Operator Licence Compliance Audit

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Conducted on
Prepared by
Location

Summary of Operators licence

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Operator
Operator Licence Number
Location (Operating Centre)
Licence Capacity
Licence Operating Margin (Number of Vehicles Authorised vs Number of vehicle in use)
Maintenance Inspection Frequency
Site Contact
Transport Manager (SN) or Transport Supervisor (R) in attendance at the audit
Company Directors (in line with Operator Company Directors (in line with Operator Licence requirements)

Company Profile

Brief description of the operators business
Type and age of operators licence
Number of overall company employees in connection with Transport

Company Structure & Maturity

Decision making process - who for vehicles?
Drivers - employed or other arrangements
Employed drivers contracts in place?

Company Repute and Standing

Any convictions by HSE, Environmental Agency or other enforcement bodies?
Any action from other enforcement bodies?
Can the company demonstrate financial standing for the number of vehicles allowed on the licence?

Driver Management & Vocational Licences

Driver recruitment process and practises.
Driver inductions carried out & quality?
Full time vs. part time
Driver CPC, days completed, responsibility, financial arrangements, future plans.
Driver conduct and disciplinary processes and implementation.
Driver licence check done, how frequency, on-line?
Driver licence consequences for gaining points?
Are gate exit driver checks being completed and documented via the defect note process?
Is there a replacement program or process in place to manage an aging fleet?
What is the average fleet age?
What is average fleet mileage?

Vehicle Maintenance.

Legal Obligations: It is the responsibility of the drivers and operator to ensure that vehicles are in a roadworthy condition, it is an absolute offence to use an unroadworthy vehicle on the public highway. In addition operators of heavy goods vehicles must meet the requirements of the licensing legislation which is govern the decisions of the Traffic Commissioner. In particular operators must comply with the declaration and undertakings given for their operator licence, and that vehicles and Trailers are in a roadworthy condition at all times. When contracting out maintenance arrangements it is the responsibility of the operator to ensure that the facilities used by the agent are adequate and that staff are competent in the class of vehicles to be maintained.

there a named TM or Transport Supervisor responsible for the vehicle maintenance plan
Is the licence OCRS score known and does the operator have access to the DVSA system?
Arduous - Off road use? (as a %)
Is Multi-manning part of the operation
Specification of PMI, Is the scheduled plan correct for the type of work carried out? And conducted on time (inspection frequency)
Is maintenance of vehicles contracted out
Is there a written contract maintenance agreement between the operator and the agent
Is the PMI frequency correct for the usage, and adequate to get the vehicle to the next PMI?
Are maintenance facility adequate? Access, under vehicle access, Brake testers, headlight testers etc.
Is the maintenance provide accredited by any recognised body?
Are PMI inspection documents fully and properly completed, and sheets signed off?
Is there a system in place for monitoring the quality of work carried out by the maintenance provider?
Wheel fixing and retorque procedure in place?
Is the "first time" pass rate known by maintenance provider & Operator?
MOT test failures, if occurred, why did these occur?
Have drivers been trained in, and are drivers competent in first use Walkaround checks?
Are driver defects found on PMI's by the maintenance provider?
Have these defects been noted on a defect sheet and reported to the maintenance garage by the driver
Are maintenance records retained in an orderly manner in chronological order within a file that identifies the vehicle / Trailer
Are Inspection records and defects notes retained for at least 15 months
Is the a NIL defects reporting system in place

Forward Planning - Inspection & Record Retention

Legal Requirement: Safety Inspections must be planned in advance for a minimum period of 6 months. The information should be kept in the simplest form and displayed prominently. Records of Safety Inspections and Defect reports must be retained on file for a minimum period of at least 15 months, unless a licence undertakings states other wise. A system should be in place to effectively and clearly monitor vehicle documentation even where safety inspections have been contracted out.

A forward planner is in existence, contains all registered Operators Licence Vehicles / trailers.
Planned Inspections as per Operators licence requirement, and planned for 6 months in advance?
Forward planner displaying MOT due dates?
Brake test on Planner unless conducted on all PMI Inspections
Forward planner displaying Tacho Calibration dates.
Forward planner displaying Road Tax Expiry Dates
Forward planner is up to date within 24 hours.

Vehicle File Audit. Legal Requirement: All statutory documentation must be valid and available for inspection. Daily walk around checks must be completed by a suitable qualified person prior to the vehicle being used. Drivers must be able to report promptly any defects or symptoms of defects that could adversely affect the safe operation of the vehicle. Reports must be made in writing and provision should be made to record details of any rectification work undertaken. All documentation must be retained for a period of 15 months.

Vehicle Registrations Audited
Vehicle Registration document.
Date vehicle registered to the operator
Valid MOT Certificate
2/6 year Tachograph Calibration Certificate
Proof of vehicle taxation held on file?
VTG6 Plating Certificate

Pre-use Inspection Sheets & Defect Notes

15 Months historical defect notes
All defect notes signed off and completed with corrective action taken.
Pre-use inspection doc's for last 15 months

Vehicle Inspection Sheets

15 Months historical inspection sheets on file (if applicable)
All relevant sections completed

Operator Licence

Legal Requirements: Most businesses operating goods vehicles over 3.5t GVW require an operators licence for the number of vehicles it operate. Additions to the fleet must listed on the licence a maximum of 21 days. A nominated Transport Manager CPC holder must be specified (unless restricted licence is in place). Operators licences are granted by the Traffic Commissioner and are subject to restrictions and / or undertakings specified on the Operator Licence.

Is the operators licence available? And is the licence the correct type for the operation.
Are all the details of the licence i.e. Company Name, Address, operating centre and CPC holder correct?
Are there any "special conditions" or Undertakings attached to the licence at the instructions of the Traffic Commissioner? If so are these conditions or undertakings been met in full?
Number of operating centres and geographic locations, including any out base locations this centre is responsible for.
TM's specified on the licence (s)
Other duties TM is responsible for?
Remoteness of TM in relation to the day to day operation?
Appropriates support system is place either support staff or electronic systems or both
TM up to date on legislation, attend refresher training, subscribe to DVSA alerts service?
Has a TM resigned of late and has it been notified?
Has a new / additional TM been appointed and not notified?
Does the TM have a clear grasp of the operation compliance, and can describe compliance risks and how to deal with them?

Drivers Hours, Working Time, record systems including Tachographs

Note the control systems need to be legally compliant and focus on likely risk with regard to the specific role that the driver is carrying out, regular routes, Adhoc multi drop, night working or mix on off road. The systems must be robust to cover any area of intense operation across the Drivers. "Are processes working, are download on time, is there missing mileage, are VU & DC comparisons carried out, is driver retraining occurring if the need arises"

Who is the decision maker about whether to do a job? Driver, TM, senior management.
Can drivers earn bonuses? How are these structured?
What is the company culture, which has priority customers service or compliance?
Are vehicles equip with digital or Analogue Tachograph recording devices?
Employee awareness of Working Time Directive.
Employee awareness of the company reference period
Are all employees aware of weekly WTD averages?
Are VU Downloaded? How often?
Are Driver Cards Downloaded? How often?
What IT system is used for analysis of Tachograph data and generating driver reports?
How is Tachograph data analysed?
Is there a processes in place for drivers to be notified of infringements with effective intervention?

Notification & Undertakings

Legal Responsibilities: When an operator applies for an operators licence they agree / promise to abide by the undertakings of the licence, in addition an operator must ensure that they notify the Traffic Commissioner of any changes to the business that might affect the licence i.e. financial status, takeovers, administration, receivership liquidation and convictions.

Is the operator / TM aware of his undertakings and obligations?
Is there an effective procedure in place to prevent overloading of vehicle and trailers?
Is there a procedure in place to manage drivers with regards to speeding offenses, use of mobile phones offences, and not wearing a seat belt whilst driving? etc.
Can the operator confirm that all past and current convictions of both Directors, Partners or Sole Traders and Transport Managers are and have been notified to the Traffic Commissioner?