Guidance & Support

The UK's commercial vehicle industry is booming to say the least and this comes after a lot of companies have united to try and create Euro VI diesel. Small businesses and even traders are said to be working the front line of the UK economy and they are going to be providing services that are vital to all of our day to day lives. On top of this, there are thousands of emergency responders who are trying to look after our own health and safety as well. Utility trucks and food vans move three times more goods than there is water and rainfall combined and 96% of all of these vehicles are all powered by diesel. This means that they are able to stay efficient and it also means that they are able to keep up with the high performance that is required.

Diesel vans are able to use up 50% less fuel when compared to petrol and they can also offer you a much lower fuel bill and more affordable costs as well. All in all, the commercial vehicle sector has been invested in heavily over the years and this is all to try and help the Euro VI movement. These trucks are some of the cleanest in history and they have also showed that they are able to reduce NOx by over 95% as well. This low-emission badge is very useful to those who work in the above industries and this is especially the case for those who work in driver recruitment or even driving recruitment as well.

By having cleaner vehicles on the road, companies can then start to operate more efficiently and this really does benefit everyone who is involved. This is a fantastic movement to say the least.

An event haulage company which has worked with Robbie Williams has put an end to illegal stowaways on lorries that are coming in from the continent. They have done this by installing SmartWitness on various vehicle CCTV cameras. Drivers from the FCL Logistics team have been able to use these cameras to try and stop migrants from trying to break into their trailers. They have also stopped them from coming into ports as well. Staff have also been able to alert other drivers from a numerous range of other fleets about their vehicles being stolen as well. The summer months often see a peak in the amount of stowaways who are trying to gain access to the country illegally. Haulers also face fines of up to £2,000 for every person who comes with them, and last year, fines totalled well over £7.8 million. Martin Cowie, who is a logistics manager at FCL has stated that he has chosen to install the camera on various trucks in the last few years and that this was actually done under the advice of the people who are insuring his fleet.

He has said that it has been a huge help so far and it has been especially useful in ports such as Calais. The drivers are alerted from other fleets about stowaways and this gives them the chance to act on the problem before it develops into something much bigger. The cameras have captured a number of problems and accidents where stowaways have tried to gain access to vehicles and the team have been able to take preventative measures against them rather than having to deal with them when they have already caused problems. This is said to really help out those who need it the most and it is also going to be great for those who are constantly fighting problems like this when they travel between fleets. Those who work in HGV driving jobs will now this more than anyone.

There has been some ground-breaking technology released recently and it is designed to try and mitigate some of the effects of accidents. This has been so revolutionary that Flogas have even tried to make investments in it for more than 15 years now. They are one of the top LPG supplies in the UK and you will know this if you work in HGV driving jobs. They focus on efficiency and they have been seriously impressed by the Actros tractor unit. This passed a series of fuel trials and it also met the zero tolerance for downtime from the aftersales commitment as well.

This has been supplied by the East Midlands Dealer. Flogas' nine new 2445s are the subject of the Mercedes-Benz financial services and they have also met the new contract hire agreement as well. They have flat-floored the StreamSpace cabs and they have also made the design very economical as well. The six-cylinder engines have been paired with the PowerShift transmission and this has also gone a long way when it comes to the fuel efficiency of the whole thing. The small wheels are located on mid-shift axles and this is going to save on average 300KG when compared to the standard version that is out there. It is a known fact that the standard version has 22.5" wheels, and it is also great at freeing up space on the chassis. This is ideal when it comes to discharge equipment and the best thing is that the trucks comply with all of the PetReg standards. This is a revolutionary change to say the least and it is certainly interesting to see how the whole thing has progressed over the years. Let's wait and see what happens next between the two companies.

A conference has taken place regarding the Irish border and the town of Dundalk. Those who are negotiating for Britain have stated that they are trying to work towards a different schedule when compared to the European Commissions and they are also trying to agree on the terms going forward as well. The Commission has expressed a lot of concern regarding how the talks are not progressing and this happened earlier on in the year. It is unlikely that terms are going to progress as time goes on, and there is no telling as to whether or not any progress is going to be made at all.

Those who work in HGV jobs, driver jobs or in driving recruitment will understand how bad this can be and they are also having a hard time trying to plan out their own future as well. A lot of people have stated that they would like to succeed within the UK rather than without the UK and they believe that with the help of the Irish government, the help is certainly going to be there.

Barnier has also stated that the UK's own decision to leave the single market and even the customs union has created the risk and that the hard border will certainly return. This is why it is really important to take note of the risk that is involved. He has also stated that there is a lot of risk in regards to these talks and that an agreement may not be reached on border terms. This is bad news for everyone who is involved and it could also cause real issues for drivers as well. Only time will tell if the whole thing gets sorted out in time or not, but it's safe to say that it is not looking likely.

Those who work in HGV jobs will know how important it is to try and maintain fuel prices. They will also understand that those who work in driver jobs need to try and make sure that fuel prices stay as steady as possible and this is also something that driver recruitment agencies need to take into account as well. The problem with the rising fuel prices is that medium-sized cars are now going to start taking up around 57 litres of fuel in their tank and this is going to cost them £75 upwards.
This has gone up by well over £8 when compared to August a couple of years ago and at this point, the cost was at a low of around 110.8p per litre. Diesel has also gone up by £9 as well and this is for a tank of the same size. This is compared to August 2016 and this is when costs were 111.9p per litre.

The increase of prices is said to be putting over one in five potential drivers off driving and this could mean bad news for the HGV industry. 13% are going to have to stop filling their car up on a regular basis and this could cause serious problems.

So the constant rise in fuel cost really is having an impact and now some people can't even afford to drive. As if that wasn't enough, over 16% of motorists are saying that the cost of fuel is making it so they cannot own a car at all. Advisors have suggested that drivers use way more fuel in comparison to services and this makes it even harder for people to get their money's worth. Some people are feeling the hit of the cost already, not to mention how hard it's going to be when the prices go up.

Those who work in HGV jobs, driver jobs or even driving recruitment will know how important it is to try and keep the roads in great shape. The problem is that now there is going to be a new movement, which is otherwise known as being Operation Brock. A contraflow is going to be put in place to try and keep all of the roads open for when traffic starts to build up. Jesse Norman has spoken on the matter and she has stated that there is going to be an interim plan. This is going to begin in Spring 2019 and this is going to be the case while they try and find a new and more permanent solution. In the year 2015, there were queues of well over 4,600 lorries and this spread over 30 miles. This costed the UK economy well over £250 million every single day. These disruptions really were harsh and so many holdups happened across the channel. The interim plan will really try and lower the amount of disruption that is going to happen and it will also change how people go about their daily lives as well.

It will also change how people are able to get to their customers as well. The northbound carriageway is also going to have a control system and this will really help people to get to where they need to be with ease. When you look at the northbound carriageway, you will find that a contraflow system is going to be introduced and this means that the traffic will be able to move in both directions without people having to queue up on the opposite sides.
That being said, only time will tell if the whole thing is pulled off.

If you work in driving jobs, HGV jobs or even driver recruitment then you will understand how important Paragon Systems are. They have now increased their team by 10% and this is their attempt at trying to handle the significant demand that they face every single day. After all, they have to deal with routing, scheduling, home delivery and even electronic proof of delivery as well. They have done their best to create a developed and administrative support role and this is so they can go on to provide an excellent service to all of their customers.

They have stated that they have a client base that is constantly growing and they have also worked with a lot of well-known businesses. This includes Greggs, Sainsburys, Tesco and even Nectar imports. They have a renewal rate of well over 95% every single year and they believe that it is important that they continue to invest in their own development.

The expansion that they are working on is going to create 8 new technical roles. This means that they have to manage and maintain the company's own 74 products. During the year 2017 they worked on more than 30 implementation projects and they also spent 750 days at various customer sites. This just goes to show how dedicated they are and over the last 12 months, they have seen a considerable amount of growth in the UK and on an international basis as well. The company have stated that they are already the partner of choice for a lot of organisations but they want to carry on building on this success. They want to stay at the front of software development and they also want to stay on the top of service delivery as well.

This year actually marks the 20th anniversary for Scania Assistance. They are a global lifeline for trucks, engines and even buses. If you work in driving jobs, HGV jobs or even driver recruitment then you will know how vital their assistance can be if you ever break down. Scania turn 20 in 2018 and they have been helping drivers in more than 20 different countries. If there is ever a problem then they take the vehicle to the nearest workshop and they also work diligently to get you back on the road as soon as possible.

Scania Assistance started out when the owner of the brand realised that there was not a single point of contact to help those who found themselves broken down at the side of the road. This is especially the case for those who are driving in other countries.

The central office also works to deal with invoicing, advice, information and even bookings as well. One good sign is that out of the 200,000 problems they deal with every single year, only a few of them come with complaints. There are still some things to be turned around when it comes to cross-border complaints and when a cross-border does need attention, the central head office tries to get the issue sorted out in 15 days. This is a huge improvement compared to the 65-day wait that they had a couple of years ago.

Scania really have developed from being a heavy vehicle manufacturer to being a transport solution provider and every new truck that they have makes way for brand new technology to be implemented. This is just one of the many things that helps Scania to stand out from the rest of the vehicles that are on the market and it's no wonder that they are the first choice for truck drivers across the world.

Delegates are all going to the freight transport association's conference and this has been sponsored by Iveco. They are going to have the chance to hear from someone called Kathleen Callanan and she is the Head Of Enforcement for the Road Safety Authority. She is going to tell everyone what they should expect in terms of enforcement. This is interesting if you work in driving jobs, HGV jobs or even in driver recruitment. The conference is going to take place on the 24th of May and it is going to be held in Belfast. The idea of this is to try and give those who operate fleets the chance to access the latest information and even the best advice regarding how to manage the law enforcement changes. Seamus Leheny who is the FTA policy manager for Northern Ireland has stated that the session itself will give those who operate fleets the preparation they need to do so in Northern Ireland. This is also going to help to keep drivers up to date and within the law at all times.

There are also going to be other subjects covered at this time and this includes enforcement priorities, roadside stops and even apprentices. Van excellence will also be included as well as some talks about terrorism activity. This will make it much easier for van operators to go over the border and it will also help to keep people much safer as well. Who knows whether this will make a difference to the way that things work now or not, but it is great to see someone trying to make progress. If you drive a van as a HGV operator then it is well-worth trying to keep up with this information as much as you can.

Restore Document Management are utilising vehicle tracking at the moment to try and improve road safety for everyone. They are also trying to boost their environmental impact as well as helping drivers to be safer on the road. As a result, they have given CTrack a three-year extension in an attempt to really give them the boost that they need to make a difference.

Restore Document Management have been utilising vehicle tracking to try and provide an advanced technological solution to those who operate their 185-strong fleet.

RDS is trying to use vehicle tracking to improve road safety, reduce impact on the environment and enhance care as part of a driver behaviour initiative. The company has given a contract extension to them for the provision of a telematics solution across its 185-strong van and HGV fleet. Restore are the biggest UK-owned document management service and they have over 100 locations at the moment. They have been working with CTrack since the year 2010 and they have also adopted the CTrack system as well. They have done this on the behalf of their 20,000 customers. They are also looking to take advantage and the monitoring system as well so they can experience huge gains in their own driver performance. Those who work in driving jobs and HGV jobs will understand what a boost this can be. If you work in driver recruitment then this could seriously make a difference to your life as well.

The company have stated that they are going to work close with their customers to make sure that everyone is happy, every step of the way and this is truly incredible to see. Only time will tell if this makes a huge difference to the way that this company works.