Summary of changes – Version 7

Below you can find a summary of changes for Version 7 of the FORS Standard.

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Version 7.0 requirement

Summary of change between version 6.0 and version 7
M1 FORS documentation

Removal of the requirement for FORS documentation reviews to be recorded in the minutes of senior management meetings

Removal of the approver name from the version control method

M2 Records No change
M3 Responsible person No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency

 

 

M4

Staff resources

Checks shall include requiring drivers to make a declaration of collisions that occur while working.

Clarification that recruitment and selection procedure should be proportionate to, and mitigate the risks associated with, the vehicle types to be driven or operated

FORS operators should document the organisational structure at operational team level where naming each individual is not practicable

M5 Communication Rewording of the driver’s declaration requirement to clarify that it is an annual declaration and for consistency throughout the Standard

 

M6

Vehicle fleet

FORS operator should manage the transition to lower environmental impact vehicles. This should include conducting a fleet review.

FORS operators should use this information to create a fleet replacement plan

FORS operators may use the fleet replacement plan template to help evidence this requirement

M7 Regulatory licensing No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
M8  Health and safety No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
M9  Complaints  No change
M10  Transport infringements No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
M11 Transport updates No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
V1 Serviceability and roadworthiness

A supporting procedure shall be in place to ensure that checks are completed on safety recalls

Inspections and maintenance shall align with the operator licence and meet requirements of the DVSA Guide to maintaining roadworthiness

The person undertaking safety inspections shall be technically competent and operationally aware of safety standards

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

V2 Daily walkaround checks No material change; minor wording change that the walkaround check shall also cover the load and any load restraint systems
V3  Insurance No material change; removal of reference to Professional indemnity insurance
V4  Vehicle tax No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
V5.1 Load safetyfor HGV No material change; updates to the bullet points under safe loading and load restraint policy
V5.2 Load safety for PCV No change
V5.3 Load safety for Vans

Updates to the bullet points under safe loading and load restraint policy

If the overall vehicle height is 9 feet 10 inches (three metres) or above, a height indicator shall be displayed in the cab showing the overall height of the vehicle and load in feet and inches.

V5.4  Load safety for Cars  No change
V5.5  Load safety for PLV

No material change; wording changes throughout the requirement to reflect the change from P2W to PLV

Load documentation may include delivery notes, risk assessments or method statements

V6 Vehicle safety equipment No material change; minor wording change for clarity and consistency
V7   Tyre management The tyre management policy shall meet the requirements of the tyre management system as outlined in the DVSA Guide to maintaining roadworthiness
D1 Licensing

Driver licence checks shall be conducted every three months. This frequency shall be increased for higher risk drivers, for example monthly checks for drivers with 6 or more penalty points

Removal of reference to at no-cost service for licence checking service for drivers who are not licensed in Great Britain

Rewording of the driver’s declaration for consistency throughout the Standard

D2 Driving standards

Rewording of the driver’s declaration requirement to clarify that it is an annual declaration and for consistency throughout the Standard

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

D3 Staff inductions No change
D4 Professional development

All required eLearning for drivers shall be completed as part of staff induction

Removal of reference to the 10 per cent tolerance and therefore any tolerance in the number of drivers that haven’t undertaken FORS Professional Development shall be fully justified at audit

An addition of FORS Approved safety eLearning module to Annex 1 to meet the mandatory FORS Professional Development requirements for drivers

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

D5 In-vehicle communication No change
D6 Health and eyesight

Rewording of the driver’s declaration requirement to clarify that it is an annual declaration and for consistency throughout the Standard

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

D7 Working time and drivers’ hours

Additions of the frequency of downloading vehicle unit and driver card data and identifying and dealing with missing mileage and unknown event reports shall be included in the procedure for obtaining, processing and analysing the relevant drivers’ hours record and vehicle unit data

Removal of the requirement for recording method and the supply of logbooks, print rolls or charts within the procedure

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

O1 Routing No change

 

O2

Emissions, air quality, and environmental impact

Requirement title change to include environmental impact

Additions of diesel to AdBlue ratio, engine-idling elimination in accordance with relevant regulations and conducting basic due diligence to ensure that any low carbon fuels used are reputably sourced (such as through an assurance scheme) shall be included in the policy and procedures outlining the organisation’s commitment to environmental performance

FORS operators should calculate well-to-wheel fleet emissions annually, making use of the FORS Emissions Calculator or a FORS Approved alternative

O3 Road traffic collisions No change
O4 Passenger safety Where vehicles are accessible to disabled people, the driver of the vehicle shall be familiar and competent with any operated equipment.
O5 Specialist operations

Rewording of the requirement to clarify that the non-hazardous waste operations requirements apply to upper-tier waste license holders only and longer semi-trailers added to list of example specialist operations

For Longer Semi Trailers (LST), a procedure shall be in place, and formal notification to operate LSTs shall be evidenced.

O6 Security and counter-terrorism Merges the previous requirements of O6 and O7 into one requirement, no material change.
S1 FORS Bronze No change
S2 Performance data

Rewording of the requirement to reflect development of FORS Emissions Calculator

Fleet well-to-wheel emissions data (GHG, NOx, and Particulate Matter) shall be calculated and reported using the FORS Emissions Calculator or a FORS Approved alternative

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

S3 Environmental impact New requirement – S3 Fuel, emissions and air quality requirement has been removed and replaced by S3 Environmental impact
S4 Road risk Evidence of insurance reviews changed to a declaration that a review with the insurance provider has been conducted within the last 12 months
S5 Professional development

Removal of reference to the 10 per cent tolerance and therefore any tolerance in the number of drivers that haven’t undertaken FORS Professional Development shall be fully justified at audit

Annex 1 for drivers has been updated with FORS Professional Safe Urban Driving (SUD) and Van Smart (VS) training courses have been replaced with Safe Driving training course, and an addition of FORS Approved environmental awareness training programme or eLearning module to meet the mandatory FORS Professional Development requirements for drivers

Annex 2 for managers has been updated with FORS Practitioner module FP16 Introduction to decarbonisation mandatory training requirement added for Fuel and Emissions Champion and FORS Practitioner module FP15 Road traffic collision investigation optional training requirement added for Road Risk Champion 

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

S6 Vehicle safety equipment

Rewording and additions that encourage evolving best-practice, but with limited additional requirements

For articulated vehicles, sensors shall be suitably positioned on the tractor unit to provide sufficient coverage but preventing activation solely on articulation of the trailer

Vehicles of Direct Vision Standard Three-star or above, or with equivalent Progressive Safe System through the London HGV Permit Scheme are considered to meet S6 blind spot vision aids requirements

FORS operators shall show consideration for the tolerance of cameras in older vehicles in their fleet replacement plans

S7 Noise pollution No change
S8 Internal communications No change
S9 Sub-contracted services No change
S10 Fleet transition New requirement
G1 FORS Silver No change
G2 Recruitment and retention No change
G3 Decarbonisation strategy

New requirement

G3 Sustainable operations requirement has been removed and replaced by G3 Decarbonisation strategy

G4 Staff travel No change
G5 Professional development

Removal of reference to the 10 per cent tolerance and therefore any tolerance in the number drivers that haven’t undertaken FORS Professional Development shall be fully justified at audit

Other minor wording changes for clarity and consistency only

G6 Contracted services No change
G7 Managing fleet transition New requirement
G8 Environmental impact engagement New requirement