Dhindsa Haulage is a sub-contractor that transports aggregate and tarmac materials for Aggregate and Tarmac Industries, which was established in 2006. Since joining FORS, Dhindsa Haulage has seen improvements in the fleets KMPL and have also seen a reduction in carbon emissions since implementing the FORS practices. Dhanwant Dhindse and Gurwant Dhindse, partners of Dhindsa Haulage explain how FORS has been beneficial to their company.
We came across FORS when researching ways in which we can reduce our fleets fuel usage and emission output. On the FORS website we saw the wide range of toolkits that they have to offer, many of which targeting the fuel usage and emission output aspects of the business which we wish to improve on.
We achieved our initial FORS Bronze accreditation first time round which showed us that implementing the FORS practices made our fleet run more smoothly. This then encouraged us to continue to make use of the FORS toolkits and driver training e-Learning facilities.
To continue, after achieving the FORS Bronze accreditation, we were also encouraged to aim for the FORS Silver accreditation after seeing the overall improvement in the business from implementing FORS techniques to achieve our initial Bronze accreditation. One of the benefits we really made use of from FORS was the e-Learning resources which proved to be very useful in expanding our driver’s knowledge and skill set.
‘Becoming FORS accredited has encouraged our drivers to continue with driver training after seeing the impact of their expanded road knowledge had on their driving.’ – Gurwant Dhindse
Moreover, we really took advantage of the FORS toolkits in particular, the Eco-Driving report which informed us of different methods and techniques which we could implement into our fleet in order to improve on fuel efficiency and be more environmentally friendly. After using the methods from this report we have seen an improvement in our fleet’s fuel efficiency levels.
‘Our fleet is now more fuel efficient after implementing the FORS practices.’ – Dhanwant Dhindse
After seeing the benefits of becoming both FORS Bronze and Silver accredited we are now encouraged to try and achieve a Gold accreditation which we believe would further help our company be more credible to clients and the public and ensure them we are performing to the best of our ability.
In the last two quarters, we have increased our KMPL by 2.49% thanks to FORS.
|
KMPL | Incidents per 100,000 Kms | Number of PCNs |
Jul – Sept 17 | 2.81 | 1 | 0 |
Oct – Dec 17 | 2.88 | 0 | 0 |
Percentage improvement | 2.49% | 100% | 0% |
At Dhindsa Haulage, we request for our employees to complete our health questionnaire to inform us that they are fit to work. If there is a possibility that they are not suitable for this mode of work we will refer them to the GP. Furthermore, we also ask that our employees get regular eye checks in order to ensure their eye health is at its peak as poor eyesight is a major road risk.
When recruiting at Dhindsa Haulage we offer new recruits a two-week buddy plan to help ease them into their new work environment safely and comfortably. This plan consists of a new driver being shadowed by a more experienced driver and following them on their daily duties. Using this method to recruit new drivers opens the doors for inexperienced tipper drivers to join the industry.
Since joining FORS, our fleet’s noise pollution has decreased significantly with the help of the FORS toolkits such as the anti-idling toolkit and the Quiet equipment guide. The anti-idling toolkit informed drivers of when to turn off their engine when idle for too long and the Quiet equipment guide informed us of equipment we could use with our vehicles to reduce noise pollution.
Our aggregate and tarmac materials must be kept at high temperatures and within an insulated body. Therefore our vehicles require a PTO system. Currently there are no alternate vehicles suited for our mode of work that would be more beneficial to the environment. However we plan to keep up to date with any possible improvements made in the tipper vehicle industry.
In order for our fleet to continue to improve we will encourage our drivers to regularly complete FORS e-Learning modules as these are of easy access and are very informative and beneficial when expanding on driver road knowledge.
Being FORS Gold accredited would reassure our drivers that they are carrying out their work using the best possible practices and encourage them to continue expanding on their driver knowledge. Furthermore, being FORS Gold accredited would help bring in more clients as the accreditation would show that we are a reliable fleet that is performing to the best of our ability!
Please note: All published FORS Gold case studies have been submitted by the accredited company named above and transcribed verbatim.