Lifting Gear Hire (LGH) has received bronze accreditation from the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS), a voluntary organisation that promotes best practice for commercial vehicle operators, within a year of returning to the industry.
FORS bronze, silver and gold membership provides progressive accreditation, enabling operators to achieve exemplary levels of best practice.
LGH is already making strides towards silver status, which it hopes to achieve in Q1 2018.
FORS accreditation drives best practice across the European fleet industry in terms of safety, efficiency and environmental protection. It also offers guidance and training to help operators attain the required standards. With over 4,700 members, FORS is gaining recognition as the transport industry’s go-to accreditation scheme but it is already a prerequisite for any fleet operating in the London area.
Colin Naylor, managing director at LGH, said: “Even as a new entrant, our business in and around London has grown exponentially across a number of key markets – construction; lifts and elevators; machine moves; and crane hire – and integral to delivering product to this expanding customer base in the region is our fleet of vehicles.”
LGH boasts a fleet of four brand new, 1.5t (gross vehicle weight) Ford Transit vans, based across its three UK warehouses in Manchester, London and Aberdeen. All are fitted with tail lifts and working at height safety barriers.
Phil Smith, commercial manager at LGH, said: “FORS members stand out from the crowd, work to standards above the legal minimum and have access to a wide range of exclusive benefits that provide a real competitive advantage. This initiative is not directed at company type but simply any business delivering or operating on a customer’s site or premises.”
FORS encompasses all aspects of safety, efficiency, and environmental protection by encouraging and training fleet operators to measure, monitor and improve performance. Smith said receiving the accreditation so quickly could largely be attributed to processes LGH implemented in the days after reformation. For example, a system was put in place to capture data such as fuel efficiency and driver hours.
Smith added: “FORS is very wide reaching and covers every aspect of our vehicle fleet. We have to keep on top of regular vehicle maintenance checks; training and continuous assessment; driver health and eyesight; route planning; and accident protocol, to name just a few key criteria. FORS accreditation is just one manifestation of a safety culture that extends to every employee, customer, product and vehicle associated with the company.”
