Salvec Limited is family run business, founded in 2002 and is based in Ashford Kent. Salvec Ltd is a franchised haulier for Tarmac Limited delivering Asphalt and Aggregate. Salvec Ltd is run by Sally Sage-Horlock. Sally has grown up in the haulage business and inherited the company from her father. We operate three lorries at present but would like to extend the company going forward – this has been put on hold due to the recent troubles, but we hope to be back on plan for expansion soon.
We first heard about FORS through Tarmac. We looked at the benefits of joining the scheme and saw that these were the same standards and ethos that we wished embody by improving the safety for both our vehicles and drivers.
When we first began working towards our first bronze accreditation, we were able to follow and carry out all the necessary requirements with no complications and we were able to achieve our bronze accreditation first time, and have passed every audit since then.
From this point, we were encouraged to aim for the next accreditation level of Silver. As we saw drastic improvements within the business just from the bronze audit, we felt that continuing with the silver audit would only further improve our business and credibility. Following on from our successful Silver submission we also decided, why not go for Gold? We have been a Gold operator for 3 years now and have never looked back.
One key benefit that the drivers and the company gained from FORS was the e-learning resources available on the FORS website. Thanks to our drivers having completed the e-learning modules and classroom based training on a regular basis, we have seen a great improvement in our drivers’ road safety skills. As this training provided our drivers with the latest and most appropriate information on road safety, we were able to see this improvement immediately.
“Implementing the FORS standard within the company has continued to improve our business, we have seen improvements in our fuel efficiency due to driver training through the e-learning tools and classroom based training.” (Director Sally Sage Horlock)
‘FORS offers targeted training which meets with the specific needs of my industry.’ (Transport manager Adrian Horlock)
Improvements
- Performance data – The below table has been used to calculate our performance improvements. All areas are showing improvement from Year 0 to Year 2. Due to COVID and restrictions we have not calculated the difference in Year 1 as it is not likely to be accurate.
At Salvec Ltd we ensure that our employees are fit to drive by requesting them to fill out a medical declaration prior to employment. We also complete driver eyesight checks to ensure their eyesight is suitable for driving and DVLA check of their licence details.- If the company did require new drivers, we would try to recruit via word of mouth of local advertising. Once employed then would start on the new driver two-week buddy scheme where an experienced driver would take out the new driver to make sure they are trained in the way the tippers/company operates
- We actively try to reduce any noise pollution that we may make, we turn off vehicles if standing longer than 2 minutes in traffic, try to keep noise to a minimum when loading and unloading and have modern vehicles with alarms that we are able to mute during quiet times if needed (12am to 7 am).
- We are currently only able to work with our current road transport operation to collect and deliver our materials. The most efficient form of road transport for us is currently a rigid lorry with a euro 6 engine. The euro 6 engine is known for producing low amounts of NOx.
Future Plans – Vehicles and Drivers
All our future vehicles will continue to be equipped to the highest safety and emissions standards, while paying attention to the environment we will continue to listen to the research Tarmac have made to help us to evolve our company to seek alternative vehicles and fuels. All our drivers are incredibly hard working and will continue to be trained to the highest standards possible.
We have positively promoted FORS by proudly displaying the FORS logo on our vehicle and on our letterheads and paperwork, we do not use social media and as a small operator we are not in a position to support networking events or workshops currently.
What our Gold Accreditation means to us?
FORS has enabled the company to run more efficiently and aid drivers to improve their skills. Going forward for the future Salvec Ltd would use the advances in technology with trucks and aids to help drivers in their daily tasks. We will be continuing this forward as best practice and are proud to be FORS Gold members.