Transport Compliance Management

Our overview of what is involved in preparation for FORS bronze audit is below. 

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FORS Standard covering bronze accreditation is divided in four areas - Management, Vehicles, Drivers and Operation. Effective preparation for the audit covers the following areas which we explain in more detail below.

1. Policies required by FORS - Required policies are listed in M1 section of the FORS Standard, it is important to have all of them completed and reviewed as they form mandatory requirement to obtain a pass. The policy is a statement on what your organisation is setting itself to do in relation to the policy subject. It can be supported by procedure which describes how you are planning to achieve what you stated in policies

2. Risk assessments required by FORS - equally to policies, risk assessments are mandatory part of the FORS accreditation.  Required RAs are listed in Health and Safety part of the standard and it is important that they are completed by person responsible for health and safety in your business. It is important to take into account existing risk assessments and not to contradict them when developing new ones

3. Transport compliance and best practice - this area is a common failure of the audit! Your company driver's hours records, driver working time records and vehicle maintenance records will be checked at the audit. Make sure you have all MOTs, vehicle inspection documents, vehicle tax, tail lift inspections or any other additional, ancillary equipment inspected and documents available. Any failure to meet legal compliance will result in failure of the FORS audit - meaningful rectifying  action is required to recover from this situation and FORS needs to be satisfied that your compliance levels are up to standard before granting accreditation. 

4. Communication - you will need to demonstrate how you effectively communicate with staff within your organisation. In particular it is important to demonstrate that policies, procedures, risk assessments and any other important documents like method statements are communicated. There is little point of creating documents or procedures if they are not communicated to staff and FORS requires operators to demonstrate that effective communication does take place. Remember that FORS provides a number of toolbox talks through their website which are available for members.

5. Driver and Management Training - another common audit failure area. Drivers and management are required to complete adequate training listed in the standard. Fors eLearning is a great source of information for drivers and it is completely free to use. Please check the requirements for training in the standard as it covers management and drivers. 

6. FORS Champions - you will need to name FORS Champions depending on the level of your accreditation. These people ( or one person) will have to take responsibility and complete training according to the FORS standard requirements. Make sure they are listed on the organisation chart!

7. Data Capture and analysis - Complaints, vehicle collisions, fuel and Ad-Blue usage and transport infringements together with PCNs need to be monitored and you will be asked to demonstrate how this data is captured and analysed. 

8. Relevant licences - make sure your o licence or other vehicle operating permit is up to date and available to view by the auditor. This section also covers waste carrier's licence

9. Reading the Standard to ensure everything is covered - There is number of things not listed above which will be required to pass the audit , they may be specific to your organisation so it is vital to read the FORS standard in detail before booking the audit. 

10. Any questions give us a call!