What’s the value in an audit? Staying compliant…

Compliance is always important. Keeping vehicles in a roadworthy condition is good, not only for business, but for the environment and road safety. Heba Najib from Transport Management Services explains.

When an operator considers utilising an audit to verify the level of compliance on their Operator Licence or to fulfil a specific undertaking, determining the audit that operator needs can become a difficult task. There are various key questions to ask –which audit should I use? And, is it truly beneficial?

There are a variety of audits to choose from – the DVSA Earned Recognition scheme, FORS Pre-Audit, Maintaining Roadworthiness Audit, Tachograph Audit, Workshop Audit, Licence Evaluation and many more. Through analysis of popular audits like Maintaining Roadworthiness and DVSA Earned Recognition scheme, the value of different audit options does become significantly clearer.

Maintaining Roadworthiness Audit

The Maintaining Roadworthiness Audit is highly recommended for the thorough assessment of an operator’s licence compliance. When an examination is completed, preventative maintenance inspection frameworks can be put in place. This audit includes recommendations that are highly valuable to an operator. It provides a detailed look at where a company may be lacking and highlights defects that may have been overlooked. And while some consider this audit as a simple inspection of documentation, this is not the case. For instance, management systems are closely scrutinised to establish what can be done to improve them. These improvements can be valuable to an operator in situations where additional vehicles or trailers are required leading to a variation in the operator’s licence.

An audit can be extremely useful if one hasn’t been conducted previously and an operator does not have a fully qualified Transport Manager overseeing compliance, or the operator is called for a public inquiry and would like to analyse all aspects of compliance to ensure they are aware of any shortcomings.

DVSA Earned Recognition Scheme Audit

The DVSA Earned Recognition scheme is voluntary and if you can demonstrate full compliance, there’s a reduced burden of enforcement through by DVSA. Operators must show a history of being compliant with driver and vehicle standards if they are to be considered for this scheme.

To ensure the criteria is met, it is often recommended that a self-assessment is carried out. Self-assessment forms can be found on the government website.

Benefits that arise from this scheme are reductions in roadside inspections and visits from compliance officers. It promotes a culture of road safety, a subject that should be a priority for any operator or driver. When an operator achieves the status of Earned Recognition, it offers great benefits. Having ‘Government Trusted Haulier Status’ is valuable for any operator or company, as they are able to demonstrate outstanding compliance to important clients.

In addition to this, the operator is permitted to have Direct Access to the DVSA Earned Recognition Business Team and to Government Contracts including HS2. Operators with Earned Recognition Status may also have use of the DVSA Earned Recognition Marque. The marque acts as a symbol of the high standard that DVSA wishes to see across all sectors of the industry. One of the requirements to join the scheme, is to have a DVSA earned recognition scheme audit conducted. The DVSA Earned Recognition Scheme Audit does involve a lot of paperwork but it can be a hugely beneficial program. The operator achieves a status that offers many great benefits.

Understanding what these audits entail and how they can benefit an operator is really critical information. Ultimately, these audits are there to alert the operator of where compliance is lacking and to highlight where compliance has been met.