With the 28th April marking The World Day for Health and Safety at Work, we thought it would be the ideal time to let you know a bit more about one of our accreditations, FORS.
FORS stands for Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme. It is a voluntary accreditation scheme for vehicles operating on a public highway. For Universal Tankers, this is our fleet of HGVs. Being FORS complaint means that we comply to strict regulations and always employ the industry’s best practices.
With us having a fleet of over 80 vehicles across England and Scotland, it is of paramount importance that we operate as safely as possible. A FORS accreditation needs to be earned, making it even more credible for an organisation and proves that they can maintain best industry practices.
Being FORS accredited demonstrates that we can operate with exemplary levels efficiency, environmental protection, and safety. Being the customer of a FORS accredited organisation gives peace of mind and a stamp of approval of safe operating practices and high minimum standards.
This accreditation is aimed at both documenting and practicing diligent and safe fleet operation in two main ways, the employment of electronic safety equipment and training of operators.
To maintain our FORS status, our drivers undertake regular out-of-the-cab training to keep their knowledge of regulations and best practices up to date. Part of this training highlights to drivers, the vulnerabilities of other road users such as cyclists. This allows them to work with a greater awareness in their day-to-day work.
In addition to this, all our fleet maintain a high level of electronic safety equipment. This includes a minimum of four exterior cameras on board each vehicle as well as an automatic blind spot system. High visibility LED signage is also used to raise awareness to other road users outside the vehicle, of potential dangers.
Our FORS accreditation, as well as our other accreditations are part of our ongoing efforts to keep both our drivers and our customers safe.