Equipment hire specialist A-Plant has successfully retained its Gold Status with Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS). This is under the new Standard version 5 as a Whole Fleet Accreditation (WFA) company right across the UK.
Version 5 came into force in January 2019 and to meet the strict criteria A-Plant employees had to undergo further driver training. LoCity Driving is a theory-based training course that focuses on reducing emissions and managing the impact that vans and HGVs have on the environment.
Under the new standard, last year A-Plant also upgraded their fleet of HGVS (those which we’re registered after Jan 2015) to feature a nearside camera, this investment totalled £50,000.
A-Plant was one of the first equipment rental companies to secure the accreditation and its now one of over 5,000 accredited members, which drives best practice across the fleet industry.
FORS encompasses all aspects of safety, efficiency and environmental protection by encouraging and training fleet operators to measure, monitor and improve their performance. A-Plant employs a dedicated team to specifically monitor and report on vehicle telematics and training requirements, to ensure their ongoing compliance.
The scheme was first rolled out to fleet operators based in and around the city of London, but it proved to be so popular it is now open to any company in the UK that operates a fleet of vehicles.
Mathew Smith, Head of Transport for A-Plant said: “The successful renewal of our WFA and Gold Status demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement, safety, the environment and driver training.
“The WFA has helped us become safer, smarter and greener by improving vehicles, drivers, management and operations. We have extensive driver training programmes in place and as we have progressed through the new standard, we have trained in excess of 1,000 A-Plant drivers who are now driving to the new FORS standard.
A-Plant became a FORS member in 2009 during the early stages of the scheme, passing their Bronze audit first time and have since been re-accredited, later advancing to Silver, and then onto Gold which they have held since June 2017.
