Frequently asked questions – FORS Standard versions 5 and 5.1

Updates were made across the FORS Standard for version 5, released in October 2018.

Version 5.1 was released on 1 June 2020 to offer more flexibility in the way in which ‘S5 Professional development’ can be met for van and HGV drivers through immersive interactive learning.

There is a summary of what has been changed in Annex 5 of the FORS Standard version 5.1

New training requirements were introduced at version 5 across all levels of accreditation for both managers and drivers. These are different for drivers of specific vehicle types so it is best to check the training cards at Annexes 1 (for drivers) and 2 (for managers) of the FORS Standard (version 5.1).

A guide detailing the process for assessment and approval of in-house courses can be found here.

All vehicles at an operating centre used for servicing and delivery must be registered and will fall under the scope of FORS accreditation – this includes: HGVs, vans, passenger carrying vehicles, cars, powered-two-wheelers (motorcycles and mopeds) and wheeled plant.

Cars and P2Ws are optional unless they are used as the core business function eg delivery company. Car-derived vans however must be declared.

No, you can choose which operating centre(s) to include in your FORS accreditation but all vehicles used for servicing and delivery in the chosen operating centre(s) must be included in the scope of accreditation (as detailed above.) For information on accrediting single or multiple operating centres, please check the FORS Rules and Procedures.

Yes, version 5 of the FORS Standard includes P2Ws in its effort to increase levels of best practice across the whole industry. This means that if the P2Ws in your fleet are used for servicing and delivery, they must be included in your FORS scope of accreditation. So with effect from 14 January 2019, existing members will need to update FORS with fleet details PRIOR to re-approval audit and include any P2Ws if appropriate. New members will need to declare P2Ws from the onset when registering with FORS.

You can check the FORS Bronze Audit Toolkit which contains tips and advice, as well as checklists to help you prepare for the audit. In addition, you can attend the funded Going for Bronze workshop, as well as the free one-hour Introduction to FORS webinar. FORS offers lots of toolkits and guidance which are available free of charge for FORS members.

FORS has produced a free FORS Counter Terrorism Toolkit to help you write an effective counter terrorism policy. The toolkit provides you with all the elements you need to put together a policy and supporting procedures and what you need to do with these. It includes a checklist of the key actions you need to undertake to meet Bronze requirement O7. To access the free FORS Counter Terrorism Toolkit, click here.

Yes, FORS operators must possess a passenger safety policy for each vehicle type, supported by a risk assessment or method statement. This requirement applies to operators of passenger carrying vehicles (PCVs), of course, but also to operators of any vehicle that is fitted with at least one passenger seat such as HGVs, vans and cars

• • For PCVs – The full list of the requirements at ‘O4 Demonstration’ must be met. This includes pre-employment and three-yearly vetting of drivers, escorts and conductors through the Disclosure and Barring Service; and additional instructions where vehicles are accessible to disabled people
  • For HGVs, vans and cars – As a minimum, your documentation must include specific information such as permitted number of passengers, wearing seatbelts and safety instructions for passengers

FORS has developed ‘Ten steps to being a safe passenger’ presented as a series of simple dos and don’ts, and which can be incorporated into your policy and risk assessment. For example, your policy could state that all passengers will be briefed on being a safe passenger using the ‘Ten steps to being a safe passenger’, or they could be incorporated into a toolbox talk. To access the information, click here.

No the London operations element of V6 is not effective until the implementation date of TfL’s HGV safety permit scheme. This means you will not be audited against this element yet. You will be audited against this element at the Bronze audit after the safety permit scheme is enforced. You can check the TfL Direct Vision Standard website for details.

This information can be provided via electronic document (doc, docx, xls, xslx, txt, csv, pdf, png, jpeg) that clearly presents the required information. From 14 January 2019, you will be prompted to upload this information when you request your audit.

The appropriate training course needed will depend on your type of operation:

If you are a responsible person for a non-O’Licensed fleet, you can attend the one-day FORS Professional discounted Car and Van Fleet Management Essentials at £130+VAT per person. Alternatively any two workshops from FORS Practitioner workshops 1/2/3/4/5/6 will meet this training objective – and if you already hold a FORS Practitioner qualification, then you already meet this requirement.

If you are a responsible person for an O’Licensed fleet, you can attend the one-day FORS Professional HGV and PCV Fleet Management Essentials at £130+VAT per person. Alternatively you can meet this requirement by undertaking FORS Approved training on fleet management. There are two routes available:

• Attend a FORS Approved fleet management course as listed on the FORS website here; or
• Attend a course that has automatic approval as listed in the ‘FORS Approved Training – FORS Standard version 5 Bronze requirement M3 responsible person’ document which can be found on this page. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the ‘Fleet management training – to meet Bronze requirement M3 for the responsible person’ section.

FORS Approved training courses

Operator licence awareness courses and CPC refresher courses delivered by a trade association, a professional body or an approved Transport Manager CPC examination centre are automatically considered FORS Approved.

Approved examination centres must offer a regulated Transport Manager CPC qualification listed on the Ofqual Register for the type of Operator licence held, and as recommended in Traffic Commissioner Statutory Guidance.

Training providers that do not meet the criteria above can achieve FORS Approved status for fleet management courses to meet FORS Bronze M3 requirement by submitting training material for assessment as detailed on the FORS Approved Training page.

The FORS Progression data report is embedded within the evidencing system. Therefore just log in the evidencing system and populate the form with your data. The system will auto-calculate CO2, NOx and PM, based on your number of vehicles, vehicle type, fuel type, distance travelled and fuel used entered.

A number of well established industry courses have automatic FORS approval, or you can have your own course approved against a set number of training objectives and learning points. For more information, please click here.

This has been made mandatory to ensure continuity so that the vehicle list is accurate as historically there have been many variations in accreditation submissions, leading to re-submissions and extra cost to the members.

Under vehicle requirement S6, blind spot vision aids for HGVs include a camera system, as well as an in-cab display screen and audible warning system. To allow for older vehicles in the fleet replacement cycle, a tolerance in the number of vehicles fitted with camera systems can be accepted for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 where there is not a contractual or permit requirements. This tolerance must be fully justified at audit. If this tolerance is permitted, older vehicles not fitted with camera systems shall be fitted with an alternative blind spot vision aid such as a Fresnel lens. See version 5 Silver requirement S6 for further details.

At Gold G6 Sustainable operations, the above tolerance at S6 is not permitted. However, the fitment of camera systems for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 can be planned and evidenced in line with the operator’s fleet replacement cycle and must be fully justified at audit.

Yes, your current Silver/Gold accreditation will be valid until your Silver/Gold expiry date even if your Bronze is passed against version 5.

This requirement is only relevant where your sub-contractors are directly employed to deliver on your behalf to a site where FORS Silver is required.  This is typically a requirement written into the contract you have with your client and therefore should already be in place.

Yes if you have an alternative system for entering your road traffic collision and incident data, then you can use this. However, you will need to evidence what your system is/what it does (eg what it records/monitors) and what you do with the information (eg analyse trends)

If the responsible person or other nominated manager leaves the business, a period of 12 months from the date of appointment of the replacement responsible person or nominated manager can be permitted for them to achieve the FORS Practitioner qualification. This must be fully justified at audit.

At Gold G6 Sustainable operations, the tolerance at Silver S6 for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 is not permitted. However, the fitment of camera systems for vehicles registered before 1 January 2015 may be planned and evidenced in line with the operator’s fleet replacement cycle and must be fully justified at audit.

If you are submitting a Gold re-approval application, then you don’t need to provide a case study until you reach 36 months from your last submission. Every new Gold application (even if you were previously Gold but your accreditation lapsed) must provide a Gold case study this year.

FORS has produced a toolkit comprising a template with step-by-step guidance to take you through each item that must be included. The template includes a staff and visitor survey, a template to present the results, examples of objectives and targets, incentives and initiatives, and more. Simply complete or delete where relevant the sections in grey and replace with the information for your workplace. To access the FORS Workplace Travel Plan Toolkit, click here.

If you live in rural/remote area with limited public transport, there are still options that you can identify to promote sustainable travel amongst your staff. These include car sharing, promotion of electric vehicles, re-timing staff journeys to avoid peak hours and working from home where possible. These need to be written into your travel plan template and you will need to indicate what you can/can’t do and why.

No, this requirement applies to new contracts only.

• At initial Gold audit, a plan for incorporating a flow down clause in all new contracts awarded shall be evidenced
• At Gold re-approval audit,
  • for Gold re-approval audits taking place between 14/01/2019 and 31/12/2019, you need to be able to demonstrate that you are planning to introduce a flow down clause in all new contracts awarded from the date of your re-approval audit
  • for Gold re-approval audits taking place from 01/01/2020, a flow down clause shall be incorporated in all new contracts awarded since previous re-approval audit and shall be evidenced

FORS Silver requirement S9 Sub-contracted services is only relevant where your sub-contractors are directly employed to deliver on your behalf to a site where FORS Silver is required.  This is typically a requirement written into the contract you have with your client and therefore should already be in place.

FORS Gold requirement G9 Contracted services is relevant to all other services employed by you to help run your fleet operation eg maintenance services, parts deliveries, bulk fuel deliveries and tyre services. It is not about services for the site where you are delivering. New contracts of this type of services shall be asked to be Bronze minimum.

At a Gold audit taking place between 14 Jan 2019 and 31 Jan 2019 you need to evidence a plan for implementing a suitable clause in any new contracts being let from the date of your next Gold audit.  By the time the next audit comes rounds you need to show that those clauses are being implemented in new contracts from the date of that audit.

It is recognised that some organisations, for example smaller ones, do not have the ‘buying power’ to influence the terms and conditions applied by suppliers.  Therefore it is sufficient to demonstrate that reasonable endeavours have been taken to implement the contract clause.

It is recognised that some organisations, for example smaller ones, do not have the ‘buying power’ to influence the terms and conditions applied by suppliers.  Therefore it is sufficient to demonstrate that reasonable endeavours have been taken to implement the contract clause.  

Yes, your current Silver/Gold accreditation will be valid until your Silver/Gold expiry date even if your Bronze is passed against version 5.