West Coast Haulage Limited is based at Hengoed in South Wales and was established 24 years ago with just six eight-wheel tippers. With much diligence and determination an enviable reputation has been built within the muck-shifting sector by becoming an exemplar operator by using the FORS Standard as it’s roadmap and by operating an ultra-modern fleet driven by highly trained professional drivers. Managing Director; David Sexton, explains how the FORS standard has assisted the company by encouraging a positive culture of safety, compliance, environmental awareness and efficiency.

The company initially heard about the FORS standard following discussions with clients and industry contacts. The company felt it important to raise its standards and that of the sector further and then set about aligning its policies and procedures with those of the standard. West Coast Haulage Limited have been FORS members for the past five years and has evolved with the standard in that time.

West Coast Haulage Limited passed the Bronze audit at the first attempt, the measures required were developed and refined and with additional FORS guidance West Coast Haulage Limited was able to develop and enhance systems and strategies for the future and also reinforce the existing culture of compliance and safety which are core values of the company.

Once West Coast Haulage Limited achieved the Bronze standard, the company then took advantage of the various FORS toolkits, training and other resources including PCN management and SUD training. The company then set its sights even higher by achieving and maintaining Silver and ultimately the Gold standard.

The company has taken an evolutionary approach to its fleet renewal programme, this has resulted in tangible reductions in carbon, NOX and particulate outputs. Using the FORS standard to assist the company in its procurement processes the company embarked upon a radical fleet renewal scheme to facilitate this. FORS has enabled the company to reduce fuel consumption by a considerable margin. There has been a further reduction in collision frequency to zero, thanks to the FORS SUD and Work-Related Road Risk courses, the company has also seen the elimination of PCN’s issued largely as a result of improved driver training and emphasis on these specific areas.

West Coast Haulage Limited Managing Director, David Sexton states; ‘The FORS Gold accreditation demonstrates to our clients that we take our responsibilities seriously, especially those relating to safety and the environment. This gives our customers confidence that our operations are safe, environmentally sensitive and compliant, sharing the same values as them. This is also a demonstrable facilitator to winning work’.

West Coast Haulage Limited Managing Director; David Sexton, explains; ‘Maintaining the momentum of our FORS journey through our renewal of the Gold renewals shows our continued dedication to continual improvement across the full gambit of operations.

• Performance data –

• West Coast Haulage Limited and customers on site undertake regular Safety Critical Medicals with drivers in order to identify any medical, wellbeing or dependency issues which may jeopardise road safety, these employee encounters are also used to promote general health and wellbeing. If a driver is found to have a safety critical medical condition then they are referred to their GP and prevented from working until the issue is under
• West Coast Haulage Limited has engaged in a wide range of local projects to promote the aggregates sector and the industry at large ranging from attending local events, schools and colleges to job fairs with the clear aim of appealing to a broader demographic, these have been hindered however over the past year due to the covid-19
• The company has undertaken noise assessments at the Hengoed operating centre and noise levels were found to be well within permissible limits on every occasion. In addition, the operating centre is away from domestic dwellings, schools, hospitals and retail establishments. All vehicles are the latest state of the art Scania tippers which are fitted with noise abatement
• Due to the arduous nature of our operations, modal shift would be impractical, the company does however assess different modes with clients at each site to determine practicality on a case-by-case basis

As part of the fleet renewal programme, vulnerable road users are actively considered at all times during the specification process by adding technologies such as 360-degree cameras, side scan and nearside proximity warning systems. The company has evaluated the new Scania low entry cab demonstrator with a view to improving vulnerable road user safety whilst reducing the risk of falls from height for drivers and is considering the adaptations required for off-road use. The company has recently taken delivery of an additional batch of state-of-the-art Scania tippers. West Coast Haulage Limited encourages others to take advantage of the benefits that FORS can bring not only to suppliers to the aggregates, muck shifting and road refurbishment industry, but to all road users.

Ordinarily the company would be extremely active in the community, particularly in the summer months where there would be engagement with schools, colleges and regional events with press releases of these events whereby the sector and FORS would be promoted. Plans over the past year were largely cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is imperative that West Coast Haulage Limited maintains momentum by consistently raising the bar higher each year by maintaining and exceeding and promoting the FORS Gold Standard with a common, collective goal across all aspects of our operation.

http://www.westcoasthaulage.co.uk/

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