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Business Services
Are You Really Compliant with Your Goods Vehicle Operator Licence?
HOLDING a Goods Vehicle Operator Licence is one thing. Being able to demonstrate that you are complying with it is another.
For builders’ merchants operating HGVs, that distinction is important. Most businesses believe they are compliant— but if the DVSA or Traffic Commissioner asked you tomorrow to demonstrate how your transport operation is controlled, could you prove it?
Who is actually responsible for transport compliance?
Many builders’ merchants operate under a restricted goods vehicle operator licence. Unlike a standard national or international licence, a restricted licence does not require a professionally competent Transport Manager to be nominated.
However, that does not mean the transport operation requires any less attention.
In many merchant businesses, responsibility for transport sits alongside another role. The person overseeing compliance may also manage the yard, operations, sales or even the entire business.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this arrangement. The important question is whether that person has the knowledge, time, authority and systems necessary to effectively control the transport operation.
Restricted licence holders still have significant legal responsibilities. They must ensure vehicles are maintained correctly, drivers operate legally and appropriate systems and records are in place to demonstrate compliance.
For businesses operating under a standard licence, appointing a Transport Manager does not remove the operator’ s responsibilities. The Transport Manager must have sufficient authority, capacity and involvement to exercise continuous and effective management of the transport operation.
Are your systems actually working?
Good compliance is about much more than having paperwork in a file.
Take vehicle maintenance. A vehicle attends its scheduled safety inspection, the inspection is completed and the
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report is returned. But what happens next?
Who reviews it? Have defects been appropriately assessed and rectified? Is there evidence that the vehicle was roadworthy before returning to service? Are tyre condition and tread depths being properly monitored? Are recurring defects being identified and investigated?
The same principle applies to daily driver defect reporting. Are drivers completing effective walkaround checks? Are defects being recorded correctly? Is there an audit trail showing what action was taken before the vehicle returned to service?
Then there are the drivers themselves.
Are driving licences checked at appropriate intervals? Are drivers’ hours and tachograph records properly analysed? Are infringements investigated rather than simply filed? Can you demonstrate that drivers receive appropriate training and support?
Individually, these can appear to be relatively small administrative tasks. Collectively, they provide the evidence that an operator is exercising effective control.
“ But we’ re builders’ merchants, not a transport company …”
It is an understandable observation- but one that can create a dangerous blind spot.
From an operator licensing perspective, if your business operates goods vehicles requiring an Operator Licence, you are a goods vehicle operator.
Transport may support your core business rather than being the core business itself, but the obligations attached to the Operator Licence still apply.
Whether you operate one vehicle or one hundred, those fundamental responsibilities remain.
What happens when things go wrong?
Operator Licence compliance becomes particularly important following a serious vehicle defect, roadside prohibition, collision or DVSA investigation.
Depending upon the circumstances, regulatory action can include the curtailment, suspension or revocation of an Operator Licence, with potential consequences for individuals responsible for managing the operation.
For a builders’ merchant, the commercial impact can extend far beyond transport. Restrictions on vehicle operations can affect deliveries, customer service, sales, reputation and ultimately profitability.
That is why compliance is best approached proactively rather than waiting for something to go wrong.
How confident are you?
An independent review can provide reassurance that systems are working as intended- while identifying weaknesses before they develop into more serious problems.
Through the BMF Transport Business Service, BMF members have access to specialist transport compliance support delivered by Prompt Training.
As a starting point, members can arrange a FREE, no-obligation eight-point compliance health check, covering key areas including the Goods Vehicle Operator Licence, Responsible Person arrangements, safety inspection planning and records, driver defect reporting, drivers’ hours records, Working Time requirements and driver licence checks.
Members joining the BMF Transport Business Service can also benefit from ongoing specialist support, including a minimum of two comprehensive transport compliance audits with detailed reports and action plans, one free Driver CPC training course per year( subject to terms and conditions), unlimited telephone support and access to additional Prompt Training services.
Ultimately, good transport compliance is not about producing paperwork for the sake of it. It is about protecting your drivers, your vehicles, your Operator Licence- and your business.
So perhaps there are two questions every builder’ s merchant operating HGVs should ask:
Do we know that we are compliant? And more importantly: Can we prove it?
If there is any uncertainty, the BMF Transport Business Service provides members with a straightforward way to find out.
For more information: Tel- 01773 850428 Email – sales @ prompttraining. co. uk