After 12 months of transition and preparing for transformation, the UK’s leading fleet accreditation scheme, Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is ready to deliver tangible change on the ground for its accredited operators in 2023.
The scheme’s flagship project ‘Future of Accreditation’ will explore how to remove unnecessary complexity and create transparency in audit and quality assurance processes, hence creating a quality customer experience. FORS will be more accessible, have simpler routes to accreditation and will be easier to understand. The project also aims to provide regulatory and enforcement agencies with more confidence in the FORS Standard and its auditing process.
Changes are also afoot in the FORS Professional training portfolio, arguably the industry’s most comprehensive training resource for drivers and fleet managers. In 2022 alone, FORS funded 105 driver training courses and trained 1,637 drivers. To date, 3,277 individuals have ‘graduated’ from the FORS Practitioner programme.
Courses for managers have been fully redesigned for 2023, delivering up-to-date content in line with the latest industry legislation. The FORS Practitioner programme – a distinct set of ten training modules aimed at fleet management – has received a technical and creative makeover, and the addition of new modules and requirements will see the programme become more flexible and accessible later this year.
FORS has also recently responded to the emergence of alternative accreditation schemes. The response follows TfL’s disclosure that it will recognise alternative schemes as ‘equivalent’ to FORS for transport operators pursuing compliance with TfL’s Work-Related Road Risk contractual requirement. FORS is keen to point out that any move to raise safety, efficiency and environmental standards on our roads is supported. However, analysis of the relative size and scope of currently available schemes reveals that FORS offers a more substantial offering; the first choice for operators looking to boost efficiency and nurture a safety mindset.
With more than 15 years of experience as the UK’s leading fleet accreditation scheme, FORS today serves circa 4,700 accredited operators (representing circa 94,000 vehicles) each benefitting from the FORS best practice mandate to improve safety, increase efficiency and foster an environmentally conscious mindset.
FORS also draws upon the knowledge and experience of an alliance of influential and independent industry stakeholders who administer the scheme through the FORS Governance and Standards Advisory Group (GSAG). And, unlike the vast majority of other schemes, FORS has national and international reach, which has built a dynamic FORS Community comprising the full spectrum of the transport sector.
The result is the most attractive proposition for operators looking to become accountable through best practice and to secure new business wins with contractors and other specifiers who demand excellence in fleet operations as a prerequisite.
With respect to alternative schemes, FORS is keen for operators to look at the marketplace before signing up. FORS offers a unique proposition for operators, comprising discounted industry-leading training, robust quality and assurance measures, and a range of free useful resources all under one roof. This substantial range of training, guidance and support services demonstrates FORS has a strong claim to be the industry’s principal fleet accreditation scheme.
For more information on FORS Professional training, visit www.fors-online.org.uk
