The FORS Standard Version 6.0 was published on Tuesday 19 October 2021 and can now be downloaded from the FORS website.
Although Version 6.0 has been published, it will not be implemented until Friday 1 July 2022 to give the industry sufficient time to plan for its implementation. This means that if you have an audit date up to Thursday 30 June 2022 then you must meet the requirements in the current FORS Standard, Version 5.1. If you have an audit date from Friday 1 July 2022 onwards, then you must meet the requirements in Version 6.0. However, there are a small number of transitional provisions to support the transition between Version 5.1 and Version 6.0 – you can find details of these at Annex 7 of the Version 6.0 document (page 102).
The FORS Standard contains a Summary of Changes (Annex 6) which highlights the changes between the new Standard Version 6.0 and the current Version 5.1. Whilst there are no changes to the mandatory driver and manager training requirements listed at Annexes 1 and 2 respectively, there are a number of changes to the demonstration at ‘S5 Professional Development’:
| S5 Professional development – demonstration changes |
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| Version 5.1 | Version 6 | Change |
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FORS operators shall maintain and implement Professional Development Plans (PDPs) that identify and document progressive FORS Professional Development for drivers and all other staff involved in the fleet operation. The PDP should include progressive FORS Professional Development for drivers and all other staff relevant to their roles and responsibilities. |
FORS operators shall maintain and implement PDPs that identify and document progressive FORS Professional Development relevant to the specific roles and responsibilities of drivers, the responsible person and all other staff involved in the fleet operation. |
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| The amount of Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) training to be completed by drivers every five years should be seen by responsible persons and other staff involved in the fleet operation as a guide for their own professional development |
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| To introduce new talent into the profession, fleet operations should make an effort to include driver licence acquisition training, according to their means, within their FORS Professional Development |
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Accompanying the publication is a series of webinars to introduce Version 6.0. To book your place onto one of the remaining webinars, click on the relevant dates: