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Haulier of the Year appears before TC
Page 6
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McBurney Refrigeration, Irish Haulier of the Year 2006, faces disciplinary action for hours and maintenance offences. Mike Jewell reports.
INTERNATIONAL HAULIER of the Year McBurney Refrigeration, part of the McBurney Transport Group, has appeared before North-Western Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell to answer for "extremely serious" maintenance offences.
Vehicle examinerCarlHiltontold Bell that the firm had consistently failed to crack down on vehicle defects. Maintenance records were in disarray; there was no evidence that inspections had been carried out at the stated intervals.
Hilton alleged that transport manager Peter Rearden was not in control of the maintenance procedure, and was unaware of prohibitions issued to McBurney Refrigeration vehicles. The TC heard of 44 prohibitions in the past five years, 11 of which were S-marked showing a serious maintenance failure. There were also three refusals to clear prohibitions, and 22 prohibitions had been issued since Hilton's investigation in January An investigation into drivers' hours revealed a pattern of offending. Duty time not recorded on the tacho charts varied between onehour21 minutes and almost five hours. John Heaton, for Vosa, said the investigation was hampered by drivers and the company exercising their right of silence.
For McBurney Refrigeration, James Backhouse said it was accepted that vehicle maintenance had not been properly managed. However, there were now three extra service bays and three additional fitters, and a roller brake tester was to be installed.
MD Norman McBurney said the company had acquired Pleroma Distribution (PDL) in 2003 and he admitted the condition of the PDL fleet was very poor. He claimed he was unaware of the maintenance problems until the vehicle examiner's visit and was "deeply disappointed" that he had not been told about them by senior managers,but he now believed that they had addressed the problems.
McBurney Transport was voted Irish Haulier of the Year and International Haulier of the Year in 2006.
The hearing continues.