Compliance and best practice are words that are frequently banded about in fleet and it’s often the bigger players which lead the pack when it comes to the way things are meant to be done.

Small businesses that operate just a few vehicles often don’t see themselves as a ‘fleet’ and can fail to realise that both the Corporate Manslaughter Act and health and safety legislation apply to them.

With a fleet of just 10 vehicles (nine vans and one pool car) it might therefore be easy to regard Ajax Couriers as just another ‘white van man’ operation, but the reality is quite the opposite.

Derek Golding, director of fleet operations at Ajax Couriers, has more than 30 years’ experience in fleet, with transport manager roles in the Army and at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office before he joined Ajax in 2010.

In the past year he has helped Ajax achieve both the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme’s (FORS) Bronze and the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) Van Excellence accreditation – the first business to do so through the FTA’s new Small Fleet Programme, designed for businesses that operate 10 vans or fewer.

It was a slow journey to success for Golding though. While the company was experiencing growth an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach was required, meaning he spent most of his time on the road, doing deliveries, and had to manage the fleet remotely.

Golding explains: “Things had to change. One of our biggest customers started asking us for FORS and others were following suit. We decided these accreditations were best for the company, worked out what we needed to do to get them and put it into action.

“Accreditations are good because people see them on our vehicles and it makes us look more professional. It shows we are actually there for the customers.

“We’re not the cheapest company around, but they know they are going to get a quality service from us. Seeing accreditations reinforces that. It makes us look serious about our work.”

It took Golding eight months to get the fleet FORS accredited and then another six months for Van Excellence.

“It was a lot of hard work as there was nothing in place. I was in the office for whole days writing processes, uploading information, making forms up and chasing drivers.

“But we’ve just renewed with FORS and it only took a couple of weeks. If you’re maintaining it properly then it should be easy. When Van Excellence comes up again I think it will be even quicker.

“Plus my life is a lot easier now, everything is automated or has a set process. If I go away and come back all I have to do is check on the system,” Golding says.

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