Systems. Policies. Planning. Records. Training. Monitoring. Six words that don’t necessarily get the pulse racing. But a darn sight better than six alternative words: Penalties. Prohibitions. Investigations. Suspension. Curtailment. Revocation. All of which could come from just six letters: DVSA and TC.

Being legally compliant requires operators to be proactive, up to date with the law and industry best practice, have the right processes in place, and be willing to look inwards and confirm that what they are doing is effective. It also requires suitable records to be kept. It is not enough to say that something is being done, it will be necessary to prove that it is.

Understandably, this can all sound very onerous and daunting. Perhaps rightly so: nobody said that operating commercial vehicles was easy… But it need not be as difficult as it may seem. With the right systems in place, the foundations will have been laid and many activities become a matter of regular routine.

As a starting point, there are six key factors that operators must consider:

1. Systems

How are defects managed? Who should drivers report them to? Who assesses them? Are they suitably knowledgeable to make that assessment? Are drivers permitted to make minor repairs? If so, have they been trained? What about more serious defects? Is someone available with the authority to take vehicles out of service, if required? Who signs off defect reports after repairs? What happens to the defect report…

…so many questions!

And that is just one of many areas that operators have total responsibility for. Maintenance, drivers’ hours and working time rules, tachograph analysis, load safety, driving licences, Driver CPC, staff training, record keeping …

…so many operational issues!

With good systems in place, it is easier for everyone involved to know what to do, who is responsible for what, who to report issues to, what actions to take, when tasks need completing, what documents are required and how they are kept, and so on.

2. Policies

But if nobody knows what the system is, the system won’t work. For example, how to ensure that a driver knows what to do after finding a vehicle defect?

Put it in writing. Issue it to all drivers. Give them time to read it and raise any queries. Once they have received, read and understood the policy, get drivers to sign a declaration that they have received, read and understood the policy.

Whether it was issued as a standalone document or included with other information (i.e. a driver handbook), the system has now been communicated to the drivers expected to implement it, who also have it as a reference guide to use if needed.

Policies must be reviewed regularly to confirm that they continue to be effective, then updated and re-issued where required, so that everyone works to the latest regulations and guidance.

3. Planning

Many operational activities are carried out on ad-hoc basis, but most are to be done within a specific timeframe. Using vehicles as the example, there various scheduled tasks, including safety inspections, LOLER tests, MOTs, VED & insurance renewal and tachograph calibration.

So why did a 6-weekly safety inspection happen 7 weeks after the last one? Why was a vehicle taken out of service because an MOT test wasn’t booked with sufficient time before the current one expired?

Because of planning. Or more precisely, a lack of planning. If there are scheduled tasks, there must be a schedule. The plan must be for a suitable period ahead, be easily understood, be updated as needed, and be available to anyone that needs it, whenever they need it.

It could be the tried and trusted wall planner, or it could be sophisticated computer software. Either way, it’s much cheaper than a vehicle with a job to do, but no MOT…

4. Records

As mentioned, there is a massive difference between saying something has happened and proving it. It is essential that appropriate records are produced and retained. When operators are investigated by DVSA, for whatever reason, documentary evidence of their actions is the cornerstone of a satisfactory response to the questions being asked.

If a vehicle was out of service for a period of time, where is the VOR record? If a driver attends a Driver CPC course to address drivers’ hours infringements, where is the certificate? If driving licences are supposedly checked every 3 months, where are the details of the most recent check and the preceding one which would prove the claim?

Keeping documents properly also means filing them properly. Having logically structured files that keep records in good condition and readily available, means it is possible to say something has happened with the certainty that the paper trail exists to prove it.

5. Training

You may think that of course we would suggest training. We’re a training provider, it’s what we do. But that is one of the many cynical beliefs that persist about training (and believe us, we’ve heard them all), which ignores the benefits it can bring.

Without getting into those negative viewpoints here, lets focus on one of the reasons why they get bandied about: training is often required as a response to a problem, and sometimes this is with the involvement of DVSA and/or Traffic Commissioners.

Our own experience includes countless cases of drivers attending Driver CPC courses as a result of issues found at roadside checks, transport managers having to take a 2-day TM refresher course because of an undertaking to the Traffic Commissioner, and the operator themselves (which may be a sole trader or company directors) being required by the TC to attend an Operator Licence Awareness Training (OLAT) course. The operational issues that led them there may be different, yet the reason is the same: they had to show that they were taking steps to address their own non-compliance.

But why wait? In all three examples, there is a need to take the training anyway. Drivers must attend 35 hours of Driver CPC training every 5 years by law. Transport managers have the expectation that they will regularly undertake a refresher course (on the same 5-yearly basis as drivers) made clear to them by the Senior Traffic Commissioner’s Statutory Guidance and Directions. Operators are similarly required to demonstrate their Continuous Professional Development (CPD) when asked.

So why be reactive? Why wait until there is a problem to address before attending a training course? Why not be proactive? If the training will help to cure a problem, then surely it will help to prevent it in the first place...?

6. Monitoring

Sadly, all of the above can be very rendered meaningless without oversight.

Is it a good system after all? I think so…

But even if it is, is it being carried out properly? I think so…

And everyone knows what they should be doing? I think so…

You have the records that could demonstrate this, if need be? I think so…

You get the idea. Making sure that what is to be done is actually worth doing, is actually being done, has actually been communicated to those that will do it and is actually provable means not thinking that it is, but actually verifying it is.

And this should be just as much a matter of routine as the individual tasks themselves. Reviewing documents such as defect reports, checking the outcome of safety inspections, confirming MOT pass rates, accessing the OCRS rating: just some of the things operators should and could do to satisfy themselves that everything is good. Good processes, good drivers, good operational staff and good maintenance providers inevitably produce good standards and good results – the signs of a good operator.

There are many things a good operator needs to have in place, but without laying those solid foundations it is harder to achieve the right outcomes. DVSA and Traffic Commissioners will inevitably act against those that deserve it, but they are also understanding enough to know that operators will not necessarily get things right all the time. However, there is a very big difference between issues occurring despite an operator’s best efforts to prevent them, or because of a lack of effort in the first place.