1)  Transport Breakdown Procedures

Vehicles : During normal working hours our own vehicle maintenance workshop can be contacted directly, by either the driver or the Transport Office, with repairs being carried out locally by our own fitters, or alternatively we have agreements with the vehicle manufacturer’s main dealerships for roadside breakdown attendance (24/7 if required). Any repairs required  will be organised by one of the engineering staff, one of whom is on-call outside working hours and can be reached by mobile telephone.

Refrigeration Units : We have 24/7 support from Marshall Thermo King  (the manufacturer of the majority of our fridge units), who have a depot in the adjoining premises to our own workshops. All repairs are arranged in conjunction with our workshop staff.

In the event that a delivery might be affected by mechanical failure (of either the vehicle or refrigeration unit) a member of the ShuttleBridge Customer’s staff will be advised. Should the internal temperature have risen above + 6 C for chilled and –15 C for frozen prior to repair, then product temperatures will be taken and a further decision made as to what should happen to the consignment. The target temperature for the carriage of chilled product on a vehicle is + 1 C and –18 C for frozen, regardless of the number of pallets being carried on the vehicle. ShuttleBridge make use of a number of frozen/chilled storage sites throughout the UK into which product can be stored to maintain temperature until a refrigeration unit can be repaired or a replacement vehicle made available to collect. 

2)  Transport Cleaning Schedule

All vehicles are regularly cleaned inside and out. For the washing of vehicle exteriors we have erected an automated vehicle drive-through brush wash, situated at our Bridgwater site and accessible 24/7, weather permitting. We also have two steam cleaners and two cold water pressure washers at the Bridgwater site, for use on both vehicle body interiors and externally. Vehicles are checked by the Coldstore supervisors whilst off-loading and prior to re-loading and in the event of a wash being required the driver, or the Yard Marshall, will be advised and the vehicle removed for it to be carried out. Further cleaning facilities are provided at the other five Langdon Depots in addition to our partner’s facilities. The chemicals used for cleaning interiors of vehicle bodies are food safe (eg. Diversey Fleetclean V2).

Dover have a fixed jet wash facility which is operated from the refueling station into fixed underground separators. The Warehouse Shift Manager has the responsibility to ensure unclean vehicles and trailers are reported to the general handyman or night shunter for cleaning.

3)  Vehicles Maintenance Schedule

Routine servicing is carried out by our own workshops at the service intervals laid down by The Department of Transport (A statutory requirement required to obtain and retain an Operator’s Licence). Service records are retained for a minimum of five years. Fridge units are serviced at intervals of approximately 800 hours by Marshall Thermo King, organised in conjunction with our workshops normally at the time of vehicle servicing. During every service the refrigeration equipment and internal temperature sensors are tested and calibrated. 

4)  Security

At our premises vehicles are loaded and unloaded on covered loading-bays which protects product from adverse weather conditions etc. Premises are located within a secure perimeter with security staff employed. This is in addition to CCTV camera recordings.

All drivers are issued with Standing Instructions known as the ‘Drivers Pack’ which includes references to vehicle security. All vehicles must be locked at all times when they are not accompanied.

At every depot in the network there is a strict procedure for the storage and safety of vehicle keys. In event of vehicle theft our satellite tracking system would be used to assist the authorities and all trailers have their identity numbers painted in large letters on the roof for easy identification.

5)  Evidence of vehicle internal air temperature during transportation

All vehicles are fitted with internal temperature recorders. Most are now fitted with Satellite tracking linked to digital temperature recorders. This data is downloaded via the satellite at regular intervals. This equipment also records door openings and the location of each vehicle to which it is fitted. This data is retained for a period of 13 months.

The “Drivers Pack” also includes reference to internal temperature control and monitoring. The relevant section is re-printed below:

REFRIGERATED HAULAGE

Driver Instructions

1. Pre-cool or heat trailer as required prior to loading.
2. Obtain from the customer or traffic office the exact temperature at which load is to be carried.
3. Where necessary take sample temperatures of product prior to loading by placing a thermometer probe between outer packaging, (ideally between the second and third layer from the top of the pallet).
4. Set the fridge thermostat to the required temperature.
5. When the loading is completed the fridge should be activated/started and the temperature recorder checked to see that it is recording correctly.
6. When undertaking multi-drop runs, the driver should ensure that doors are open a minimum period of time at each delivery.
7. Should there be a temperature discrepancy at delivery point, the driver should check temperature by probing with his own thermometer between outer layers of packaging (ideally between the second and third layer from the top of the pallet).
   Should this temperature prove unacceptable a non-destructive reading of inner packing should be taken by agreement with the consignee.
   If the temperature is not acceptable the driver should contact ShuttleBridge management immediately for further instructions.
8. During the journey a vehicle and its load may be required to comply with a roadside check by an Environmental Health Officer.  The driver should obtain sight of the officer's authenticity and then allow inspection of load documentation and inspection of temperature recording equipment.  Langdon staff should be advised immediately.

6) Cold Store Operations

We operate frozen and chilled storage at our Bridgwater and Dover depots and chilled storage at our Redditch depot.

All stores have their internal temperature monitored by remote telemetry with our contracted refrigeration engineers receiving automated dial outs in the event of any plant fault occuring. Store temperature probes constantly monitor internal temperature and this equipment is calibrated annually.

All our premises comply with the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations of 2006 and we have written HACCP plans for all three locations.

All three stores are fully approved under EC 853/2004 (previously the Meat Hygiene Service regulations).Store licence numbers are Bridgwater UK SG004 EEC , Redditch UK RH010 EEC and Dover  UK DV005 EEC 

We have monthly pest control visits from Rentokil under their Pestguard Plus scheme which also includes an annual visit from a field biologist.

We have written SOP’s (standard operating procedures) for order receipt, collections, receipt into store, trunking, despatch, deliveries, discrepancies and other procedures.

Goods arriving at cold stores are temperature checked to ensure that they are at an acceptable temperature range.

7) Product Condition

We request from our customers that all goods consigned for delivery via our Chillnet service are well wrapped and outer packaging does not exceed the footprint of the pallet.  All product is QC checked on arrival at the collecting depot and checks are made to establish that all product is securely packed in sealed units to prevent any risk of cross contamination. In addition to this our Sales Dept will not knowingly offer our services to potential clients whose products are likely to present a taint risk eg. fresh fish or raw peeled onions etc.