David Mullan, TRU

FROM THE DESK OF: DAVID MULLAN, HEAD OF TRANSPORT REGULATION UNIT

GOODS VEHICLE David Mullan, TRU OPERATOR LICENSING

If you operate goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes, which carry goods as part of a trade or business, you need to have a goods vehicle operator’s licence. This also applies to light goods vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes which are used to carry goods in the EU where you business includes hire & reward. There are 3 different types of operator’s licence for goods vehicles. The licence you need depends on where you transport goods to and from, and who you do it for.

Standard (national) licences are for those who carry their own goods or materials for their trade or business and/ or carry goods for hire or reward. This licence covers all transport operations in the UK. Someone in, or employed by, the company must hold a transport manager Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) qualification. A standard international licence means you can carry your own goods, and other people’s goods, both in the UK and on international journeys, while restricted licences are for those who carry their own goods or materials in connection with their trade or business but not other people’s goods. This licence covers transport operations across the UK.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A LICENCE

Vehicle operator licensing application process is a digitalonly function. You’ll need to create an account to apply for a licence or make major variations to an existing licence. You’ll also need to: • advertise your application for a licence • advertise your proposed operating centre(s) • nominate a transport manager if you’re applying for a standard licence not required if applying for a restricted licence • provide information about your financial situation • draw up a maintenance contract with a garage or agent to do safety inspections and repair vehicles if you do not do this yourself

COST OF A LICENCE

If you apply for a new licence, you must pay a one-off £254.00 application fee. If your licence application is successful, you will then have to pay a licensing fee of £449.00 which covers a period of five years. A fee of £449.00 is also payable at the end of the five year period if you wish to continue your existing licence. All fees are non-refundable. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) aim to process applications and get a decision to you within 40 days, but it can take longer.

OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION

For restricted licence holders, getting the required level of compliance may be a challenge due to a lack of knowledge of transport and fleet related matters. For those that see transport as a necessary evil within your main line of business, getting to the right level of compliance is just as important as those who are completely involved in the transport business. The Department will expect all operator licence holders to remain compliant with the current requirements and one way to obtain that knowledge and capacity may be through engaging a transport consultant, or industry body to assist you. They can provide you with support and systems to do tachograph analysis, train your drivers and audit your transport and fleet management procedures to ensure they are fit for purpose and meet the current requirements. With regard to maintenance, our first indicator of failing systems is a poor first time pass rate for your vehicles at annual roadworthiness testing. The current first time pass rate for goods vehicles is 79% which means that one in every five vehicles fail the test, for which they are supposed to be fully prepared. Once a first time pass rate falls below 65% we start to get concerned and generally, if there are no other issues then we would send a warning letter to the operator to be aware and improve. If we see no improvement or the failure rate is lower, we may request the DVA to carry out an audit to check whether your systems and procedures are appropriate. If that audit is marked unsatisfactory then you will be called to a hearing to explain why, and more importantly, what you are doing to improve. Failure to improve may cost you your licence. So what can you do to ensure good maintenance? The Department publishes the Driver & Vehicle Agency’s Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness which will provide you with all of the information that you require including sample records. Ensure that drivers are carrying out daily walk round checks, and that these are being recorded and that any defects are actioned and recorded. Ensure that all vehicles are receiving their safety inspections and that they are being carried out at the required intervals, if you are unsure there is a guide to intervals in the Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness. https://www.infrastructureni.gov.uk/publications/ driver-vehicle-agency-guidemaintaining-roadworthiness Ensure that vehicles are regularly serviced and that records are kept, this also applies to tachograph calibration. Regular brake efficiency checks should also take place and the Department would recommend at least 4, laden, roller brake tests per year with one of those being at the annual test. When you are having a brake test

undertaken ensure that you get a copy of the result and that it records braking efficiency, these should be stored in the vehicle file and be readily accessible. If you contract maintenance out then ensure you have access to all the maintenance records at your establishment address. You may need to revise the safety inspection intervals during the life of the licence depending on several factors, such as the age of vehicles, changes to annual mileage, and the type of terrain on which the vehicles are driven. The DVA’s Guide to maintaining roadworthiness explains the responsibilities and systems involved in maintaining vehicles in a roadworthy condition and is a good reference tool for deciding the appropriate safety inspection interval for vehicles and trailers. If you are authorised to pull trailers, but do not own your own, you must still declare the safety inspection interval that the trailers will be given by the third party. It is still the operator’s responsibility to ensure that any trailers it uses under the licence are properly maintained.

VEHICLE CHANGES

To add or remove a vehicle from your licence you need to log into your online self-service account at www.gov.uk/managevehicle-operator-licence. Vehicle changes are made in the vehicle section of your record; you do not need to create a variation application to add or remove a vehicle. Creating an application can slow down the issuing of a vehicle disc. If you make the change in the vehicle section, the change is effective immediately. Vehicle discs will be issued automatically to the correspondence address on our records. Please ensure your contact details are correct in the ‘addresses’ section of your online account. It is important to keep this information on your licensing record up to date. Check that the information we hold is correct by logging into your online account. If you have not yet registered to use the online service, please create an account at https://www.gov.uk/ manage-vehicle-operator-licence. If any of the arrangements have changed, update the record online. Any changes to this information, as with any change affecting the licence, must be notified to the Department within 28 days of the change. Failure to do so risks regulatory action being taken against the licence, including revocation.

COMMUNICATION

Communication with the Department is essential. TRU has observed how more operators are less compliant with communication, which results in an increase of investigations of their businesses and potential regulatory action against those licences. Communicating with the Department in a timely and effective manner is of the essence when it comes to effectively managing an operators’ licence. Whether it is notifying infringements, a change of directors in the company holding the licence, responding to requests for information letters sent by the Department or even providing the required information and documentation to process an application, communication is key for any operator’s licence holder. If you’re not sure whether you need to respond to a letter or how to respond to a request for information, contact us. If something changes within your business, let us know. You can contact TRU on regulatory matters via TRU@infrastructure-ni.gov. uk or NICLO on applications via NICLO@dvsa.gov.uk. NIDirect provides information about Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing on their webpage here: https://www.nidirect. gov.uk/articles/goods-vehicleoperator-licensing-licenceapplications, and by telephone on 0300 200 7831 between the hours of 09:00 and 17:00.

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FUEL EFFICIENT DOOSANS IMPRESS TMCL & SONS

Well-known civil engineering company TMcL & Sons has added another new Doosan excavator to its growing fleet to help cater for extra work on new sites, as Chris McCullough has been finding out.

Based at Londonderry, the company has recently purchased a new Doosan DX225LC-7 tracked excavator and is already putting it through the paces in Portrush. Three Doosan excavators from L’Derry based TMcL & Sons are now working side by side on the site near the Royal Portrush Golf Club where a new boutique hotel is being constructed. This latest purchase marks a long term loyalty of over 30 years to the Doosan brand by the company who still have a Doosan 180 tracked excavator in the yard that has completed over 26,000 dedicated hours of service. TMcL & Sons was started back in 1965 by the late Terry McLaughlin and is now run by his four sons, Brian, Terence, Colum and John. Staying with the Doosan brand for all these years is a testament to the superior service the machines give, as Colum, who is operating the new Doosan DX225LC-7 in Portrush, explained. “We took delivery of the new Doosan DX225LC-7 at the end of November and put it to work straight away,” said Colum. “We are working at the site of a new five-star boutique hotel with 35 rooms beside the Royal Portrush Golf Club. “The main reason we went for another Doosan is the superb fuel economy from the 225, which is critically important in these times when fuels costs are very high. “This is the fourth Doosan excavator I have run over the years and I have to say this one is really top quality. It is very easy to operate with plenty of vision from the cab, boosted by cameras on the side and rear.

Northern Excavators had the privilege to be the first company to bring Daewoo machines into Europe in 1987; pictured here was only the second Daewoo 180 machine sold in Europe at that time. Now over 30 years old, it is still going strong.

COMFORTABLE CAB

“The cab working environment is very quiet, is very comfortable and is well laid out. Good lights positioned around the cab allow longer working times during these darker winter evenings as well,” he said.

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Doosan’s new generationDX225LC-7 is a 23 tonnes medium-sized Stage V compliant excavator and is the first excavator of this size to feature Doosan’s innovative D-Ecopower virtual bleed off (VBO) technology. This provides operators with higher productivity and around seven percent lower fuel consumption per hour than the previous Stage IV model. It is powered by the six-cylinder Doosan DL06V engine rated at 174hp. The arm length is 2.4m to 3.5m and the boom length is 5.7m to 5.85m. Another aspect of the machine that Colum likes is the cab’s locking system which makes the Doosan DX225LC-7 more secure. “The excavator is actually button entry, which means it won’t start without the key fob being present,” Colum said. “This increases the security when locking it down after use and makes it more difficult to steal the machine.

PLENTY OF POWER

“I also must add that this Doosan 225 has plenty of power for all the jobs we ask it to do and is very smooth to operate in terms of controls and movements,” he said. “The brand seems to be very strong and are good wearing machines.” Northern Excavators Ltd based at Hillsborough supplied TMcL & Sons with the new Doosan and have enjoyed a long working relationship with the company. “We have been working with Northern Excavators since 1980's and find them very easy to work with,” Colum said. “Northern Excavators used to be the distributors for Ford rubber wheeled diggers and we also had a few of them in the fleet over the years. “Their backup service is very good. We didn’t even have to wait for the machine when we bought it as the company had one available at the dealership.” As mentioned, the McLaughlins have been very loyal to the Doosan brand and even own a Doosan 180 excavator that is over 30 years old. “That was dad’s machine,” Colum said. “He bought it almost new and was the one that operated it. It has serial number four and really was my father’s pride and joy. “There must be around 26,000 hours on her and sits in the yard to load top soil or other smaller jobs. We believe it was the first 180 to be sold in Europe. “Since that purchase we have become really used to the Doosan brand and the reliability and fuel efficiency the machines offer us,” said Colum.

Company founder the late Terry McLaughlin Snr.

PATRICK McCAFFREY & SONS SET FOR MORE GROWTH IN 2023

As every good windsurfer knows, catch the crest of a wave and, suddenly, you’ll notice how life really does take on a new dimension. Though, it is likely they didn’t realise it at the time, when Donegal quarry owners established their Patrick McCaffrey & Sons business, they too were about to ride the crest of a wave.

That was 1949, five years after WW11 had ended, when life on both sides of the border was beginning to look up and a new era was imminent, one that would stretch forward right up to the present time, except for an odd bump or two that arose along the way. Like numerous other businesses established around then, Patrick McCaffrey & Sons had spotted opportunity that, in the intervening years, has seen the company grow and prosper far beyond anything that its founders might have imagined at the time. From its base, a quarry situated at Ballymagroarty, near Ballintra - on the N15 road from Ballyshannon to Donegal town – the familyrun company pursued a path of measured growth, expanding into a multifaceted enterprise now serving an extensive client base in Donegal and across the North West. Driving their expansion was a growth in demand for more and better housing as the domestic economy improved and emigration declined. In tandem came an urgency amongst the public to see our roads upgraded and transport links improved. So too did the necessity to enhance infrastructure become apparent, and a pressure to provide better schools, medical and community services and recreational amenities. With that, too, came a growth in retailing as shopping centres began to appear. Across the country, hotels were constructed to accommodate a new category of resident – the tourist. All along, one amongst many companies best placed to ride the wave of change that these demands brought was that fledgling Donegal quarry operator, Patrick McCaffrey & Sons. With skilful management, it has emerged as a multi-product, multi-dimensional, full-service company operating under the allembracing title of ‘Quarry Owners & Civil Engineering Contractors’. From modest beginnings, its field of operations has expanded into a range of products and services that now includes crushed stone and aggregates production varying in sizes from 6mm to 150mm; tarmacadam and road building; ready mix concrete, produced using an automated and computerised mixing system to allow for traceability; and the manufacture of concrete blocks produced to IS EN 771 standard. A market leader in road surfacing and road maintenance, the company has the additional attribute of being a noted national roads contractor in the northwest.

Patrick McCaffrey & Sons managing director, Gerard McCaffrey pictured taking delivery of their new Komatsu WA470-8 wheel loader at McHale Plant Sales’ premises in Rathcoole.

SECTORS SERVED

Sectors now serviced by the company include construction and farming, the domestic market, civil engineering, road building and maintenance. Amongst a distinguished portfolio of projects to which it has supplied materials, products and services are the highprofile Harveys Point and Solis Lough Eske hotels, the awardwinning Oakfield Park Demense in Raphoe, and the Sliabh Liag Cliffs and Visitor Centre at Teelin, west of Killybegs. A key feature of its development has been the commitment of management to invest well in the purchase of quality plant and machinery. A long-standing Komatsu buyer with a number of machines in operation, the company recently added to its fleet with their purchase of two additional new machines, one being Komatsu’s robust and popular WA470-8 wheel loader. Other units in their fleet of Komatsu machines are a PC360 and PC240 excavators and another WA470 wheel loader, all supplied to them by Komatsu distributor, McHale Plant Sales of Birdhill and Rathcoole. Speaking to Plant & Civil Engineer, managing director Gerard McCaffrey said: “given our broad range of services, the diversity of our customer requirements, and the demands that growth placed upon us, we took the decision to equip ourselves with plant that would be reliable and would meet our needs. “Important for us was the requirement that plant could handle the rough and tumble that is so much a part if the work we do. For that reason, we opted for Komatsu, confident that we could bank on its reliability whilst allowing us to standardising operator training, parts and maintenance requirements. Looking back, it was the right decision.”