AFI nets FORS silver accreditation

Improved working practices saw AFI receive a silver accreditation from FORS (Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme) this year, following a bronze award in 2013.

FORS is a UK-based membership scheme set up to establish industry benchmarks and acknowledge operational efficiency within the freight industry.

To progress from bronze to silver, AFI had to demonstrate to FORS assessors its commitment to safety, and to reducing CO2 emissions, congestion, collisions and operator costs, as well as improvements in staff training, fleet performance measurement, fleet safety equipment, and incident and collision reporting.

AFI director Nick Higgins said: “We have made significant strides forward in monitoring and improving driver behaviour. For example, the telematics system in our delivery vehicles can now show ‘contextual speeding’ – meaning that we now not only know a driver’s speed at any given time but also what the speed limit was on the road where they were achieving that speed. The new telematics feature will provide a management tool for our regional managers, enabling them to stop any bad driving behaviour. “

AFI also has a Careful Drivers Incentive scheme and a Fuel Efficiency Incentive scheme for drivers of its commercial delivery vehicles. The two schemes combined resulted in a 48.5% reduction in at fault accidents in 2013 compared to 2012.