Section 1 – Introduction

Economic Skips Ltd is based in Deptford, South East London and we are a waste management operation. Chris Guinnelly, Fleet Manager, explains how Economic Skips Ltd has achieved significant improvements through FORS over the last three years, MPG increased by 9%, incidents reduced by 65%, CO2 reduced by 31%, NOx & PM by 30% & PCN by 15%.

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 when tendering for several projects in 2013. We realised it would help us to achieve best practice and benefit us by utilising the classroom and online training offered to help improve road safety for vulnerable road users.

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

Economic Skips Ltd passed their initial audit first time round and the same at all subsequent Bronze audits we passed at the first attempt. This showed us that all the hard work and effort put into preparing for the Bronze audits paid off and from here we were encouraged to progress on our FORS journey.

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 because we wanted to demonstrate to our customers, suppliers and the general public we are highly committed business. However, our ultimate target was the coveted Gold accreditation to show continued commitment regarding road safety and the environment.

Once we were FORS accredited, we focused on staff training, monitoring fuel & emissions, PCN’s, road safety and having our own FORS Practitioner benefited our operation as we now had the tools to streamline the company. We have seen improvements overall MPG, CO2, NOx, PM and the number of incidents. We also seen improvements in PCN’s issued during 2019/2020, unfortunately we seen an increase during 2020/2021.

FORS has been invaluable helping us improve all aspects of our business – Chris Guinnelly Fleet Manager.

FORS has transformed the way we look and operate – Michael Farrell Director.

Section 6 – What improvements have you made?

These shall include:

• Performance data – We have made improvements in our MPG, incidents and our carbon footprint. However PCN numbers increased during 2020 & 2021

	MPG	Incidents per 100,000 Kms	CO2	NOx	PM10	Number of PCNs	Proportion of fleet that uses alternative fuels
Year 2018/19	7.08	23	709.48	1068.68	16.46	13	0%
Year 2019/20	6.70	9	513.08	786.05	11.87	8	0%
Year 2020/21	6.43	8	492.31	755.01	11.47	11	0%
Percentage improvement	9%	65%	31%	30%	30%	15%	0%

• Driver health and fitness review – We continuously monitor the health & fitness of our drivers, all drivers must complete a health declaration prior to employment and thereafter annually. We encourage our drivers to enjoy a healthy lifestyle providing them with the knowledge to achieve this actively encourage them to inform us of any issues that may affect their health, fitness and mental wellbeing.
• Recruitment of drivers – We have a very loyal core of drivers, the longest serving driver has been with us for over 32 years and our newest additions to the driver team have been with us for over 7 years. Should we need to recruit drivers we speak to our drivers to see if they can refer potential recruits. If not, we have registered with a number of agencies that specialise in recruiting drivers including those from the armed forces.
• Noise assessment – We introduced a policy for reducing work related noise along with workplace noise risk assessment to reduce the impact caused by our materials recycling facility and operating centre. All vehicles have been fitted with manual cut out switches for the audible left turn speakers and reversing alerts should they need to be used in noise sensitive situations or areas. Some of the contracts we service are in noise sensitive areas and we always ask them for information regarding any restrictions regarding deliveries/collections, are there any hospitals, schools, religious centres or residential building local to the contract. This information is passed onto the drivers and we always try to keep the same drivers on the contract as they will become familiar with the customers needs.
• Modal shift and alternative vehicles – All our vehicles are complaint with the London ULEZ requirements, we have looked at alternative fuelled vehicles with our suppliers but our research indicates nothing is suitable for our requirements at present. To reduce our carbon footprint deliveries/collections are planned to minimise empty running of vehicles, fuel usage is constantly monitored to increase MPG and reduce our fuel costs. Staff are encouraged to use alternative means of transport for their daily work commute.

 Section 7 – What are your plans for the future?

All our vehicles are compliant with the London ULEZ and we have purchased three vehicles with Direct Vision Cabs. This demonstrates to our customers, employees and public our commitment to the safety of vulnerable road users and the environment. We are always on the lookout for new technology to improve our transport and business model.

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

We actively promote FORS by displaying the logo on all our vehicles, emails and documentation. Since joining FORS in 2013 we have promoted FORS to companies where we have helped them achieve the Bronze & Silver accreditations and we are hoping to help those with Silver to progress to Gold.

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

As mentioned in previous case studies, retaining our FORS Gold accreditation demonstrates our commitment to road safety, the haulage & waste management industries, vulnerable road users, customers, the general public, the FORS scheme and retaining Gold for the sixth year reinforces this.

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

Please view our website on https://www.economicskips.com and contact us at https://www.economicskips.com/contact-us/.

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