Conference Report
More transport matters post Brexit
DVLA
With over 33 million people now
taxing their vehicle online, IT is
back in house reported DVLA’s
Paul Jeffreys who introduced
reforms to medical licensing,
redesigned assessing fitness to
drive forms and the news that
more staff had been recruited
to the division. (In FTA’s 2016
Transport Manager survey, 84%
said their preferred method to
access driver medicals was online.)
The DVLA is presently
‘gauging the appetite for a digital
driving licence.’
The importance of good
maintenance and board level
engagement
From 1st January 2017, there has
been an increase in the levels of
financial resources that vehicle
licence’ operators and applicants
need to show.
James Firth spoke of the
importance of having board
level engagement in transport
operations. FTA’s operator
licensing guidance can be found
at www.fta.co.uk/olicensing-
policy-procedure where
‘plan, do, check and act’ can
help directors demonstrate
commitment to their ‘O’ licence
responsibilities; fines for corporate
manslaughter now range from
£180k to £20m. www.hse.gov.
uk/corpmanslaughter/about.
htm
With one in 10 vehicles
stopped on the road having
a serious defect or driver
infringement, Andy Mair, FTA’s
head of engineering looked at
avoiding accidents.
Data from 2015 lists fuel
leaks – up 55% on 2013 with
immediate prohibition, tyres – up
11%, brakes, wheels, warning
lamps, insecure loads and load
strap incidents as key defects/
infringements.
On a journey from Northwich
to Chepstow, Andy Mair counted
23 tyre carcasses.
“Tyres need to be maintained,
checked and serviced or they’re
at risk of being overheated,
overloaded, under inflated, subject
to excess wear or chord exposure
or and a possible catastrophic
failure.
Tyre purchases may only
account for 4% of a fleet’s
operating costs – but up to 25%
of a truck’s fuel consumption is
influenced by the vehicle’s tyres.
With so many defective tyres out
on the road, Peri Theodosiou,
Goodyear’s assistant product
marketing manager – commercial
and an event supporter, said
that just one PSI below the
recommended pressure increases
fuel consumption by 5%.
Product director for UK
and Ireland Martin Flach from
headline sponsor Iveco spoke
of the £44,000 worth of fuel
needed to cover 100,000 miles.
By minimising fuel consumption
with features such as anti-idling
and using smaller engines that
work harder, Iveco has produced a
5.4% saving on fuel on the Iveco
Stralis.
Also supporting the event was
Microlise which offers telematics,
transport and fleet management
solutions. In the past year
Microlise customers have saved
over £172m in fuel costs and
reduced CO2 emissions by over
330,000 metric tonnes. The 2017
Microlise Transport Conference
takes place at the Ricoh Arena in
May.
DAF, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz,
Renault Trucks, Scania and Volvo are
among the many commercial vehicle
manufacturers which fit tyres from
event supporter Goodyear as standard
Trade & Technical
Sentinel Systems – a FORS
accredited supplier
Sentinel’s full range of vehicle cameras and various sensors have been
approved for use on vehicles looking to achieve a FORS (Fleet Operator
Recognition Scheme) accreditation.
Sentinel products have been widely adopted by UK fleet operators
looking to improve the safety of their vehicles.
General manager Marshall Fleming said: “We’re very honoured to
be working with FORS as an official supplier.”
www.reversewith safety.com
Biofuel content in diesel blends
The hand-held battery powered
DieselProve unit from Salunda
provides a fast and simple
diagnostic tool to assess the
biofuel content in biodiesel
fuels, as well as identifying other
impurities such as vegetable oil,
white spirit and water.
Suitable for a wide range of
automotive and industrial power
applications, the unit enables on-
site testing at industrial facilities,
fuel supplies for back-up power
systems and garages carrying out
vehicle servicing.
Less than 50ml of fuel is
required with reliable and robust
test results displayed in seconds.
www.salunda.com
Test results can be downloaded to a
supporting software program for formal
record keeping and reporting options
IF YOUR COMPANY HAS A NEW
PRODUCT OR SERVICE FOR THE
DOWNSTREAM FUEL INDUSTRY,
PLEASE EMAIL
[email protected]
WITH DETAILS.
Fuel Oil News | February 2017 25