The Freight Transport Association has announced the return of the Van Excellence Conferences 2014, which are scheduled to take place on Tuesday 8 April in Elstree and on Thursday 10 April in Manchester.

Following the success of last year’s Van Excellence conferences, when VOSA informed attendees that the Authority would be undertaking a programme of targeted enforcement checks on vans in all the major towns and cities throughout Great Britain, and quoted the fact that an average 75 per cent were subject to overloading prohibition, one of the key sessions of the 2014 events will focus on load security and overloading.

Mark Cartwright, FTA Head of Vans and Logistic Buyer Relations said, “VOSA has made it clear that they’ve identified non compliant van operators and that they will be making targeted stops.  We all know that keeping vans within legal weight limits can be a challenge for many operators particularly those using vans as mobile toolboxes, and it is vitally important that we focus load security and overloading at the Van Excellence conferences to ensure best practice is identified for all.”

Other key conference sessions will include:

• Cost management – the hidden costs of operation
• In-cab distractions  - how to reduce risk
• Lowering your carbon footprint – operator case study
• Technology developments – telematics and driver behaviour.

Van Excellence is an industry-led initiative that aims to enhance standards of van operator compliance, celebrate operators who demonstrate excellence and represent the interests of the van industry. 

Mark Cartwright continued, “The Van Excellence conference is the perfect opportunity for van operators to obtain the best advice from a practical, operational viewpoint, giving them peace of mind surrounding the operation of their van fleet. Whether they are existing Van Excellence members or not – it doesn’t matter, these conferences are a must attend event for anyone who operates vans.”

For further information or to book a place, call 08717 112222.