Cappagh Contractors Construction (London) has had its O-licence curtailed for a week after receiving three "S" marked prohibitions within a year of its last public inquiry.
An Eastbourne public inquiry, heard by Deputy Traffic Commissioner (DTC) Mary Kane, was told how the Wimbledon, south London-based firm had received a total of 14 prohibitions, since another curtailment following a July 2009 hearing into maintenance matters.
Geoffrey Morgan, VOSA vehicle examiner, told the hearing Cappagh had picked up two of the "S" marked prohibitions in February this year, both relating to trucks with lose wheel nuts.
On the latter occasion, two wheels on a vehicle had been "in danger of immediate detachment".
Michael Ferncombe, joint transport manager at Cappagh, said the company had improved its procedures during the year by bringing in a workshop manager, a transport administrator and SHEQ (Safety Health Environment Quality) manager.
However, he admitted that "more work needed to be done" to get the new structure working perfectly.
The DTC curtailed the firm's licence from 75 to 60 vehicles for seven days from midnight tonight (August 27) to 3 September and said that the firm must put in place systems including:
- Random audits of drivers.
- Safety inspections twice a month
- A nil defect daily reporting system.
- All systems to be audited by RHA or FTA once every six months for a period of two years.
She also ordered that transport managers Thomas and Michael Ferncombe take a CPC refresher course.
However, the DTC also rejected a variation application from the firm to increase its authorisation from 75 to 90 vehicles.
Year: 2012 | Body Type: Beavertail | Cab Type: Day | Registration: FD12YDA | Mileage: 248,000 km | Power: 306 bhp
Year: 2017 | Body Type: Gritter | Registration: WU66FGD | Mileage: 16,000 km | Weight: 15,000 kg | Category: Rigids
Year: 2021 | Body Type: Tractor unit | Cab Type: GX | Mileage: 253,364 km | Power: 375 bhp | Category: Tractor units
