Irish family owned Cappagh are celebrating the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) Gold level accreditation. The company was established by Tipperary native Tom Ferncombe and is based in south-west London. Cappagh have operated for 50 years in the civil engineering sector.
FORS is a voluntary accreditation scheme assisting fleet operators to measure and monitor performance, make modifications to demonstrate best practice to customers and those in their supply chain and show commitment to exceeding the industry standard. Attaining Gold level is subject to rigorous testing.
The FORS maxim is, ‘Prove you’re safer, smarter and greener.’ Dave Fahey, Cappagh’s Group Transport Manager, says: “Being accredited FORS standard is important from a safety and environmental perspective but makes good business sense too. We pride ourselves on offering great service whilst maintaining the highest level of legal and safety compliance. Operating construction vehicles in London and the south-east of England, we are high profile.”
The FORS logo has been added to Cappagh’s fleet, email communications and social media platforms.
Jack Barnard, Cappagh’s champion for driver related training, comments, ‘We’ve been utilising the FORS eLearning programme to good effect and consider the quality of this material to be good. Recently we have conducted “classroom” eLearning courses enabling us to manage driver participation and engagement better. We’ve now been using almost exclusively FORS accredited training providers often meaning we can meet the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) and FORS requirement simultaneously saving time and money. Furthermore, FORS learning has simplified delivery, record keeping and certification. I find if you ask a driver to log on themselves even those lacking computer skills manage the system fine.’
Improvements measured and implemented by Cappagh in pursuit of FORS accreditation include reductions in fuel usage and gas emissions, proactively training 10% of staff as mental health first aiders, working towards recruitment/retention of drivers through supportive training programmes and social activities and appropriate noise assessment/control in urban areas.
The company’s services include transport and plant, highways, utilities, waste management, readymix concrete, rail freight, recycled aggregates and land remediation. The firm has a large portfolio of blue chip clients in public and private spheres. Key to success is adherence to safety, efficiency, environmental issues and performance management.
