Sheger Haulage Ltd is a sub-contractor for Capital Concrete. Established recently in 2019, Sheger Haulage Ltd’s has been successfully transporting concrete materials to customers through freight transport. Since joining the FORS scheme, Sheger Haulage Ltd has improved on the overall efficiency of their practices and procedures when operating. Abiye Tesfaye, the director of Sheger Haulage Ltd explains how FORS has been beneficial to their company.

We first discovered FORS through word of mouth from a fellow haulier company. After

hearing the benefits of the FORS scheme, in particular, the wide range of educational resources offered to drivers and non-driving staff, we decided to look further into the scheme. After making a deep dive into the FORS scheme, we decided that aiming for a bronze accreditation with FORS would be the first step to enhancing ourselves as a haulier business.

Our initial experience when aiming for our first bronze accreditation with FORS was fairly straight forward thanks to the clear guidance and instructions provided by the FORS team. The mandatory e-learning modules required to achieve a bronze accreditation proved to be very informative and beneficial for driver knowledge.

Since becoming bronze accredited with FORS, we have aimed to continue excelling as a haulier business. We were able to do this by working towards a silver accreditation with FORS, which we successfully gained. By achieving our silver accreditation with FORS, it further proved that working with the FORS team would only help make our business more efficient and credible.

Once we became both bronze and silver accredited, we have continued to make use of the FORS e-learning tools and modules as it has continuously shown to be beneficial for driver knowledge and road efficiency. By having drivers’ complete specific FORS e-learning modules regularly, it helps maintain, remind and update drivers’ of the rules and safety of the road.

‘The FORS e-learning modules have been very useful for driver driving standards and has shown to be an interesting way of keeping driver knowledge up-to-date.’ – Abiye Tesfaye

‘Not only have driver’s e-learning modules had a positive impact on the business, but manager specific e-learning modules have also shown to be helpful in improving business efficiency of procedures and practices.’ – Abiye Tesfaye

• Performance data – Since becoming a member of FORS within the last two years our fuel consumption MPL has improved by 25%.

• At Sheger Haulage Ltd, although we are not looking to hire any new drivers, we have procedures in place such as having new drivers complete a health questionnaire prior to official employment. This is done to ensure that they are fit for work. If there are any medical concerns, we will refer the driver to a GP for further consultation. Moreover, we require our current driver to keep us updated on any health changes, and also ask that the driver takes part in regular eye
• When we plan expand and begin recruiting at Sheger Haulage Ltd, we will be open to hiring drivers with no previous HGV/Mixer driving experience. If the new driver has no experience, we will provide them with a two week training plan which will take place prior to official employment. This allows the new driver to adapt to their new job role safely and under supervision. This process also allows us to determine whether the trainee is suitable for the job
• The FORS Anti-Idling toolkit provided us with many useful tips to help reduce our overall noise One tip being having our driver switch off their engine when idle in traffic. Moreover, the FORS Quiet Equipment Guide has successfully informed us of what equipment we can use to reduce our vehicles noise pollution.
• Currently, the most environmentally beneficial vehicle suitable for our mode of work is a HGV vehicle with a Euro Six engine built This engine is known for producing low amounts of NOx. Our current vehicle has a euro six engine installed. Moreover, we are keeping informed of the developments being made in the electrically powered vehicle industry and will continue to stay updated to see when a suitable electric vehicle will be available for our mode of work.

In order to make continual fleet improvements, we will continue to stay up-to-date with our industries vehicle developments, so that we are aware of when we can implement alternative vehicles which are more environmentally friendly and appropriate for our mode of work. We will also continue to make use of the FORS e-learning resources.

We actively promote FORS by displaying our FORS ID sticker on our vehicle. Moreover, we also display our FORS ID on our company letterhead. Furthermore, we actively promote FORS to fellow hauliers and inform them of how the FORS scheme is beneficial to businesses like ours.

To conclude, by having our business become FORS Gold accredited, it would show our contractors and customers that we are continuously improving, and operating at our highest efficiency yet.

*Please note: All published FORS Gold case studies have been submitted by the accredited company named above and transcribed verbatim