Tanker drivers' passport to safety

London – A safety passport for petroleum tanker drivers is the focus of a new initiative, jointly announced by Skills for Logistics - the skills sector council (SSC) for the Logistics sector) - and Cogent, tthe SSC for the science-based industries.

The programme is being guided by the UK Downstream Oil Distribution Forum (DODF), which was re-established in July 2012 to provide an on-going forum for the discussion and resolution of issues relating to health and safety in the downstream oil industry.

Since July, DODF’s has been working to introduce a common training standard against which all drivers of petroleum fuel products in the UK will be trained and assessed.

The newly constituted group - representing trade bodies, energy and retail companies, haulage companies, Unite and URTU as well as the HSE and government departments - has now agreed the core of a training standard for all petroleum fuel drivers to operate to, the SSCs said 15 Jan.

The training standard will be additional to ADR and specific to the industry sector and to five industry sub sectors; home heat, commercial, aviation, retail and marine, said a joint statement.

This content will be delivered through a combination of accredited in house or third party training providers and will result in the issue of a safety passport for the driver.

The passport will be valid for a five year period, as with the ADR licence, but will be subject to an annual refresher day and importantly includes a written and practical assessment before the passport is issued.

The DODF is now looking to appoint a scheme manager and working with terminal operators and owners of petroleum products to ensure that this scheme has maximum take up across the industry.

“We have had great support from all interested parties which has enabled us to make good progress since the DODF was re-convened in July,” said Brian Worrall, DODF independent chair.

“The first quarter of 2013 will see us put in place the foundations which will enable a successful launch later in the year, and we plan to communicate widely across all parts of the industry as we get near that point,” he added.

Commenting from the haulage companies, Colin Rutherford, general manager, Turners commented: “The DODF training standard will build on the good practice that already exists in many parts of the industry.

“The combination of an industry wide training standard with written and practical assessment will guarantee that all drivers in the industry have been trained to a consistently high standard. We envisage the proposed annual refresher day will also count as driver CPC training and are working to ensure that is the case”

According to, Diana Holland, assistant general secretary, Unite , the trade union has been very concerned about the volatility in the oil distribution sector and its impact on health and safety standards.

“The reconstitution of the forum, which has brought all the players together, has been an important step in developing a safety passport for drivers and the industry,” said Holland. “We look forward to building on the progress made to bring stability and security to such a vital sector.”