NEWS FTA FLEET ENGINEER BRIEFING 2019
16 TRUCKING August 2019 http://www.truckingmag.co.uk
RAISING STANDARDS
One of a series of FTA transport management
briefings, the Fleet Engineer seminar is for managers
responsible for both engineering decisions and
compliance matters. In 2018, more than 5000
delegates attended various FTA briefings – and as the
audience of 100 at this year’s event in Warwick
showed, the industry takes them seriously
By Kieron Fennelly
PHOTOGRAPHY FTA / VOLVO TRUCKS / SCHMITZ CARGOBULL
T
his year’s event
demonstrated just how much
the fleet engineer’s role has
evolved. Gone are the days
when he used to specify
hub-reduction gears or special rear
ratios; today’s truck is all about
technological development. Guest
speaker Kevin Rooney, transport
commissioner for the South West and
FTA regular, set the tone by humorously
suggesting that these days there was a
YouTube video for everything.
“Today’s truck bristles with
technology,” he said. “It has evolved
hugely since HGV testing became
mandatory in 1969, yet our
expectations of what trucks can do
haven’t.” And he listed the time-served
practices DVSA inspectors continued to
find: wall planners, paper records – at a
company running 2000 trailers. “What a
muddle when that company faced a
Public Enquiry!”
He pointed to brakes which, since
1990, must be tested when the truck is
fully laden, yet companies are still not
doing this: “I can point to test results
which show four per cent parking brake
efficiency – useless on the slightest
slope.” Although the law does not specify
how brakes should be tested, it is clearthey must meet standards of efficiency
set out by the manufacturer. Mr Rooney
could not understand why the haulage
industry resisted using electronic
measuring equipment instead of rollers.
He also warned against the law of
unintended consequences, citing the
case of a tanker company where the
vehicles would not unlock until the
driver had completed a no-faults report
on his hand-held. The TC then asked his
audience rhetorically whether the
introduction of this system had led to
more or fewer faults being reported.
“Fewer of course, because the drivers
naturally wanted to get on with the
job.” The danger is, of course, that a
serious fault will slip through here
because the company instigated the
system without allowing for
adjustments of the drivers’ schedules.
Rooney also complained about lack of
training – so-called engineering
managers with no engineering
qualifications and the lack of recognised
certifications. He warned: “The
government isn’t going to legislate; the
industry itself has got to want to
improve its professionalism.”Volvo said it was important
to understand the
limitations of automation