Care home specialist builder Appledorn Developments is the latest contractor to become a FORS Champion, seeking to maximise efficiency and environmental best practice across its road transport supply chain.

Appledorn specialises in design, construction and facilities management in the care home sector and is the latest organisation to become a FORS Champion - organisations which includes FORS as a contractual or procurement requirement in their supply chain, to ensure its fleet of contractor vehicles are as efficient as possible.

Scarborough-based Appledorn complete building projects across the UK, with services ranging from initial land procurement, through to complete build and facilities management. For Appledorn Contracts Manager Mark Dodgson, this national remit makes best practice across all projects, an imperative. “The care home sector is no different from the broader construction sector – all works start with client requirements and it is our job to ensure they are completed as efficiently as possible to meet each client need,” said Dodgson. 

“Local authority engagement for each build area is par for the course and Appledorn work closely with each authority in order to fully understand and comply with their specific building standards. This includes effectively managing the environmental impact of each project, in order to meet local air quality and carbon reduction criteria, so an efficient supply chain is a must,” he said.

Appledorn manage multiple construction and management projects ranging from £1.4m to £7m across the UK and became aware of FORS following completion of a project in Surrey. Dodgson said: “It is our supply chain that run vehicle fleets, so when procuring our supply chain we can make a difference to the efficiency of the build, and we were keen to see how FORS accreditation could work for our business. As FORS Champions, we can now ensure all our contractors meet FORS Bronze, which provides value for our clients and makes sure we as a company are demonstrating the importance of operational efficiency.”

FORS Champions make FORS accreditation a contractual stipulation in their road transport supply chain. Champions can specify a particular level of FORS which contractors must meet, from entry-level FORS Bronze, up to FORS Silver – the level at which FORS aligns with CLOCS (Construction, Logistics and Community Safety) and on to the highest tier - FORS Gold. 

Dodgson added: “Adding FORS as a requirement for all commercial vehicles on our sites gives our contractors a clear standard which they must meet to prove they are environmentally sound and operate safely and efficiently. Not only is this a good thing for the environment and our contractors’ bottom lines, but if we as a construction management company can operate as safely and efficiently as possible, there is a positive result for our clients, which in turn leads to repeat business and recommendations.”

Livia Gergely, FORS membership manager, commented: “FORS Champions are a very important part of the FORS offering. Agreeing to set FORS as a standard in all contracts, sends a clear signal that operational excellence with regards to safety and environmental efficiency is top of a business or local authority’s agenda. This creates a trickle-down effect of improved road transport standards, for the benefit of not only the construction and logistics industries, but the communities in which they operate.”

The Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) is a voluntary accreditation scheme established in 2008. It is open to UK and non-UK fleet operators, and to the organisations that award contracts to those operators. With more than 4,600 members, FORS is now well-established as the go-to accreditation scheme for best practice. For more information visit www.fors-online.org.uk