Checks for next renewal
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• North Eastern Deputy LA Brian Horner has increased Selby-based Fleetbush's international licence authorisation from eight vehicles and 12 trailers to 10 vehicles and 16 trailers. But he expressed concern about the quality of its vehicle maintenance.
Managing director Brian Nalton told the DLA the company had been authorised for 10 vehicles, but when it moved to a new operating centre in 1990 it only advertised the eight vehicles in possession. The margin was lost through an administrative error, he said.
The DLA said that 21 prohibitions had been issued to the company's vehicles in the past five years.
Nalton said he was not making excuses but a lot of defects occurred between service periods. He felt the 111111AV problem was that they were "fighting old age", some of the trailers being more than 20 years old. There had also been problems with oil leaks on older vehicles. Rightly or wrongly, the company had gone for a policy of refurbishment rather than buying newer vehicles. Nalton told the DLA the company would soon need to replace some of its equipment; probably with vehicles that were four to five years old.
Horner said that if the company was not in a position to replace its fleet with more modern vehicles it should increase the frequency of inspections. A check by one of the trade associ ations would be no bad thing, he said.
Nalton said inspection periods were currently one month for vehicles and two months for trailers. He felt the company ought to■start pulling trailers back to the same intervals as the vehicles. There had been problems with trailer chassis cracks as they were operating up to 38 tonnes. Broken springs were part of the same problem but a garage had been built with all the necessary facilities, a fulltime mechanic had been employed and use was made of two outside garages.
Agreeing there had been criticism of the driver defect reporting system, Nalton said the drivers had fallen into the habit of reporting defects verbally. He had written to all the drivers saying reports must be handed in on a Monday morning.
Horner said he was a strong believer of a daily nil defect reporting system, as that was the only way to achieve accountability.
Although the facilities had been improved he was still concerned about quality and control. He was, however, prepared to grant what was a modest application on the understanding that there would be a full maintenance investigation before the licence fell due for renewal in December 1996.