King Lifting specialises in Mobile Crane Hire, Machinery Movements and Transport throughout the UK. Our head office is based in Avonmouth near Bristol, supplying specialised lifting solutions across the UK and Europe. King Lifting was established in 1982 by its present-day managing director, Bob King.

James Anstey, Workshop Manager, explains how FORS has helped improve operating efficiency and road safety.

We were introduced to FORS by some of our customers who encouraged us to join. On investigation it was evident that the FORS standard would improve safety and fleet performance through following the best practise set out in the FORS standard.

King Lifting achieved it’s first FORS Bronze accreditation in 2013 and then Silver in 2016. Achieving Bronze for the first time helped us implement new policies and procedures and encouraged to us to progress forward by achieving Silver.

Being FORS accredited has assisted in making best practise decisions with regards to the safety devises installed onto our vehicles and keeping up to date with any changes in legislation. We utilise the Performance Management system, which enables us to keep track of Miles per Gallon (MPG) and look for trends in regards to fuel consumption. It has also helped us implement new policies and procedures to further improve our operating best practises.

Brian Lansdown QEHS Manager “During our investigations into road traffic Incidents it has proved invaluable that the introduction of the camera systems on the vehicles has enabled quicker and appropriate means of identifying some of the direct causes. The drivers are now more aware and taken on improved responsibility, which has reduced the all-round incident infringements.”

Paul Staynings FORS Practioner “has completed the relevant Practioner course which has given him a better insight into the requirements of FORS from a fleet perspective.”

The use of these cameras has significantly reduced our incidents and also our insurance claims. Not only has it enhanced our transport operations in and around London it has also helped in other large cities throughout the uk.

Key performance indicators point to a reduction in Road Traffic Incidents over a twelve-month period. Ultimately leading to a positive indication from staff and also possibly exceeding our legal and other obligations. This has also meant a levelling off of Penalty charge notices and a slight drop in the MPG, our intention of continually improving the KPI’s is to use the Management tools and Guidance available from within the FORS scheme and to better use best Practice.

All our drivers and other operatives throughout King Lifting undergo a Full Critical task medical that exceeds the requirements for specific Driver medicals. Our Procedure KL 1.16 Health surveillance contains more detail of this. The company also has a. Alcohol and drugs policy KL 1.03 Alcohol and Drugs that identifies on an adhoc monthly process who & when is tested, this will also include ‘for cause’ testing.

All new drivers are taken on a Driving Assessment by our in-house Driving Assessor prior to starting with King Lifting. The results of the report are fed back to the individual and their line manager for Strengths, Weaknesses and areas for Improvement that need to be rectified before being allowed to operate within his / her scope of work.

King Lifting Policy KL 1.22 Noise at work gives detail of how we identify and manage noise, this is further enhanced with KL 1.12 P1 Driving- Work Related Idling policy that is designed to assist in protecting air quality through reduction of engine idling by employees, customers & product delivery vehicles of King Lifting. Vehicles have night heaters fitted to stop idling.

All our vehicles are taken back to depots to be washed which has suitable drainage to contain contaminants.

Plan for the future: To become Gold accredited maintain and improve on this standard, as well as continuing to develop our staff, policies and procedures.

We have already replaced two of our 150T tractor units in January 2019 with Euro VI compliant units and have two more replacement trucks on order for delivery later in the year. We have a plan in place to update our van fleet to Euro VI compliant vehicles throughout the year.

‘We have positively promoted FORS on our website, through our suppliers and customer networks. As well as actively encouraging our suppliers to be FORS accredited.

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