Hoban Haulage Ltd pass their FORS Bronze standard audit

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Congratulations! Hoban Haulage Ltd pass their FORS Bronze standard audit!
This was a new application which Hoban Haulage passed in a record two weeks and what a fantastic achievement and is testament to their commitment to compliance and helping to make London’s roads safer.

Hoban Haulage purchased our complete FORS Help package and we worked remotely. They followed the to do list and our advice ensuring a first time pass.

A few words from the MD…..
“Thanks Nick for your brilliant FORS Help package, I followed your advice and ensured all the templates fitted to my business. Your help was invaluable and I recommend anyone who wishes to pass their FORS Bronze without a hitch to go with TMconsultant! “

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. TMconsultant, here to share the knowledge!

Link2London Grab Hire pass FORS Bronze standard audit

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Congratulations! Link2London Grab Hire pass their FORS Bronze standard audit

Link2London Grab Hire pass FORS Bronze standard audit! This was a re-audit for Link2London Grab Hire and what a fantastic achievement and is testament to their commitment to compliance and helping to make London's roads safer.

I have worked with Link2London Grab Hire for a number of years now so it was not a problem to ensure they were ready for the audit. I provided my support in the form of the TMconsultant Operator and Driver Handbooks, all the requisite documentation and advice.

A few words from the MD.....

"I would like to thank Nick from TMconsultant very much for all the hard work and dedication to Link2London Ltd. We just couldn't do this without him!"

Thank you Lucian, as always it is a pleasure to work with you.

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. TMconsultant, here to share the knowledge!

Reis Grab Hire pass FORS Bronze standard audit

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Congratulations Reis Grab Hire who pass their FORS Bronze standard audit

Reis Grab Hire pass FORS Bronze standard audit with ease! A great achievement and is testament to their commitment to compliance and helping to make London’s roads safer.

Reis Grab Hire purchased the FORS help documents package with TMconsultant’s assistance passed their FORS Bronze standard audit with no advisories or major action points. We created a to do list based on the information gathered and carried out a catch up once a week to ensure Reis Grab were on track. We were also present during the audit, to further assist our client on the day. We started work on 6th February and the audit took place on 24th March 2017.

A few words from the MD…..

“REIS GRAB HIRE LTD, would like to thank TMconsultant represented by Nick for the amazing work he’s done in guiding us and helping us to obtain the FORS BRONZE accreditation..”

Many thanks to Sebi, a pleasure to work with you.

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. TMconsultant, here to share the knowledge!

Hiremech pass FORS Bronze audit renewal

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Congratulations to Hiremech who pass their FORS Bronze audit renewal

We are very pleased to announce forklift hire aces, Hiremech pass FORS Bronze audit renewal this month! Although Hiremech passed their initial audit last year, the company has remained focused on improving their transport systems. The review process for the transport department has been ongoing which made preparing for re-application a smooth and easy process.

A few words from Brian at Hiremech….

“Nick is our transport consultant at Hiremech Ltd and has been working with us over the last 2 years. He provides ongoing advice on how to best maintain and improve our transport department. We are a successful Caterpillar forklift dealership based in North London, and with Nicks help and support, I believe year on year we have made massive strides in improving our transport department. On behalf of Hiremech Ltd I would like to thank Nick for helping us to ensure we passed our FORS bronze audit for another year! I will be working with Nick in the future, to help keep our transport fleet safe legal, and efficient.”

Thank you for your kind words Brian, a pleasure working with you and the Hiremech team.

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. We’re here to share the knowledge!

Clarks of Amersham pass FORS Bronze standard audit

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Big congratulations! Removal and storage specialists Clarks of Amersham pass FORS Bronze standard audit with flying colours in one month! This is a massive achievement and is testament to their compliance commitments.

Most of the help was carried out remotely with the assistance of Chiltern Development Training who assisted on site. With a driver training day, telephone and email support prior to the assessment Clarks demonstrated their commitment right from the start. They applied themselves from the outset taking on board all the advice and guidance necessary to pass their FORS audit first time, which took place on 12th January 17. So that’s just over 4 weeks to gain their Bronze award!

A few words from the MD…..

“At Clarks of Amersham we constantly strive to improve our customer service and as such need to keep our staff trained and motivated. This is not always the easiest of tasks and often difficult to deal with in house, so we decided to employ the services of an outside agency. After reviewing several companies we elected to go with TM Consultants. This has proved to be a great choice for our business. They have helped us re-write policies and manuals keeping us bang up to date with the latest legislation. They have even helped us to obtain the FORS bronze standard, something we could not have achieved without their input. We look forward to working with them further in the coming months and years.”

Many thanks to Michael and the team, it was a pleasure working with you and looking forward to the future.

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. We’re here to share the knowledge!

How to compile your FORS manual the easy way

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In my post Why We Like Policies and Procedures for Transport Managers I talked about the importance of policies and procedures as they provide the framework for all your transport operations. Today, I want to provide you with some insight as to how to compile your FORS manual the easy way. Thus preparing you for a successful FORS audit.

It’s easier that you think!

This isn’t to diminish the importance and usefulness of FORS in anyway but once you have your starting point and the requisite components it shouldn’t be too taxing. However, you should give yourself plenty of time as the actual process is time consuming. Follow the rules below and you’ll be on to a winner!

Rule 1. Follow the Standard

I have gained all my experience through helping companies achieve their FORS Bronze accreditation and I know FORS auditors hold the same opinion when they turn up to an audit. Like all humans they prefer to have an easy audit and for that reason they want to see a concise, well written manual containing the correct information which follows FORS Standard. I can not stress how important this is. When you compile your policies and procedures for your audit and follow the Standard you will have completed 80% of your audit requirements.

Rule 2. Use the Standard

I remember the line “the answer’s in the question” in the Reeves and Mortimer quiz show, Shooting Stars. When first reading through the FORS website it can be minefield of information and broken links and to prepare can be a very daunting prospect. However, the answer is in the question. All the policies and procedures are within the Standard itself. Together with the guidance notes, will provide you with, if not all the information required, certainly most of it. The rest is bespoke company policy you will need to research and compile yourself. Ensure you use the numbering system M1, M2 etc. Use the headers and even the text to compile your document from the Standard and the Guidance notes. If you do this, you will lay the foundations needed to write a great manual. It’s worth noting your drivers will also need a handbook of some description which you can compile in the same way, thus ensuring you have left nothing out. Obviously, you won’t need to include all the Standard for the drivers. Criteria for which will become self evident.

Want an even easier solution?

If you just don’t have the capacity to compile your own policies and procedures then fret not. I have written both Operator and Driver template handbooks which follow the FORS standard. These tried and tested documents never fail to impress the auditors and I have a 100% pass rate for helping Operators acheive their FORS audit. For more information and to purchase please visit my shop.

Thanks for reading my post on how to compile your FORS manual the easy way. If you found this useful please like my Facebook page. If you would like to discus your policies and procedures, Help with FORS or anything Transport Management, please do get in touch.

New FORS Standard update V4

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The New FORS Standard update V4 has now been released, along with details of how this affects current members.

In this post we’ll have a look at the New FORS Standard update V4. FORS review and update their Standard on a two-yearly cycle and covers the pathways to FORS Bronze, FORS Silver and FORS Gold accreditation.

Firstly, who will the New FORS Standard update V4 affect?

New organisations

If your organisation is already registered on Thursday 29th September 2016 but not yet accredited, you will be audited against version 3.3 of the FORS Standard
Organisations registering with FORS after 29 September 2016 will be will be audited against version 4.0 of the FORS Standard.

Existing organisations

Already FORS accredited organisations with a renewal date up to and including Wednesday 9 November 2016 will be audited against version 3.3 of the FORS Standard
Existing FORS accredited organisations with a renewal date after Wednesday 9 November will be audited against version 4.0 of the FORS Standard.

What’s been updated in the new FORS Standard update V4?

There have been number of changes as to how some elements and are named and some elements have been swapped around. There’s also been some updates more relevant for the PCV sector and driver training. Here’s a run down of new FORS Standard update V4 changes.

Management

M2 Responsibilities and Accountabilities – Now called ‘Organisational Structure and Responsibilities’, but no other significant changes
M3 Responsible Person – Now called ‘Responsible Person/s’, operators are required to ensure that there is sufficiently qualified / experienced resource in place for the operation to continue without interruption
M6Review – No significant change, but now with a more detailed explanation of what needs to be demonstrated
M7 Change – This section is now ‘Complaints’ (formerly M8). It explains the need for effective management of complaints made by customers or the public
M8 Compliants – This section is now ‘Transport Fines and Charges (formerly D8). It explains the need to record and react to fines or unpaid charges
M9 Resourcing – This section is now ‘Transport Updates’ (formerly M10), but now requires an operator to receive information that’s specific to running a vehicle fleet
M10 Updates – This section is now ‘Information Management’ (formerly O5), but no other significant changes
M11 – This section is now ‘Tyre and Fuel Management’ (formerly V3), but now requires more evidence of managing the full life-cycle of tyres, as well as a system of monitoring and managing fuel consumption

Vehicles

V2 Daily walk around check – Now called ‘Defect Checks’, operators are required to demonstrate that checks are done on each vehicle operated by a driver (accounting for multi-vehicle use within a shift)
V3 Fuel and Tyre Usage – This section is now ‘Insurance’ (formerly V4), but no other significant changes
V4 Insurance – This section is now ‘Vehicle Excise Duty and SORN’ (formerly V5). It requires operators to demonstrate that VED is managed and SORN declarations completed where required
V5 Vehicle Excise Duty – This section is now ‘Safe Loading and Load Restraints’ (formerly V6), but now with more focus on load restraints
V6 Safe Loading – This is a new section called ‘PCV Safe Loading and Load Security’
V8 Working at height and the prevention of falls from vehicles – Now called ‘Personal Safety in or around Vehicles’. This requirement has been made more relevant to the PCV sector, and now focuses on safety around the vehicle (not just working at height)
V9 Vehicle Manoeuvring – No significant change, though now includes more comprehensive demonstration

Driver

D1 Licensing and Qualifications – This section now requires operators to use a risk-based system at least once every six months
D2 Driving Standards – This section now includes the requirement to issue the latest version of the Highway Code to drivers, and to instruct them to observe the requirements contained within it
D3 Staff Training – This section is now ‘Induction Training’. It requires a structured process for the induction of employees that focuses on heath and safety and vulnerable road users
D4 In-vehicle Technology – This section is now ‘Professional Development’ (formerly D3), but with no other significant changes
D5 Health and Safety – This section is now ‘In-cab Technology (formerly D4), but with no other significant changes
D6 Driver Fitness and Health – This section is now ‘Health and Safety’ (formerly D5). It now includes more comprehensive demonstration
D7 Drivers’ hours and working time – This section is now ‘Driver Fitness and Health’ (formerly D7), but with no other significant changes
D8 Monitoring Driving – This section is now ‘Drivers’ Hours and Working Time’, but with no other significant changes
D9 – This section is now ‘Driver Infractions’ (formerly D8 Monitoring Driving), but with no other significant changes

Operators

O2 Specialist Goods – This section is now called ‘Specialist Goods and Abnormal Loads’. It now requires an operator to effectively manage the transportation of abnormal loads and appoint a DGSA where necessary. ‘Waste’ is also defined as hazardous waste only
O3 Incidents and Collisions – This section is now called ‘Incidents and Insurance’. It combines the requirements of O3 and O4, but no other significant changes
O4 Insurance Claims – This requirement is now incorporated into section O3
NEW O4 – This new requirement is called ‘Engine Idling’
New O5 Record Control – This new requirement is now called ‘Vehicle / Equipment Theft and Unauthorised Access’.

Silver

S1 – Operators must now have at least 30 calendar days left on their bronze accreditation when applying for silver
S3 Vehicle Warning Equipment – This section is now called ‘Audible Warning Systems’. The most significant change is the requirement for operators to fit a reversing alarm to all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVW
S5 Driver Training – This section is now called ‘Vulnerable Road User Safety Training’, and now requires any driver training to be FORS approved. Additionally the annual training can now be completed either as an e-learning module or a classroom based session, with at least 90% of drivers having completed (or been booked to complete) the necessary training – I’ll let you know the details on this in the next post.
S6 Transport Related Fines and Charges – This section is now called ‘Performance Data’ (formerly S7), and include the need for operators to monitor NOx and Particulates as part of the capture of emissions data
S7 Performance Measurement – This section is now called ‘Fuel and Emissions’ and is a development of G6
S8 – This section is a new requirement called ‘Road Risk’.

Gold

G1 Maintain FORS Silver – This section is now called ‘Maintain FORS Bronze and FORS Silver’ and adds in the requirement to maintain accreditation at all levels
G2 Promoting FORS Standard – This section is now called ‘Promoting the FORS Standard’, but with no other significant changes
G3 Published Case Study – This section is now called ‘Published and Updated Case Study’ and reaffirms the need for operators to update FORS case study material once a year
G4 Performance Measurement – This section is now called ‘Performance Data’. It includes the need for operators to be actively reducing the impact of emissions including NOx and Particulate Matter
G5 Staff Training – This new section is called ‘Driver Health and Fitness Review’. It requires operators to carry out a detailed check of the health and fitness of each professional driver
G6 Fuel and Emissions Champion – This section is now called ‘Professional Development (formerly G5), although there are no other significant changes
NEW G7 – This new section is called ‘Strategy for Recruiting New Drivers’. It requires operators to have a plan in place to recruit new drivers into the industry NEW G8 N/A This new section
NEW G8 – This new section is called ‘Noise Assessment’. It requires operators to document an assessment of noise emitted by their operation or activity

In summary

There are quite a few changes for the New FORS standard update V4. The great news is they will all be covered in my own updated comprehensive Operator and Driver Handbooks which will be available in the TMconsultant shop soon. I’ll let you know when they’re ready!

Even though FORS have updated their website they have, in fact made it even more difficult to navigate!

If you need any advice or FORS help, then just get in touch. We’re here to share the knowledge!

Left it too late to prepare for your FORS Audit?

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Left it too late to prepare for your FORS Audit?

I get many enquiries from potential clients who feel they may have left it too late to prepare for their FORS Audit. Obviously, I would never advocate this kind of action plan as with some cases it may mean re-booking your audit. FORS are generally very fair and look at each case individually but leaving too late will probably not stand up. You’ll also need to pay the audit re-booking fee. Depending on fleet size, this can be quite substantial especially when having to paying twice. It’s also worth pointing out that unless you book your FORS audit within a three month period, you’ll also be liable for re-registering and paying the associated costs.

For a full breakdown of what FORS costs, go here

What you can do if you’ve left it too late to prepare for your FORS Audit?

If you have left it too late to prepare for your FORS audit, then depending on the time frame, will depend on what you can do. Obviously, the longer you leave it the more limited your options are but it’s not impossible to reach a favourable outcome, if you’re prepared to put in the time and effort.

So the question is what do you need to do?

Well, firstly don’t panic! It is understandable to feel overwhelmed when you approach the Standard. Along with all the other tasks you have to carry out for your job, you would be forgiven for feeling a little stressed. The great news is the Standard is actually your friend. I know what? Because it has been set out in a very simple and measured way it is designed to help you as much as possible. You will also need to address the guide as this sets out what you need to show as evidence to the auditor.

Ok so you have your Standard and the guide to go with it. Now just work your way through, step by step tackle each task. The biggest hurdle to tackle first is your policies and procedures manual. You should already have an exiting document which you can adapt. If you don’t you can find a FORS ready template here. If you are using a template then work through methodically using the standard and guide and ensure the document is company specific.

It might be a good idea to consider employing the services of a consultant who specialise in helping operators achieve their FORS accreditation. They will identify any shortfalls quickly and provide a realistic time line and action plan for you to follow. They will help you speed things up but it still up to you to ensure all the tasks are completed.

If you think you’ve left it too late to prepare for your FORS Audit then get in touch, I may be able to help. Here to share the knowledge!

Free FORS warning signage

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Free FORS warning signage

The Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme are giving away free FORS warning signage (vulnerable Road User (VRU) warning signage) for all FORS companies….nice. See below for more info.

The primary aim of this warning signage is to draw the attention of VRUs, particularly cyclists, to the potential blind spot on the nearside of larger vehicles.

FORS Standard ‘V7 – Vulnerable road user safety’ requires operators to fit vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle weight with blind spot warning signage. FORS guidance is that the signage should warn VRUs of the hazard, for example ‘Blindspot – Take Care’.

Please note that FORS does not support ‘stay back’ messages and would ask that all existing ‘Cyclists Stay Back’ warning signs be replaced with this new version, which has been designed in conjunction with the cycling community.

For guidance on warning signage please click here.

To place your order for free FORS warning signage click here and go to the ‘Offers’ section.

If you would like help attaining your FORS accreditation please do get in touch. We’re here to share the knowledge!