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6th April 2006
New common standards for road tanker drivers transporting petroleum products
Chris Hunt , Director General of UKPIA, which represents the nine main oil refining and marketing companies in the UK , and Chair of the UK Downstream Oil Distribution Forum (DODF), today launched a new standard for road tanker drivers delivering petroleum products, at the Federation of Petroleum Suppliers Exhibition at Harrogate International Centre.
Developed by Cogent Sector Skills Council and Skills for Logistics the new Common Road Tanker Driver Induction Standard – CRTDiS for short – establishes a common minimum induction standard for tanker drivers transporting a wide range of petroleum products.
Chris Hunt commented ” This is a welcome new standard combining many of the existing best practices in the industry, and developed out of the collaboration between participants in the DODF. The standard will cover the handling and transportation of products as diverse as petrol through to bitumen, all of which present a range hazards that need to be managed by the application of training in good operational procedures and safety awareness.”
The national standard encompasses a flexible new skills framework that can be adapted to suit large and small hauliers. It focuses on three main stages:
- loading operations
- transportation of petroleum products
- offloading operations
The emphasis is on safety awareness and the need for personal responsibility for drivers’ own safety and those around them during these three operational phases.
Enquires to: Nick Vandervell Tel. 0207 632 9880 or Chris Hunt, UKPIA Tel. 020 7240 0289
Notes to editors:
1. UKPIA ( www.ukpia.com ) represents the oil refining and marketing companies operating in the UK, which also own approximately 2,400 of the UK's 9,764 service stations.
2. Cogent is the Sector Skills Council for the Chemical, Nuclear, Oil and Gas, Petroleum and Polymer industries and was launched on 2nd March 2004. Sector Skills Councils are independent, employer-led organisations licensed by government to address skills needs in their sectors.
3. The UK Downstream Oil Distribution Forum includes oil companies, haulage contractors, TGWU, trade associations, sector skills councils, and the Department for Trade and Industry .
4. Skills for Logistics will maintain a database of all drivers participating in the standard. Tanker drivers who meet the standard will be awarded a CRTDiS certificate which will be transferable between employers and can form part of their c.v.
5. The Forum will oversee the CRTDiS guidelines and standard, and will continue to develop strategies to address skills gaps in the industry’s health and safety training, and lobby Government to promote best practice.
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