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FORS Individual Gold Accreditation Audit
4 Silver and Gold accreditation
4.2 Gold progression
G1 FORS Silver Requirement - To maintain the requirements of the FORS Silver accreditation awarded. Purpose - To ensure that good practice and minimum operating standards are maintained.
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G1 FORS operators applying for initial FORS Gold accreditation shall:<br>• Be FORS Bronze accredited with at least 45 calendar days before their expiry date<br>• Be FORS Silver accredited with at least 45 calendar days before their expiry date.
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G1 FORS operators applying for re-approval of FORS Gold accreditation shall:<br>• Be FORS Bronze accredited with at least 45 calendar days before its expiry date<br>• Be FORS Silver accredited with at least 45 calendar days before its expiry date<br>• Be FORS Gold accredited with at least 45 calendar days before its expiry date.
G2 Recruitment and retention Requirement - To actively attract, recruit and retain drivers and other staff involved in the fleet operation. Purpose - To sustain the fleet operation and help promote transport and logistics as a profession of choice.
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G2 FORS operators shall have a recruitment and retention policy in place that:<br>• Meets the resource needs of the organisation and minimises staff turnover<br>• Raises awareness of the career options in the transport and logistics profession<br>• Attracts new talent into the road transport sector<br>• Is inclusive, accessible and fair.
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G2 Where relevant, the recruitment and retention policy shall include a training programme to attract new drivers and staff that might not have road transport skills or experience.
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G2 For fleet operations with over 50 HGVs or PCVs, the training programme shall include driving licence acquisition training.<br>As an indicator, this should be at a rate of one per cent of vehicles held every 36 months.
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G2 Driver and staff retention and turnover shall be represented as a percentage statistic over a 12-month period.
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G2 To achieve recruitment and retention targets, engagement should be undertaken with:<br>• Schools, colleges and universities<br>• The Armed Forces Covenant<br>• Job seeker and job match services<br>• Industry schemes and campaigns.
NOTE: The recruitment and retention policy shall be:
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• Documented and reviewed in accordance with requirement M1
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• Retained in accordance with requirement M2
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• Communicated in accordance with requirement M5
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• Developed in accordance with the FORS Professional Development requirements at Annexes 1 and 2
G3 Sustainable operations Requirement - To progress further to reduce the environmental, safety and congestion impacts of the fleet operation. Purpose - To ensure that the negative impacts of the fleet operation can be reduced over time.
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G3 FORS operators shall undertake a review of the fleet operation to further improve environment performance, road safety and efficiency.
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G3 The review shall include a considered evaluation for using:<br>• Vehicles designed for more efficient operations<br>• Ultralow and zero emission capable vehicles<br>• Safer vehicles that are best in class for direct vision.
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G3 The review shall inform fleet replacement decisions.
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G3 At the time of audit, at least 50 per cent of vehicles in the fleet should be ultra low emissions, this means either:<br>• Euro VI and Euro 6 for diesel vehicles<br>• Euro 4 or above for petrol vehicles<br>• Alternative fuelled vehicles emitting less than 75g of CO2/km from the tailpipe.
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G3 The fleet replacement plan should demonstrate progression towards a 100 per cent ultra low emission fleet.
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G3 Where a tolerance has been accepted at requirement S6, all HGVs (irrespective of age) shall be fitted with blind spot vision<br>aids that include:<br>• A camera system that monitors the near-side vehicle blind spot<br>• An in-cab display screen to provide the driver with a view of the near-side blind spot.
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G3 Fitment of blind spot vision aids for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 may be planned and evidenced in line with the operator’s fleet replacement cycle. This shall be fully justified at audit.
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G3 The review shall also evaluate the use of sustainable ways of working that minimise the impact of the fleet operation. Sustainable ways of working include:<br>• Technology to optimise operations<br>• Collaborating to share resources and infrastructure<br>• Renewable energy sources<br>• Retiming fleet activities to avoid peak congested periods<br>• Improving first time delivery performance<br>• Consolidating loads and activities<br>• Rail or water as an alternative to road transport.
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G3 The review should include a cost benefit analysis with the benefits communicated in terms of emissions, road risk and reduced road miles.
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G3 The review may include projects, research or trials of future technology, operational concepts and vehicle design.
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G3 FORS operators may also provide evidence of promoting sustainable initiatives within communities and industry, which could include:<br>• Engagement with schools, colleges and local communities<br>• Supporting road safety initiatives, such as ‘Exchanging Places’<br>• Supporting other operators to attain FORS accreditation, such as through the development of case studies.
NOTE: The sustainable operations review shall be:
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• Documented and reviewed in accordance with requirement M1
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• Retained in accordance with requirement M2
G4 Staff travel Requirement - To encourage the promotion of sustainable and cost-effective staff travel behaviour. Purpose - To minimise the negative impact of staff travel to and from the workplace.
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G4 FORS operators shall have in place a workplace travel plan that is aligned to the relevant local authority guidance. The workplace travel plan shall include:<br>• A workplace audit and staff survey<br>• Objectives and staff travel targets to achieve<br>• Incentives and initiatives to reduce reliance on car use<br>• An action plan and monitoring strategy.
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G4 Staff travel incentives and initiatives should include:<br>• Appointing a Staff Travel Champion<br>• Cycle facilities and a ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme<br>• Step challenges and a ‘Step to Work’ scheme<br>• Workplace cycle training and maintenance<br>• Car sharing schemes<br>• Using conferencing to reduce travel for meetings<br>• Taking part in wider initiatives such as Bike Week, Cycle to Work Day, Ride to Work week and Liftshare Week.
NOTE: The workplace travel plan shall be:
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• Documented and reviewed in accordance with requirement M1
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• Retained in accordance with requirement M2
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• Communicated in accordance with requirement M5
G5 Professional development Requirement - To develop, motivate and engage drivers and all other staff involved in the fleet operation to further their professional development. Purpose - To ensure the fleet operation has the behaviours and culture to achieve sustainable performance improvements.
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G5 The mandatory FORS Professional Development requirements for managers and drivers shall be completed as set out in Annex 1 (for drivers) and Annex 2 (for managers). This means the requirements at Bronze, Silver and Gold apply.
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G5 FORS operators shall maintain and implement PDPs that develop, motivate and engage all staff involved in the fleet operation.
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G5 The PDP shall include:<br>• FORS Professional Development relevant to individual roles and responsibilities<br>• Continued professional development that encourages personal growth<br>• Personal objectives aligned to the priorities, objectives and culture of a FORS Gold accredited organisation.
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G5 To allow for ongoing driver turnover and recruitment, a 10 per cent tolerance in the number of drivers that have undertaken FORS Professional Development may be accepted. This tolerance shall be fully justified at audit.
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G5 On initial FORS Gold accreditation, the responsible person, or other nominated manager involved in the fleet operation, shall be working towards qualifying as a FORS Practitioner.
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G5 At FORS Gold re-approval, the responsible person, or other nominated manager involved in the fleet operation, shall be qualified as a FORS Practitioner.
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G5 For managers and supervisors, the PDP should include professional development on people leadership and management skills.
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G5 An appraisal procedure should be in place to monitor and measure individual performance against personal objectives.
NOTE: FORS Professional Development shall be:
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• Documented and reviewed in accordance with requirement M1
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• Retained in accordance with requirement M2
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• Communicated in accordance with requirement M5
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• Developed in accordance with the FORS Professional Development requirements at Annexes 1 and 2
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• Evidenced using the FORS Professional training register
G6 Contracted services Requirement - To require a minimum of FORS Bronze accreditation for contracted suppliers and services. Purpose - To ensure that all fleet operators, drivers and vehicles working on behalf of the FORS operator comply with consistent operating standards.
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G6 At initial Gold audit, FORS operators shall have a written plan for incorporating a flow down clause requiring a minimum of FORS<br>Bronze accreditation in the terms of new contract agreements for the provision of services that support the fleet operation.
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G6 At Gold re-approval audit, FORS operators shall incorporate a flow down clause requiring a minimum of FORS Bronze accreditation in the terms of new contract agreements for the provision of services that support the fleet operation.
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G6 Suppliers and contracted services should be monitored to ensure the FORS Standard has been adopted, implemented and complied with.
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G6 Suppliers and contracted services include, but are not limited to:<br>• Maintenance services and parts<br>• Tyre services<br>• Vehicle recovery operators<br>• Bulk fuel providers
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G6 It is understood that it may be difficult to influence some suppliers. In such cases, best endeavours should be demonstrated.
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G6 The FORS list of accredited operators should be explored when placing contracts for transport suppliers.
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G6 This requirement is in addition to S9.
NOTE: Contracted service agreements and compliance records shall be:
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• Documented and reviewed in accordance with requirement M1
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• Retained in accordance with requirement M2