FORS – the voluntary accreditation scheme for any company operating commercial vehicles anywhere in the UK or overseas – has announced that implementation of the revised version of the FORS Standard version 6 is postponed by at least one year, to January 2022. This break in the usual two-year cycle of updates to the FORS Standard is to support FORS operators whilst they continue to negotiate the challenging landscape during and post-coronavirus outbreak.

The current version of the FORS Standard, version 5, came into force in January 2019 and will therefore now remain in place until at least January 2022. However, a revision to the way in which some of the mandatory training requirements can be met will be introduced during the course of this year to provide even further flexibility for members to gain and maintain FORS accreditation. Publication of version 6 of the FORS Standard will be in October 2021 at the earliest, with further reviews of the postponement taking place as the coronavirus situation evolves.

Following the suspension of all Bronze on-site audits since 23 March, FORS is now developing a remote auditing capability alongside the resumption of site-based audits within the current social distancing and workplace guidelines. Suspension of the registered and Bronze downgrades process will however continue until 30 November 2020, as long as FORS membership is maintained. Look out for more news from FORS on the re-introduction of Bronze site auditing activities in June.

To support FORS operators wishing to progress to Silver or renew their Silver accreditation, FORS is introducing a temporary relaxation for meeting the work-related road risk (WRRR) professional development requirement S5. This means that from now until further notice from FORS, members will be able to pass the WRRR training requirement by undertaking the theory part only of Safe Urban Driving or Van Smart, with the practical on-cycle element undertaken by the time of the following yearly Silver re-approval audit. As face-to-face training is not currently possible, training providers licensed to deliver FORS Professional SUD and VS can now offer this training remotely. Training providers have been advised of this change and should be gearing up to offer this training.  

To check the FORS coronavirus frequently asked questions, click here. For general information about FORS, including how to join, click here.