Three related Kent haulage firms have come "perilously close" to losing their O-licences following serious maintenance failings, a TC has warned.
The three companies are MJD Containers. MJD Services (UK) and MJD Logistics (UK) and are run by the same directors, Michael and Patricia Dole, and operate from the same site in Swanscombe, Kent. They appeared at an Eastbourne public inquiry in front of the Deputy South Eastern & Metropolitan TC John Baker.
Although he said that since October 2007 "the performance of the operator has been far from satisfactory", he felt that they had not done enough to merit being put out of business. Instead he curtailed the various licences, effectively removing five vehicles from each fleet for a period of 14 days.
The inquiry was told that since October 2007 almost 50 prohibitions had been issued against the three companies, with MJD Containers attracting the majority.
Two unannounced fleet inspections in October and November 2008 discovered that although the trucks and trailers were in a generally good condition, there were problems with the driver defect reporting system. The average first-time MOT pass-rate across the three companies was 55.97%, compared with the national average of 67.85%, the DTC heard.
The firm said that it had since brought in a new fleet manager to oversee the in-house maintenance operation and had invested in its workshop equipment.
Transport manager Dennis Smith also said that the firm's heavy use of overseas drivers - it employs 35 Poles and another 25-40 from Romania and Lithuania - had caused some problems, largely due to the language barrier.
In conclusion, DTC Baker said that the problems were caused by the "slack operation" of the driver defect reporting system and the management and operation of the preventative maintenance system.
But he warned: "However, the continuing pattern of failure to operate without breaching the terms of the licences means that the operators have come perilously close to revocation.
"They should be fully aware that if this pattern continues in the future, there will be a very high likelihood of revocation following."
Click here to download the DTC's full decision.
