The DVSA has conceded it needs more operators to join up to its earned recognition pilot to advance the project, after its its timetable for going live with the full version suffered further delay.

Speaking at the RHA’s Autumn Conference yesterday (7 September), DVSA head of enforcement policy Gordon Macdonald hinted the pilot was still lacking the support from hauliers needed to get the scheme off the ground.

While it was expected to go live at the end of this year, Macdonald said the DVSA now hoped this would happen in spring 2018, but this was “very much dependent on the support from operators, and the providers of IT systems.

“We’ve made some good progress but we’re finding it’s taking more time than anticipated as it’s being developed, so we’ve decided to extend the pilot to allow more operators to take part.”

In an attempt to do some “myth busting” around the scheme, Macdonald reassured operators that being part of earned recognition would not give the DVSA access to their data - something that has been a cause of concern for operators.

“Operator’s systems will automatically send either a monthly email report, or an email notifying them of a KPI breach,” he said.

Macdonald also tried to incentivise operators to take part in the pilot with the promise of public recognition of their efforts.

He said: “As soon as the pilot is finished, we will publish all the operators that successfully took part, giving them recognition that they’ve reached the compliance standards. Those successful in the pilot will also be given automatic entry to the earned recognition scheme.

“If you have an inkling to join earned recognition, I would urge you to help us try it so we can go live as soon as we possibly can.”

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