Iveco Retail’s flagship Farnborough dealership, which opened in 2017 at the cost of £1.1m, has achieved IRTE (Institute of Road Transport Engineers) Workshop Accreditation.
The company hopes that by the end of the year, all four dealerships – which comprise of the former Grays sites at Croydon, Hayes and Reading – will secure the same standard.
The IRTE Workshop Accreditation has established itself as the gold standard to independently verify the expertise, health and safety and quality of HGV workshops. Various standards must be met in terms of appearance, documentation of work carried out, health and safety practices and on-site tools and equipment.
There are now 225 accredited workshops in the UK, and operators are able to view each site’s facility information and range of services, and even vehicle test pass rates, RIDDOR stats and HSE notices on the website.
“We’ve enjoyed a strong start to business since opening this new site and earning this accreditation was the natural next step. Customers are increasingly asking if we have this standard when appointing a new maintenance provider, so securing this seal of approval gives them confidence we meet the IRTE’s high standards”, explained Lee Hosier, group service manager at IVECO Retail.
“The IRTE accreditation looks at the procedure when a vehicle enters our workshop, through every stage of the service until the final inspection. All actions must be correct, equipment properly maintained and our MOT pass rate – currently 95.7% –above the national average.”
The 3,000metre2 dealership includes nine workshop bays from one tonne to 44 tonnes, with the site also featuring a dedicated ATF lane, MOT facilities, rolling road brake testing capability and tachograph calibration and repair facilities.
The other three sites were acquired in 2013 by Iveco Retail – a subsidiary of Iveco UK - after the former dealer, Grays Truck & Van, fell into administration and the manufacturer stepped in to secure regional coverage, while the Farnborough site is the first purpose-built dealership.
