SHOP TALK
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• We thought the days of logbooks had gone. Gone — the vehicle logbook; gone — drivers' hours logbooks. The Institute of the Motor Industry says, however, that diesel and petrol mechanics should have them in order to record their qualifications. It's part of the IMI's proposals to licence or certificate engineers, so identifying skilled mechanics and promoting a greater pride in professionalism.
Last year, the Office of Fair Trading considered 12,300 complaints about garage work passed on by Citizens Advice Bureau and trading standards officers. In haulage, with the steely eyes of Licensing Authorities upon us, standards are higher, but we have much to gain from any increase in professionalism. What do our readers think of these proposals?
• Suppliers of automotive parts will be interested in Scan-Tech UK '88 — 21-23 June at the Metropole Hotel, National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham. The automotive seminar on Wednesday afternoon, co-sponsored by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and non-commercial trade association AIM, will deal with the ODETTE Transport Label Standard introduced this spring. There are big savings to be made do this bar code labelling system (Organisation Data Exchange by Tele Exchange in Europe).
• We welcome the revised British Standard Code of Practice for Safety of Machinery. The first code (CP 3004) in this field appeared 28 years ago and paved the way for the successful BS 5304, published in 1975. In France, the text was translated verbatim by the National Institution for Research and Safety and was accepted by AFNOR as the French national standard, E 60-250. Safety strategy, however, has evolved since then.