When sending in an SMP to upgrade your rating from Conditional to Satisfactory, is it a guarantee to have them come back in and do a full audit?
I was laid off after the SMP and had the joy of knowing my replacement got blind-sided when the DOT showed up unannounced...Your mileage may vary.
No, it is not an automatic audit, many times the accept your plan as is. Sometimes they will ask you to tweak it a bit, then they monitor your roadside performance for 18 months. Most importantly, actually do what you say you are going to do in the safety management plan, and work extra hard to reduce failed roadside inspections. If your scores in the SMS don't improve they will be back to visit you. It is always beneficial to retrain your drivers how to play nice with roadside officers, how to make the best of an inspection and most importantly how to catch defects before they are discovered at roadside.