Section 1 – Introduction
Associated Polymer Services Limited is a small construction engineering company which operates from one small site. The business deals with procurement, manufacturing and also stores and despatches goods. The main sectors the company works within are tunnelling, geotechnical and underground construction. APS generally supply pipework, fittings and other relevant parts, as well as rubber products.
APS have one van which is 3.5 tonnes, and two regular drivers who conduct mostly local deliveries, and the occasional long distance multi-delivery. Other employees are insured on the vehicle, however their driving involvement is very rare and never to deliver to customers.
Section 2 – How did you hear about FORS, what prompted the company to join and how long have you been a member?
APS were prompted to join FORS originally due to customer demand. Whilst our van is not regularly used to deliver to sites which require FORS membership, the company felt it advisable to have the option should they ever need to. After research, it was also decided that membership would be beneficial to the safety and development of the drivers. The FORS system works alongside the ISO 9001, 45001 and 14001 systems which APS have in place and so all parts of the Integrated Management System complement each other.
Section 3 – What was your experience of the initial FORS Bronze audit?
The initial audit was a lot of work. Lots of the policies and administrative background was not set up for us, and so we were required to establish an entire foundation for our fleet operation. We passed the audit first time however, and it was a big eye opener to things which we had not previously considered.
Section 4 – What was your main reason(s) for you progressing (either from Bronze to Silver and then Silver to Gold or straight from Bronze to Gold)?
We have made use of the structure of FORS exponentially. It has kept us on track and engaged with continual monitoring and progression. As we only have one van, it is easy to become relaxed regarding the administrative structuring of our policy network and procedures. A great example of this would be the progressive training schedules and how maintaining the system allows us to provide continual progression training and communication.
We are also much better at monitoring our fuel and emissions, and have found that this highlights ways in which we can cost save as well as reducing our harmful output. This fits well with our Integrated Management System as a certified company to ISO 9001, 45001 and 14001.
Section 6 – What improvements have you made?
These shall include:
- Performance data – See below for our performance data since 01/01/2019 to the end of September 2021 (latest data at submission). The figures are hard to draw strong conclusions from as the Covid-19 pandemic has had an effect on the frequency with which the van have been used.
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MPG | Incidents per 100,000 Kms | CO2 | NOx | PM10 | Number of PCNs | Proportion of fleet that uses alternative fuels |
| Year 2019 | 29.34 | 0 | 6119648 | 353043 | 63547752 | 0 | 0% |
| Year 2020 | 24.57 | 0 | 5686737 | 328068 | 59052309 | 0 | 0% |
| Year 2021 (1/21 – 9/21) | 22.45 | 0 | 5344059 | 308299 | 55493863 | 0 | 0% |
| Percentage improvement | 23% | -% | 12.5% | 12.5% | 12.5% | – | -% |
- Driver health and fitness review – APS are communicating with staff more regularly regarding health and fitness as a direct result of FORS certification. Much of this is due to the health and fitness declarations, eye tests and the increase in conversation through both formal and informal training. As part of the IMS, APS have also focussed on mental wellbeing as a health and safety risk through both risk assessment and training.
- Recruitment of drivers – As APS only had two drivers, who have both been working at the company for a significant length of time, the company has not required recruitment. Both drivers are not primarily drivers, they have roles within the company of which occasional driving is a part of – rather than the central reason for their being employed.
- Noise assessment – Annual noise assessments have brought attention to a previously little thought of aspect of driving. However, as we have one vehicle operating during 9-5 weekdays, in an isolated site setting, we are not required to take out measures in this area. That being said, all staff are now better trained on what noise pollution means and how to prevent this, as well as the company monitoring the situation in a structured way.
- Modal shift and alternative vehicles – As we only have one van which is 3.5 tonnes, switching to other modes of vehicle is not appropriate at this time. We consider more efficient fuel options, such as electric, regularly and shall most likely look to go down this route once the van requires replacing – at this point it is only 4 years old.
Section 7 – What are your plans for the future?
In order to make continual fleet improvements we shall be focussing on the health and fitness of our drivers and the on-going progression of their professional development. Our Managing Director is halfway through the training required to become a FORS practitioner and we hope to gain Gold certification and continue our fleet operations development. Continued management of our performance data should hopefully give us a better idea of our fuel and emissions data, once driving behaviour returns to completely normal. We plan to utilise our FORS processes and procedures to the mutual benefit of all systems within the Integrated Management System.
Section 8 – What evidence do you have of positively promoting FORS at requirement G7?
APS use the FORS logo on the company vehicle, email signatures and share our certification regularly with others. We have minimal social media/press presence and do not operate in a position of providing transport related services or advice. As a company which manufactures and delivers produce, we are not relevant to or asked to transport related events and initiatives. Should a supplier or customer require support in their FORS accreditation we would gladly do so, and hope that we can be more involved in FORS Practitioner events once our Managing Director has fulfilled his workshop training.
Section 9 –What FORS Gold accredition means for your organisation/to you?
Benefits gained:
- Further structure and advancement for processes and procedures
- Reputation of a FORS gold certification
- Continuing relationship with key customers
- Cost savings/efficiencies from fuel and emissions monitoring
- Progressive training with the presence of a FORS Practitioner within the company
Goals:
- More energy efficiency with a look forward to an alternative vehicle when appropriate
- Ongoing relationship with key customers and FORS systems
- Successful and progressive Integrated Management System where FORS can work in harmony with our ISO 9001, 45001 and 14001 certifications
- Achievement of FORS Practitioner within the company
- Advancement of driver training and increased involvement of drivers within the FORS administrative work and strategic planning
Section 10 – (Optional) Please provide your social media contact details so we can follow your organisation
N/A
Section 11 – FORS members’ feedback questionnaire
Please could you take the time to complete a short questionnaire and provide feedback about FORS. Please note all answers you provide will be strictly confidential and will only be used by FORS to help us to improve the scheme. To access the survey, please click the link here: https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=153908006313