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.
The safety eLearning modules from 14 January 2019 are: Cycle Safety, Van Smart, Smart Driving and Bridge Smart (due to launch soon). These are valid for 12 months and must be renewed every year. After 14 January 2019, Security and Counter Terrorism will no longer be part of the suite of safety eLearning modules. It has become a separate mandatory eLearning module under Bronze D4 and must be undertaken within the past 24 months.
Yes it will count against the new mandatory training requirements for Security and Counter Terrorism as set out in Annex 1 of the FORS Standard. It is now valid for 24 months from the original date undertaken. Therefore the validity will be extended on your training records from 12 months to 24 months.
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
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- 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.
There are a number of options available to meet this requirement:
- Transport Manager Certificate of Professional Competence or
- FORS Professional Fleet Management Essentials (there are two courses; one for HGVs and PCVs and one for cars and vans) or
- FORS Approved Training course on fleet management
If you are not a licence holder, you can attend Car and Van Fleet Management Essentials. Alternatively working towards FORS Practitioner meets this requirement. Any two workshops from Practitioner workshops 1/2/3/4/5/6 will meet this training objective. If you already hold FORS Practitioner qualification, then you already meet this requirement.
If you are a licence holder, you can meet this requirement by attending HGV and PCV Fleet Management Essentials. Alternatively, you can meet this requirement by undertaking FORS Approved training on fleet management (option 3). There are two routes available:
- Attend a course that has automatic approval such as operator licence awareness courses delivered by professional bodies(*) that are referenced in the Senior Traffic Commissioner Statutory Documents 1 and 3; or
- Attend a FORS Approved fleet management course
(*) These professional bodies are: British Association of Removers, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Confederation of Passenger Transport, Freight Transport Association, Institute of Road Transport Engineers, Institute of Transport Administrators, Road Haulage Association and Society of Operations Engineers
Please click here to review the FORS Approved training document which includes information on automatic and assessed approval, and details of how to apply if you have a course that you would like to be considered for FORS approval.
This training must be undertaken every five years. However, please note that there is a transitional provision for this training requirement – please check Annex 6 of the FORS Standard for details.