Transport Managers for Skip Hire and Grab Fleets

Skip-hire and grab-lorry operators need more than a transport manager CPC named in an application. They need a transport manager who can understand the work, visit the operation, access the records and exercise continuous and effective management. Relevant skip and grab-fleet knowledge helps a transport manager assess collection practices, payload control, specialist equipment and work at customer sites against the operator’s records.

ETM helps operators send one request to suitable transport managers and consultants. The Traffic Commissioner decides whether a proposed appointment is acceptable. ETM is an independent marketplace, not GOV.UK, DVSA or the Office of the Traffic Commissioner.

Why sector experience matters

Depending on the vehicles, work and location, a skip-hire business may need a goods vehicle operator’s licence and waste-carrier registration. Permission from the relevant highway authority is also normally required before a skip is placed on a public road. Grab-lorry work also requires controls for variable payloads, site conditions and the inspection and use of lifting equipment. The transport system has to show who checks each permission and how the vehicle remains safe between collection, tipping and return.

Skip loaders and grabs depend on hydraulic systems, stabilisers, chains, hooks, sheets and nets. A vehicle safety inspection does not, by itself, demonstrate that all specialist body and lifting-equipment duties have been met. Drivers should receive vehicle-specific instructions for pre-use checks, safe collection and tipping, and escalation or refusal where a skip or load cannot be moved lawfully and safely. Payload checks and safe tipping arrangements must remain visible in the records.

The proposed working arrangement should include enough direct contact with the yard, vehicles, drivers and collection work for the transport manager to exercise continuous and effective management. They should help the operator define the boundaries between operator-licensing controls and separate waste, highway and lifting-equipment duties, with a named person responsible for each action. They need enough time to sample daily checks, body maintenance, weighbridge data and driver decisions in the field.

What the transport manager should be able to control

• Operator-licence type and legal entity, waste-carrier registration, vehicle-user arrangements and responsibility for obtaining and complying with highway skip permits.
• Documented responsibility for vehicle safety inspections, specialist body maintenance and any separate examination requirements applying to lifting equipment.
• Vehicle-specific pre-use checks for the chains, hooks, stabilisers, sheets, nets and other safety-related equipment fitted.
• Payload assessment, use of available weight information and a documented process for refusing or safely resolving a suspected overload.
• Safe placement, collection, reversing and tipping procedures.
• Driver competence for the specific skip-loader or grab equipment used.

The exact division of work should be written into the appointment and supported by real authority. The transport manager needs access to vehicles, drivers, maintenance and tachograph records, the Vehicle Operator Licensing account where appropriate, managers who can authorise spending and directors who will act on escalation.

Internal, external or compliance support

A standard national or standard international licence normally needs a professionally competent transport manager. That person may be internal, with a genuine link to the operator, or external under a direct contract. An external transport manager may normally manage no more than four operators with a combined authorised fleet of no more than 50 vehicles. Any proposed exception must be evidenced and accepted through the operator-licensing process.

A restricted licence does not normally require a nominated transport manager, but the operator still needs competent management. Some restricted operators use a transport consultant for audits, training and system support. The request should say whether you need a formal nomination, temporary help during a period of grace, an independent audit or ongoing compliance support.

Information to include in your request

• The legal entity and operator licence number, if already held.
• Licence type and whether the work is national or international.
• Vehicle and trailer numbers, vehicle types and operating centres.
• A clear description of the skip hire and grab lorry work and typical loads.
• Current maintenance, brake testing and tachograph arrangements.
• Any DVSA, Traffic Commissioner or application deadline.
• The hours, site visits and practical involvement you expect.

Good information lets a transport manager judge capacity before quoting. It also reduces the risk of a nominal appointment with hours that do not match the operation.

Questions to ask a prospective transport manager

• Which records cover the chassis and which cover lifting equipment?
• How will you test the quality of daily skip-loader checks?
• What is the written rule for refusing an unsafe or overweight skip?
• How will you monitor grab and skip work at customer sites?
• How will missing, expired or breached highway skip permits be identified, assigned and escalated?

Also ask for CPC evidence, recent continuing professional development, other operator commitments and permission to verify proposed appointments. Discuss how reports will be provided, how urgent defects or infringements will be escalated and what happens if the operator prevents the TM from doing the job.

What happens after you submit the ETM form

ETM reviews the information supplied and may share the request with members whose stated services, location and available capacity appear relevant. Interested transport managers can contact you with their experience, availability and proposed approach. You compare those responses and choose whether to proceed. Submitting a request does not appoint a transport manager and does not guarantee approval by a Traffic Commissioner.

Questions operators ask

Do we need a transport manager for a restricted licence?

There is normally no requirement to nominate a professionally competent transport manager on a restricted goods vehicle licence. The licence holder must still have effective systems and enough knowledge to comply. A consultant can support those systems without being named as the statutory transport manager.

How many hours should an external transport manager work?

There is no safe generic number for every fleet. The proposed hours must reflect vehicles, trailers, operating centres, drivers, work type, compliance history and supporting staff. The Traffic Commissioner will consider whether the arrangement can deliver continuous and effective management.

Official sources

• Traffic Commissioners: goods vehicle operator licensing guide
• DVSA: Guide to maintaining roadworthiness
• DVSA: securing loads on HGVs and goods vehicles
• GOV.UK: skip operator licence
• Senior Traffic Commissioner: transport managers