Didar Transport Ltd is a two-tipper vehicle business, which transports and distributes asphalt and aggregate materials. They were first established in 2016 and have recently joined the FORS scheme. Since joining FORS and implementing the practices and procedures recommended by the scheme, Didar Transport Ltd has seen a great improvement in their fleets KMPL. Managing director of Didar Transport Ltd, Sukhdeep Kang, explains how FORS has been beneficial to their company.
We first heard about FORS through a fellow haulier who explained to us how FORS has helped them become more fuel efficient. After learning of the benefits from joining the FORS scheme, we decided to conduct further research on the scheme before committing to it completely. On the FORS website, we saw a range of case studies from companies similar to ours, praising the scheme and also informing us of how the scheme had made their business more fuel efficient. This showed us that FORS’ is a credible company, and we were convinced we should join the scheme.
Achieving our first bronze accreditation with FORS was easy to do, thanks to the support and guidance provided by FORS. Once we began implementing the procedures necessary for achieving a bronze accreditation, we could instantly see our business improving and working more efficiently. This encouraged us to aim for a silver accreditation, as we felt implementing both the silver and bronze procedures would only further improve our business.
Once we were officially a FORS accredited company, we took full advantage of the toolkits available on the FORS website. One toolkit we found particularly informative was the congestion toolkit. This toolkit informed us of how to avoid long journeys by planning particular routes, taking into account road works or other special events. By doing this, it has also helped us save on fuel.
‘FORS has a wide range of toolkits which are very informative and easy to comprehend.’ – Sukhdeep Kang
One of the main improvements our fleet has seen has been in our KMPL. FORS has helped us to become more fuel efficient and reduce our emission output. One way they helped us by improving on our KMPL was providing us with the fuel tracker. The fuel tracker helped us monitor each vehicles fuel usage, distance travelled and emissions output. Having all of this data recorded in one place helped us see where we had made improvements, or whether we needed to make further improvements.
‘Our fleet’s KMPL has significantly improved since joining the FORS scheme.’ – Sukhdeep Kang
We decided to progress from a bronze accreditation to a silver accreditation after seeing and feeling the improvements the FORS practices made within the business. Once we achieved our silver accreditation, we were working more efficiently in comparison to when we were working towards only a bronze accreditation. This then showed us that aiming for a gold accreditation would only further improve our business as we would be working using bronze, silver and gold practices.
In the last three quarters, we have increased our KMPL by 37.17% thanks to FORS.
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KMPL | Incidents per 100,000 Kms | Number of PCNs |
| Sept – Nov 17 | 2.69 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 17 – Feb 18 | 3.69 | 0 | 0 |
| Percentage improvement | 37.17% | 0% | 0% |
At Didar Transport Ltd, we ensure our driver’s health is suitable for tipper vehicle driving, by requesting new recruits to fill out a health questionnaire. In this questionnaire they must declare that they are fit to work. If there is a health concern stated in the questionnaire that we are unsure of, we will then refer them to a GP for further consultation. Furthermore, we also ask of our drivers to carry out eye checks every six months to ensure their eye health is suitable for driving.
When recruiting at Didar Transport Ltd, we welcome tipper drivers with no previous experience by offering a two week buddy plan. This plan involves a new driver being shadowed by one of our current experienced drivers. Our driver will guide and support them for a period of two weeks. By the end of the two weeks, the new driver will be assessed to see if they can begin driving independently.
The vehicles used to carry out our work produce a lot of noise pollution. In order to reduce our noise pollution levels, we have begun implementing the anti-idling method, recommended by FORS. This method is used when our drivers vehicle is idle for too long, which is when they turn off their engine. Using this method reduces noise pollution and also helps us save on fuel.
The asphalt and aggregate materials we transport for our contractor requires a heated environment. Therefore our vehicles require an insulated body. Furthermore, our materials must be easily deposited and require a body suitable for that action. Currently, the most environmentally friendly vehicle fit for our mode of work is a tipper vehicle with a euro 6 engine.
At Didar Transport Ltd, we plan to keep informed and up to date with any improvements or changed made in the tipper vehicle industry, to see when we can implement an alternative vehicle into our business that is more environmentally beneficial. Moreover, we also plan to encourage our drivers to complete regular driver training to ensure their driving knowledge and skills are up to standard.
By having Didar Transport Ltd become a gold accredited business, it would reassure us that we are working using the best practices and doing so successfully. FORS has made our fleet more fuel efficient and improve on our overall KMPL. We wish to keep working with FORS as we believe they will help us to continue improving as a business
Please note: All published FORS Gold case studies have been submitted by the accredited company named above and transcribed verbatim.