FORS – Gold Standard Award

Immediate Transport were introduced to FORS some years ago through a construction sector client and we have since achieved FORS Gold. The company has focused on sustainable logistics and compliance, including driver welfare and environmental impacts. Our Fleet Director and Transport Manager have used FORS resources and training to enhance the business and develop the next generation of transport managers. Since initially achieving Gold in 2018, we integrated our ISO, security, sustainability, and health & safety programs to progress with ongoing compliance during recent challenging times. We have seen improvements in MPG by monitoring fuel use, mileage, FPN’s and general fleet movements and we have committed to introducing an alternative fuel review model. As the years have rolled on we have progressed, achieving FORS Gold, enhancing our business strategy with a firm focus on sustainable logistics not merely transportation.

Our transport team have taken on additional responsibility to include driver welfare & fitness, environmental impacts & the dreaded   PCNs & FPNs which historically were rather considered a cost of doing business.

Our Fleet Director Stephen Mantel has interacted with major clients using our compliance platform to meet customer needs both commercially & ethically whilst having the formal recognition that Immediate Transportation are a professional fleet operator who provide a good service level to stakeholders in out part of the supply chain.

Jade Warne of CIT International agrees, ‘we have worked with Immediate for many years, they offer a great service to us. Immediate are a professional company, the staff go the extra mile to ensure the job always gets done’.

We integrated our ISO, Security, Sustainability, Health & Safety programs to embark upon our progression to Gold first achieved in 2018 using this as a platform for ongoing compliance over the challenging period of trading that lay ahead during Brexit & Covid.

Mark Twomey, Transport Manager, decided to embrace FORS utilising all available resources & training materials, becoming our FORS Practitioner & Champion. In looking to develop the next generation of transport managers Mark & Steve have sponsored a former trainee, Adam Maltman, to work towards his CPC & FORS Practitioner status.

Adam, ‘Working within a FORS Gold environment my role has been varied & I have gradually taken on more responsibility form arranging toolbox talks to driver training. I cant wait to get stuck into my CPC training’.

The last 2 years have been extremely challenging for the industry but our ongoing monitoring of fuel use, mileage, FPNs and general fleet utilization means we continue to learn & ask more questions, who, why, what, when & where becoming common vocabulary resulting in fewer unnecessary journeys, increased MPG and the introduction of an alternative fuel review model.

Our Chairman, Reg Mantel has seen many changes to the industry over his fifty years & considers that ‘any improvement is a good thing demonstrating to our clients that we are serious about what we do’. He added that transport is & always has been a tough industrial sector and supporting our trading partners though these difficult times is more important than ever.

Jamie Harvey, Director of Clarity said ‘as a start up business Immediate welcomed us as a partner helping us with solutions always with the knowledge & assurance of their FORS status demonstrating their commitment to us, staff and customers’..

Since our initial Gold progression on 2018 we have seen many, challenges, changes and improvements:

• Replacement HGVs have increased our MPG: by 15%, reducing our costs, fuel usage, CO2, NO2 & PM at the same time
• New Fleet (use of ad blue/start stop technology)
• Updated Telematics & Software
• Reduction in moving violations in our HGV fleet from 16 in our first year, 11 in the subsequent period & a low of 8 in our last trading period

We have made many improvements to date & the Directors have committed to look beyond diesel as part of the pursuit to net zero phasing out our last Euro V vehicle, undertaking alternative fuel & vehicle trials over the next 5 years with a view to including our first alternative vehicle for the logistics team in the near future.

Following our lifecycle review in 2020 the Directors decided that the evidence suggested the extension of life for some fleet, rather counter intuitively, was an obvious environmental gain, whilst building in renewal protocols to include the use of an electric powered Hiab crane to replace the engine powered diesel presently on the fleet. This will help reduce vehicle noise, our carbon footprint and the diesel particulates that reduce air quality.

FORS has helped us to stay focused during a difficult period, viewing and adopting industry best practice whilst staying flexible and responsive to stakeholder needs.

Maintaining our FORS Gold whilst in the pursuit of sustainability through campaigns & reduction targets provide a natural progression as we continually strive to be better. Our future remains driven by improvement and Innovation assisted through our FORS platform.

Our future to become Net Zero will be driven by improvement and innovation through our FORS platform.