'Some of these rule makers should be made to try and survive in the real world'
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,T he road haulage industry seems to get more than its fair share
of rules, laws and qualifications — all bound together with red tape. And it seems to come at us in regular bucketfuls.
The latest "little gem" is known as BS5750. Whoever invented it? More to the point, did they take into consideration the effect it would have on the very small, owner-operator family-run firm? I doubt it.
One of my customers, the Ministry of Defence. has informed me that I must acquire 13S5750 to be considered for future work. It's been suggested that if I belong to an association which holds it I could then get umbrella coverage.
I'm a member of Unit 92 which has no plans to jump on this bandwagon. It believes it is an expensive, worthless title.
Isn't the recession a big enough problem for industry without more petty bureaucratic mess being thrown into the system?
Some of these rule-makers sitting smugly behind desks should be made to try and survive in the real world.
As far as I can see there seems to be little to support this qualification. The only ones who benefit seem to be the third party accreditation bodies who receive a nice little earner from the work. What has it got to do with driving and delivery? Nothing.
My business is run on the old-fashioned personal service basis, like thousands of other owner-operators. All my work is gained by word of mouth which beats any qualifications into a cocked hat.
My paperwork in connection with a haulage job amounts to two pieces — the invoice and its copy. Under BS5750 it would appear I would need something in the order of 12 pieces of paper. How can this be more efficient? And we're always being told that too many trees are cut down through wasted paperwork.
Surely we have reached the stage where enough is enough. If something is not done, the day is fast approaching when red tape and regulations will bring this industry to a halt. y