KEITH’S MEMORIES A personal farewell from our retiring director

Vans & Trailers: Tachograph Rules

TRANSPORT

Tachographs for light commercial vehicles The number of light commercial vehicles on the roads is increasing. Not only are they used for general deliveries, but they’re also used across a wide range of situations, from roadside repairs to utility servicing. Many LCVs weigh under 3.5 tonnes GVW, and so are not subject to tachograph regulations. Unfortunately, this means many drivers aren’t aware that they need a tachograph in their vehicle in certain circumstances.

If a tachograph is required but not fitted, you can easily be in breach of legislation without knowing it and may face legal penalties.

Don’t forget the trailer

One of the main confusing areas is when a vehicle such as a van or a pick-up truck has a trailer attached.

There are van tachograph rules and trailer tachograph rules which may apply here. For example, if the combined weight of the van plus trailer exceeds 3.5 tonnes gross, then you will need to keep to the rules surrounding trailer tachos and get a tachograph fitted in your vehicle. A lot of agricultural vehicles – such as Land Rovers – are generally exempt. But as soon as a heavy trailer is attached, the gross weight often exceeds 3.5 tonnes, which then comes into the scope of the EU Drivers’ Hours rules, and so needs a tachograph.

Many owners don’t realise this is a legal requirement. One of the most interesting situations regarding light vehicles or vehicle-trailer combinations is one where they are used to carry materials, equipment or machinery for the driver’s use in the course of their work (such as an electrician or a plumber).

If the vehicle is a maximum weight of 7.5 tonnes, and driving the vehicle isnotthe driver’s main activity, these can be exempt. But again, it depends on the situation. They must not operate outside a 100km (62 miles) radius of their base. If they need to drive further, a tachograph should be fitted.

Which tachograph offences and penalties apply to Light Commercial Vehicles?

If you fail to install a tachograph in a vehicle that needs one, fines can range from £2,500 to £5,000. There is also the risk of a verbal warning, or legal proceedings.

Licence checks

Operators should ensure that the drivers have licences that give them the permission to drive vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Any driver who has a licence from before January 1st 1997 can drive a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes and up to 7.5 tonnes on the standard licence. However, if the driver has passed their test after this date, they need a Category B or BE entitlement to be able to drive anything exceeding 3.5 tonnes.

Transporting goods in Europe

You must now have a standard international goods vehicle operator licence to transport

What’s meant by “beyond compliance”?

YOU MAY HAVE heard of the phrase “beyond compliance” but you may be unsure what it means. What are the cultural differences between a compliant business and a business that is a safe one and can help set the safety tone for your staff?

Compliant versus safe?

100% compliant?

The law is open to interpretation, so however you approach managing risk, someone will have a different opinion. As knowledgeable as you may be, how can you be sure that you have captured every aspect of the legislation? Some people believe that if they are found to be 100% compliant in an audit, they are doing all they need to do to meet their obligations but that doesn’t mean that you are not going to have accidents and ill-health issues.

SAFETY

In a compliance culture, people know the rules and the consequences of breaking them. Employees may baulk or become uninterested when they’re told about rules and regulations and asked to sign statePAUL MARSH ments documenting that they’ve Office manager been briefed. They may feel that SafetyAide the real goal isn’t a values-driven organisation, just one that protects the company from harm and allows staff to be blamed if things go wrong.

Tip: A good audit result doesn’t mean you can relax and assume you have it covered. Many accidents are behaviour based and can be caused by rebelling against rules and regulations. Tip: View compliance as a baseline, a springboard to good health and safety within an organisation.

If your company’s culture is “safe” your staff are motivated to act safely because they want to, not because they’re being told to. Achieving this culture is not a quick fix, but a long and sometimes bumpy journey. So how do you get there?

Make sure you meet the minimum legal standards required. Use our Safety, Health & Environment Audit Checklist (SHE Audit) to make sure your business is not falling short. Please contact us for a free copy of the SHE Audit.

Going beyond compliance

Compliance cultures generally are focused on legal definitions of right and wrong. If you approach health and safety from an ethical stance, however, it does more than enforce awareness of and obedience to rules. It connects ethical conduct to your company’s guiding principles. Employees won’t just protect your company from harm; they will actively look at how they can act in ways that improve and enhance their workplace.

Benefits

A healthy culture of ethics and integrity results in many benefits. Your workers will have greater confidence in your leadership. They aren’t just proud of the company’s standards but also act on them. You will find that not only will accidents and ill-health statistics drop, but proactive measures, such as near miss reporting and safety inspections, will rise. Your staff will actively help you meet your targets. A safe company is generally a high achiever in other disciplines such as quality, productivity, customer service, etc. This potentially leads to improvements in company reputation and profits and a drop in costs such as sickness benefits and insurance premiums.

Compliance is sticking to the rules to avoid punishments such as fines. Going beyond compliance creates a valued work environment, with engaged staff resulting in a safe, efficient workplace.

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE TACHOGRAPH REQUIREMENTS FOR LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES?

LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES Under certain circumstaces* the following vehicle types are required to comply with EU Rules on Drivers' Hours and Tachograph Legislation:

Van & Trailer where the maximum permissible weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes Dual purpose vehicle and trailer where the maximum permissible weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes

Passenger vehicles with over 17 seats (UK) and over 9 seats (EU)

Vehicle & Horsebox Trailer with combined capacity over 3.5 tonnes when used for commercial gain

*For more information and exemptions please refer to Drivers hours and Tachograph guides at www.gov.uk/tachographs

goods in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland using: ● vans or other light goods vehicles (sometimes called ‘light commercial vehicles’) ● vans towing trailers ● cars towing trailers

You also need to have a qualified transport manager. If you do not have the qualification, you might be able to be temporarily recognised as a transport manager if you have enough experience.

When you are feeling the pinch, don’t neglect your marketing!

As soon as we hear about nationwide money troubles, we all panic. Should we be cutting back because everybody else is?

Of course, it is necessary to be cautious but when cutting back costs don’t become short-sighted. Marketing is a very important part of your business. At times like this, although it can be challenging, you need to promote your business as much as possible.

Say you have a smashing team of sales reps who could sell ice to an Eskimo. How are you reaching new customers or persuading your past customers to return and buy more ice? You need to keep reminding them that you are there, even when they are not ready to make another purchase. This way when they are

ready, they will already be thinking of you. Unfortunately, gone are the days when we all go to the same dealership to make a purchase and so we cannot MARKETING rely on loyalty alone. EspecialMARY PERRY ly when your competitor has

Owner been marketing their offerings ME Marketing and Events whilst you haven’t. You might

be offering the same service/ product as your competitor but how do your potential customers know that if you are not telling them? You cannot just wait for them to walk through the door. You need to dangle the carrot and entice them in. There are ways to scale back your marketing but still ensure you are promoting your dealership and your products. Don’t panic, get in touch if you are looking at ways to adapt your marketing plan.

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Forty years and not out

Retiring BAGMA director Keith Christian says a very personal farewell

AS THE END of my career in the land-based industry draws to a close, it seemed rather odd to be interviewed about my career and my expectations for the industry going forward, so I volunteered to write the article myself, although this seems odd as well.

I hope I can be entertaining and informative. For older readers, I hope you will be able to share some of the memories. For younger ones, I hope there will be something for you to take away from this, but the best bit of advice I can give you is to learn as much as you can from your older colleagues. They know more than they think and can give you a head start on many things that will give you an advantage in your early careers.

My career in the industry started when I needed a job. We had a new baby girl at home and I was in need of a better job. In the local job centre there was a vacancy for a salesperson at H Burlingham, a large local garden machinery dealership. I was interviewed by a very stern man called Dick Staite who ran the place. After a few questions he asked me what was the problem if you started a new engine and it smoked? I just said it would be the oil burning off from inside the new engine. He gave me the job.

I was trained by Colin Baylis and took over as the commercial or professional equipment rep for a large area. Poor Colin had to put up with me for the next 30 years as we worked together after I left Burlingham’s.

I left Burlingham’s several years later to go to Spear and Jackson who were handling Stiga at the time, amongst a few other brands, and looked after dealer sales in the South of England for a few years. I was initially looked after by a traditional old school S&J tool rep who I learnt a lot from. He used to stay in traditional B&Bs with dinner at six on the dot or you did not eat. Great lessons in how to look after customers and apply a very personal touch that was clearly appreciated.

When I was a young rep, I used to get to meet the icons of industry and always wondered what would happen when they disappeared. Things just move on and some people replace these guys but as time has gone on the recognisable ‘heads’ of industry become more anonymous and the corporate machine takes over. Thankfully there are still a few characters around, but they are becoming a rare breed.

S&J decided to fold their garden machinery venture, but the operational plan was presented to John Reekie of Reekie Engineering from Arbroath who were handling Stiga for S&J in Scotland. I got roped in at the conception of a new company to handle a number of products from a base in England. This quickly became Claymore Grass Machinery which was a division of Reekie Grass Machinery and a Scottish registered company. We handled Bolen’s, Gloria, Roberine, Hinomoto and a few other products at the time.

Claymore Grass Machinery’s logo was a basket hilted double-bladed sword with a Scottish thistle. This represented two cutting edges to the business: domestic and professional machinery plus Scotland by way of the thistle. A wonderful creation of a nonexistent marketing department! I remember being in Holland with the Roberine guys and them asking why we had a ‘pineapple’ in our company logo! Cleary a work of art lost in translation, but they did buy the next round of beer by way of an apology. Claymore is now FGM Claymore.

I owe much to the Reekies for their support over some 23 years of running Claymore and a great deal to the guys I worked with at Claymore. Andre and Colin who joined us from Burlingham’s and many others over the years who are still with FGM to this day. Colin, Andre and I worked really hard to get Claymore going and their dedication and commitment to the business in its early years and later was amazing. We worked hard, had some great adventures and managed to avoid killing each other in the process. Thanks guys, I couldn’t have done it without you.

At Claymore we seemed to pioneer the introduction of new products to the UK market like Roberine and revived other products like Bolen’s Simplicity, and Masport. With forays into things

like Yanmar, Sabo, SOLO as well as few others. The trouble with being an importer selling to a dealer network is once you get something going well, the supplier thinks they can do better or sells out to a bigger company and they take it away and invariably screw it up. Been there, got several T-shirts but still made a lot of friends from the many countries we dealt with. As with many in the industry at the time, I travelled a lot to shows and suppliers in different countries, had some great fun on the way and a lot of memories and stories to tell over a beer or two with those that were there. I remember being at the Louisville Show in Kentucky and bumping into Lance Basset and Peter Jeffries from Allen Power ‘SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE BIG THING BUT A BEER AND A CHAT AT A BAR WILL GET THINGS DONE A LOT EASIER AND FOR A LONGER TIME’ Equipment. There they were in all their English glory, wearing shorts and polo shirts, knobbly knees and skinny white legs, it made you proud to be British! Another occasion at the same show but in Las Vegas, a group of us had gathered in the duelling piano bar in the New York, New York hotel. After a couple of rides on the rollercoaster we set to for a few beers in the bar whilst playing up the piano players. One of the guys from Holland had won a load of dollars on a one-armed bandit. He dumped a bag of money on the bar and said whatever we were drinking to take the money out of the bag. Well, we went on the Harvey Wallbangers, big mistake! There was a tall cowboy – all in black – wandering around the bar. People were after his autograph. He came and sat with us and wanted to know where we were from. We gave him a Harvey Wallbanger and asked who he was. He turned out to be one of the top country music stars in the USA. He invited us all to his ranch the next day for a party he was having but we had to leave and could not go. I had to fly to New Zealand the next day to see Masport, not a good idea after