Got my login details for the OCRS online thing yesterday. Just logged in and I’m pleased to find that I’m a green light operator in both categories (road worthiness and traffic).
I’m only just in the green band for the road worthiness (scoring a 3, where 0-3 is green), but my score for traffic is a nice 0 because I’ve been pulled twice for a tacho check and come back clean on both occasions. I think the road worthiness score must be down to a couple of MoT fails as they’ve never found anything wrong at the roadside. Hopefully two first time passes next year will drag it up a bit.
shuttlespanker:
where did you get he login details from Paul?
I sent an email to top.registrations@vosa.gov.uk saying “I would like access to the service that allows me to view my vehicle test history and OCRS online please.” and gave them my name, address and O-Licence number and two letters came in the post a few days later with the details I needed to get at it. You will also need a “Government Gateway” login to be able to use it which I already had because I do my PAYE online.
It lets you view your OCRS scores and also will let you request reports on your test history and encounter history which are then emailed to you within a day or two of you requesting them.
an operator would have a general idea of his score.
but wouldn’t it make sense for drivers to have access to an operators compliance score?
a driver may be offered a cracking new job, he packs in where he is, and ends up jumping straight into a lorry run by one of the UKs biggest cowboys.
chaversdad:
i should have have green lights everywhere as in 10 years i,ve never had a vosa pull at the roadside and never had an MOT failure
That’s good going, I’ve been pulled 3 times in my first 2 years, one of which was being pulled on the A1 just north of Newcastle for a full and very thorough inspection at the test station. They essentially did everything you would get on an MoT other than the brake tests including checking all the suspension/bearings/etc on those wheel shaker plate things. They didn’t find anything much to my relief.
limeyphil:
an operator would have a general idea of his score.
but wouldn’t it make sense for drivers to have access to an operators compliance score?
a driver may be offered a cracking new job, he packs in where he is, and ends up jumping straight into a lorry run by one of the UKs biggest cowboys.
This ^^^^^^ is a cracking idea. Would be great to see if a company is dodgy before applying for a job.
limeyphil:
an operator would have a general idea of his score.
but wouldn’t it make sense for drivers to have access to an operators compliance score?
a driver may be offered a cracking new job, he packs in where he is, and ends up jumping straight into a lorry run by one of the UKs biggest cowboys.
This ^^^^^^ is a cracking idea. Would be great to see if a company is dodgy before applying for a job.
just because a company has got a green light on the OCRS system, doesn’t mean they are not a bunch of cowboys, and vice versa
I have a pdf form that you can simply complete on your PC then it has a green button at the top that you click and it automatically completes an email with all the data you put in the form attached. You then get an email response and the login details arrive by letters (there’s 2 letters) about 10 days later.
I have no idea how to post a link to said form when it’s sitting on my desktop Must be available online though
And don’t forget the whole OCRS system is being revised as from 1st October 2012. Some people will possibly find themselves getting a bit more attention from VOSA when they instantly become ‘GREY’ overnight (a new colour being introduced) and scores are based over a 3 year period instead of the current 2 years. ADR or Dangerous Goods offences will also be taken into account for the OCRS scores.
Again I have a document all about this but don’t know how to link to it. I’m sure you will find the info online somewhere.
Phil’s point about drivers knowing the company OCRS scores is a very valid point. During DCPC courses I let the drivers know all about the OCRS system and tell them to ask the boss what the company scores are. if they don’t know - get them to contact me and I’ll tell them how to get the scores. I spoke to one driver was stopped 4 times between Scotland and Oldham on the same day - their OCRS is RED.
Company i know quite well shares a yard with a smaller haulier. Their OCRS is Green 03 and Green 00 whereas the smaller company is Red 09 and Amber 06 (I think). VOSA were in the yard visting smaller company a few weeks ago, last week and today yet never speak to the bigger company running green OCRS scores - even though the vehicles are maintained in the same workshop and VOSA guy walks past them to deal with smaller company. He even stands in the bigger companies workshop office to speak to the fitter from smaller company yet never says a word to bigger company. Can only be the green OCRS I’m sure.
shep532:
I have a pdf form that you can simply complete on your PC then it has a green button at the top that you click and it automatically completes an email with all the data you put in the form attached. You then get an email response and the login details arrive by letters (there’s 2 letters) about 10 days later.
Seems a bit overkill, if you’re not capable of putting your name, address and licence number in an email without the help of a PDF then you probably shouldn’t hold an o-licence IMO.
shep532:
I have a pdf form that you can simply complete on your PC then it has a green button at the top that you click and it automatically completes an email with all the data you put in the form attached. You then get an email response and the login details arrive by letters (there’s 2 letters) about 10 days later.
Seems a bit overkill, if you’re not capable of putting your name, address and licence number in an email without the help of a PDF then you probably shouldn’t hold an o-licence IMO.
Paul
probably not but this is the official form as provided by the authorities … if just an email will siffuce then no worries. I’ve used the form about 8 times for different companies and all went well.
shep532:
I have a pdf form that you can simply complete on your PC then it has a green button at the top that you click and it automatically completes an email with all the data you put in the form attached. You then get an email response and the login details arrive by letters (there’s 2 letters) about 10 days later.
Seems a bit overkill, if you’re not capable of putting your name, address and licence number in an email without the help of a PDF then you probably shouldn’t hold an o-licence IMO.
Paul
Paul is it just me or do you come across as a bit of a know it all at times?
I understand you have some background in IT and as such you may well have a far better understanding around a computer than some in the haulage industry including myself!
Although being good on a pc it’s nowt in a large part to do with maintaining good roadworthiness of a goods vehicle and as such should play no part in the ability to hold an operators licence!
As an o/d i do all my own monthly checks as well as routine maintanance and i have a 100% first time pass rate since 2001 and also no problems at roadside checks so i wont need to check my ocrs score
IMO if you spent a little more time on maintainance before presenting a vehicle/trailer for test and a little less time writing for the CM and posting views/advice from your 2 years as an o/d on forums to others you may have better results!
I fully accept that an o/d that’s good at writing about trucks is far more use to an internet truck based forum than an o/d thats good at running trucks but no so good with the words!!
moose
Moose:
Although being good on a pc it’s nowt in a large part to do with maintaining good roadworthiness of a goods vehicle and as such should play no part in the ability to hold an operators licence!
True enough I guess, but I still don’t really see the need for a fancy pdf for it as if you can’t manage to send an email then you probably won’t be up to using the online thing anyway.
Moose:
IMO if you spent a little more time on maintainance before presenting a vehicle/trailer for test and a little less time writing for the CM and posting views/advice from your 2 years as an o/d on forums to others you may have better results!
I don’t do any writing for CM, all I do is spend a few minutes on the phone to them and then they make up a load of stuff and write an article about me
As for the posting of views/advice, I’ve learnt a hell of a lot in the last 2 years and no doubt will learn a hell of a lot more in the next 2 and the 2 after that, and so on. If someone else is starting out in the same place as I was 2 years ago then that advice is hopefully useful to them, that is why I post it.
When it comes to test fails, out of 4 tests I’ve got a 50% pass rate so far. The unit has been in twice and passed both times, the trailer failed both times. Can’t remember why the first time but last year it was because the handbrake efficiency was 1% down on what it needed to be even though it had been 2% over on a voluntary test 2 days earlier. Just bad luck it seems with a spring in a brake chamber giving up the ghost in the day or so before the test. At the end of the day I’m not mechanically minded enough to do much of my maintenance myself so I am largely in the hands of others anyway. The fact that I have come out clean at 3 roadside inspections in 2 years should go some way to showing that my vehicles are properly maintained.
Must be available online though