Farrall's invests in new Training Academy
Mar 19, 2014
Farrall's Transport has invested in a new Training Academy, which in addition to being available for the company's own staff will also be open to drivers across the sector. With all LGV and PCV drivers being required by law to complete 35 hours of JAUPT (Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training) approved training every 5 years, Farrall's has established the Academy to deliver the highest quality of training to its own staff and to reduce costs incurred by outsourcing training.
"A further prime objective was to have a qualified Driver CPC trainer in place to improve the quality of the courses that we deliver to our drivers and to ensure that Farrall's is up to date before enforcement commences in September," said Matt Farrall, IT & Marketing Manager at Farrall's Transport. "We are well on the way with this at Farrall's Transport and only have a couple of newer drivers to complete their CPC hours."
The Training Academy currently offers seven courses, with more to be developed, and will include First Aid as a DCPC Module or stand-alone qualification. "We use the very best instructors to deliver Emergency First Aid at Work and Defibrillator Training," said Farrall. "This is a vitally important course not only for our drivers, but for all drivers in our sector."
Courses run weekly and can be carried out at the Training Academy or a company's own premises. They currently include four 3.5-hour sessions: Vehicle Checks and Defensive and Fuel Efficient Driving; Drivers' Hours Regulations, Analogue and Digital Tachographs and Manual Handling; Driver Tiredness, Bridge Bashing, Adverse Weather and Slow Speed Manoeuvres; and Highway Code Theory and Evaluation, Defect Reporting and Accident Awareness. There are also three 7-hour course modules on: Emergency First Aid at Work and use of Defibrillator; Banksman / Yard Marshall Course; and Fuel Efficient Driving, Urban Driving and Safe Loading.
The Academy also now offers a tachograph management service, which will involve analysing tachos, reporting back to companies on infringements, speaking to drivers and explaining where they have gone wrong.
Farrall concluded: "We aim to deliver the best possible driver training to our own employees and want the rest of the industry to benefit from this too. Our training manager, Roy Barrett has a wealth of experience and can deliver onsite and offsite training to classes of up to 15 at any one time. He works alongside our compliance officer Rob Williams to ensure that only top quality materials and practices are provided."
