Supply chain efficiency is vital for local authorities, each tasked with achieving best value services under increasing budget constraints while ensuring better air quality to meet strict emission reduction targets, for the benefit of the local population and future generations.

FORS, the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme, is gaining popularity as the environmental best practice and road transport compliance choice for local authorities across the UK, each of whom have air quality, work-related road risk, and vulnerable road user safety high on their agenda.

Specifying FORS can help ensure all road transport operators contracted to a local authority are assessed to meet the highest possible environmental, safety and efficiency standards.

The FORS remit is to improve safety, air quality, reliability and efficiency for all commercial vehicles. Its progressive compliance model is applicable to truck, van, coach, bus, taxi and powered-two wheeler operators, with an emphasis on continuous development and robust driver and management training.

By specifying FORS, a local authority is able to drive up best practice and strengthen its supply chain to deliver a better service, maximise safety, and improve sustainability.

How FORS works with local authorities

Local authorities can use FORS to better work with transport fleets in their area, helping them achieve environmental targets and champion safety by safeguarding all supply chain operations with a road transport requirement.

For local authority specifiers, there are three straightforward routes to FORS:

• Councils who run and manage their own fleets can become FORS operators themselves, registering as members, completing the Bronze audit, and working through the FORS progressive accreditation levels to FORS Silver, and on to FORS Gold
• Local authorities can become a FORS Champion, specifying FORS requirements through their procurement contracts to ensure all commercial vehicle operators working on their contracts including those for passenger carrying or refuse removal, meet the highest possible environmental, safety and efficiency standards
• Finally, those councils with planning powers can ensure FORS is implemented through planning consent arrangements and construction logistics plans before granting permission for new projects

Quality supply chain

While it is true that specifying FORS may reduce the pool of suppliers a local authority can use, FORS adds the assurance that any suppliers employed drive best practice and are committed to sustainability and safety standards.

What is more, FORS accredited operators comply with both CLOCS (Construction Logistics and Community Safety) and Transport for London’s Work Related Road Risk (WRRR) requirements. FORS Silver accreditation can be used to demonstrate CLOCS compliance as the schemes are designed to align, to keep compliance simple.

Specifying FORS ensures that a supply chain is clean, safe, reliable and efficient with the added benefit of accident reduction and public recognition of high standards. FORS allows organisations to continually improve customer experience, build loyalty and boost reputation, while raising awareness of WRRR amongst clients, contractors, developers and suppliers.

Find out more

To help local authorities understand how FORS can help, we are running a series of regional briefing sessions, to assist organisations as they embed FORS into their supply chain.

Each session will offer key information on how specifying FORS can be of great benefit, the role of a FORS Champion, and how FORS aligns with other supply chain requirements, such as CLOCS and WRRR requirements. The sessions will explore the guidance FORS offers Specifiers and how to introduce FORS into your business and across your supply chain.

FORS Specifier Regional Briefings are due to be held in Birmingham, London and Manchester in September. For more information or to attend a session visit: www.fors-online.org.uk/cms/fors-specifiers-regional-briefing

Local authorities who become FORS accredited receive a discounted rate for annual subscriptions and audit fees. More information can be found here www.fors-online.org.uk/cms/subscription-fees

Rajinder Sharma is FORS Manager at FORS