questions, the fields | Admins, in Templates |
| Submission | A specific fill of a template on a specific jobcard | Technicians, on jobcards |
A template lives at the garage level and is reusable. A submission is frozen at the moment it's created: it snapshots the template's schema into the submission record, so even if you edit the template later, past submissions still display exactly the form the technician filled out at the time.
Why the freeze matters
You can refine an inspection template over years — add fields, remove fields, change wording — without changing history. A submission from 2024 still shows the 2024 form. The audit trail of what was actually inspected stays intact.
Practical consequence
If a template needs a structural change, you can make it freely. Existing submissions stay readable; new submissions use the new shape from creation onwards.