Section 1 – Introduction

RK Air is based at Heathrow, London and completes the project management, planning, installation, testing and commissioning of pipework systems including fire mains, potable water mains, heating and hot water systems and all associated civil engineering. Luke Dunster, Quality Assurance Manager, explains how RK Air Limited has achieved improvements through FORS including reductions in fuel use / reduced CO₂ emissions, lowered NOx and Particulate Matter emissions and retaining a good road safety record.

Section 2 – How did you hear about FORS, what prompted the company to join and how long have you been a member?

We came across FORS as it was stipulated as a requirement for several of our clients and necessary to utilise the Colnbrook Logistics Centre at Heathrow. We realised it would help us to achieve best practice and benefit us by putting in place systems to improve road safety and improve fuel consumption.

Section 3 – What was your experience of the initial FORS Bronze audit?

RK Air Limited passed their initial audit first time round, however the auditor informed us of many improvements that we could still make. This encouraged us to continually improve out transport management system and really drive best practice within the organisation.

Section 4 – What was your main reason(s) for you progressing (either from Bronze to Silver and then Silver to Gold or straight from Bronze to Gold)?

Once we were Bronze we decided that we should progress to Silver and Gold because it allowed us to become part of the supply chain for more prospective clients, in addition to further driving best practice.

Once accredited, we really made the most of the benefits on offer, in particular the FORS Fleet Management System (FORS FMS) helped us to improve our overall standards and we have implemented a number of best practice safety initiatives, such as mobile app vehicle checking and monitoring.

“FORS has really helped to drive the standards of our fleet operation at RK Air. We have seen an increase in engagement of our drivers, which has helped keep our accident frequency low and maintain our vehicles to a high, safe standard”. – Syrja Perzhilla, Transport Manager.

“The management systems implemented because of FORS have really helped me in my job in managing the fleet and drivers efficiently and safely.” – Klaudia Smetaniuk – Transport Administrator.

Section 6 – What improvements have you made?

	MPG	Incidents per 100,000 Kms	CO2	NOx	PM10	Number of PCNs	Proportion of fleet that uses alternative fuels
Year 1 (2018)	27.01	0.42	103.68	481.22	8.11	2	0%
Year 2 (2019)	28.58	0.99	82.86	407.01	6.86	2	0%
Percentage improvement	5.64%	-80.8%	22.32%	16.7%	16.7%	0%	0%

We are now working on initiatives to reduce our fleet size and consequently – emissions.

• Driver health and fitness review – RK Air completes annual driver health and fitness reviews. If any underlying issues are identified or brought to our attention, then the driver is supported with these on a case by case basis. This can include additional guidance to the driver and limiting the amount they drive, to improve the safety of themselves and other road users.
• Recruitment of drivers – Fairness and equality are the principals that underpin RK Air’s recruitment policy. RK Air also engages in the local community, with our STEM ambassadors attending events set up at Heathrow and our involvement in the Heathrow Skills Academy. RK Air also has sponsored young people through university, an initiative which aims to bring younger people into the mechanical and civil engineering sector.
• Noise assessment – RK Air is exploring a number of noise reducing measures, to reduce the noise pollution generated by our fleet. These include quieter tyres and reversing alarms, dampening mats for the rear of tippers and vans and impact mats for offloading deliveries.
• Modal shift and alternative vehicles – RK Air are in the process of procuring electric vehicles as part of our initiative to champion a greener fleet.

Section 7 – What are your plans for the future?

In order to make continual fleet improvements we will be introducing electric vehicles into our fleet as this will help our company to drive down our operating costs, and to improve our overall impact to air quality and the environment.

Section 8 – What evidence do you have of positively promoting FORS at requirement G7?

We have positively promoted FORS by recommending FORS as a method for achieving transport best practice to our supply chain. We also display the FORS logo on our fleet at all times.

Section 9 –What FORS Gold accredition means for your organisation/to you?

In summary, in working towards FORS Gold accreditation RK Air has improved our overall standards, in particular the maintenance standards for our fleet, the incident frequency and safety of our drivers and assisted us in reducing our fuel consumption.

Section 10 – (Optional) Please provide your social media contact details so we can follow your organisation

Please follow RK Air on Linkedin at:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/rk-air/?viewAsMember=true

Section 11 – FORS members’ feedback questionnaire

Please could you take the time to complete a short questionnaire and provide feedback about FORS. Please note all answers you provide will be strictly confidential and will only be used by FORS to help us to improve the scheme. To access the survey, please click the link here: https://www.snapsurveys.com/wh/s.asp?k=153908006313

 

*Please note: All published FORS Gold case studies have been submitted by the accredited company named above and transcribed verbatim