The Fors Community Partnership has described the elevation of one of its silver members to gold status, just as the Upper Tribunal confirmed the firm’s O-licence should be suspended for drivers’ hours and tachograph offences, as “unfortunate timing”.
Furthermore, it denied its decision not to review the firm’s Fors status had weakened the credibility of the standards scheme.
In August, the Upper Tribunal decided to uphold a week-long suspension of the O-licence of construction haulier J O’Doherty Haulage imposed by South East and Metropolitan traffic commissioner Nick Denton at a public inquiry (PI) in March, after a series of drivers’ hours and tachograph offences in 2013 and 2014 came to light.
The suspension has now taken place.
Despite the outcome of the original PI and the Fors requirement for members to remain compliant with all the rules – including those relating to drivers’ hours and tachographs – no action was taken about its existing Fors status and the firm’s application for gold level went on to be approved a month ago.
John Hix, regional director at lead Fors concessionaire Aecom – which took over management of the scheme in February – said the operator had kept Fors fully notified once its transgressions came to light.
He added that it had taken the right steps to rectify the issues, and therefore it was decided the offences “did not impact on its Fors status” and “would not prevent it going on to achieve its gold status”.
Despite the latest appeal decision, there was no intention of reviewing that, he confirmed.
Hix denied these decisions had weakened the credibility of the Fors scheme, however, suggesting it was “unfortunate timing” that the firm
was being elevated to gold status just as its licence suspension was due to come into effect.
He also denied the move showed Fors had no teeth. “Fors has teeth and it does have bite – but we’re not here to unnecessarily de-bar people from the scheme that we feel have taken the right action,” he said.
Hix was unable to confirm whether J O’Doherty Haulage’s last routine Fors audit in May 2014 had highlighted any of the management failures thrown up by the DVSA’s investigation and the subsequent PI.
He said he would look into it, admitting that the matter “would maybe raise a question about the audits that took place”.
Fors recently reported it had seen a surge in the amount of companies going for gold accreditation.
Last year Cowan Plant became the first operator to be kicked out of the Fors scheme.
