VOSA confirms date for OCRS
Friday 17th August 2012The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has now confirmed 1 October 2012 as the start date for significant changes to the way in which the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is calculated.
1 October 2012
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has now confirmed 1 October 2012 as the start date for significant changes to the way in which the Operator Compliance Risk Score (OCRS) is calculated.
The notice period has been set to enable operators to familiarise themselves with the extensive changes that will be made.
The changes were due to come into effect on 30 April 2012 but the start was delayed due to technical issues discovered whilst testing the system. According to reports, VOSA says that these have now been resolved and a full round of rigorous system testing has been completed to enable the OCRS changes to take place.
In short, the changes include the removal of predictive scoring and a 'straight to red' for the most serious offences or prosecutions.
Summary of the Changes
A summary of the changes is included below, along with links where you can find further information on the topic.
Predictive scoring
VOSA is replacing predictive scores with a zero score - a 'grey fleet' marking. This will highlight to VOSA staff that they have no data with which to rate that operator's risk of non-compliance.
By introducing the new grey category, VOSA are also changing their enforcement priorities. Red colour operators will still be the primary focus for enforcement on both roadworthiness and traffic issues. On the roadworthiness issues, amber operators will also still follow in second place, followed by grey. For traffic, the priority after red operators will now be those with a grey colour coding, enabling VOSA reduce the number of 'unknowns' in the system and make sure they have useful data for most operators. As the grey fleet reduces, VOSA's targeting will adjust accordingly.
Change in targeting priorities:
Roadworthiness
Red
Amber
Grey
Green
Traffic:
Red
Grey
Amber
Green
How colour coding is determined
VOSA is changing the way in which the colour coding is determined. The colour coding will now be calculated purely on the operator's own score and the peer comparison will no longer be used. It will still be based on calculation of points against encounters, but scores will now change as a direct result of the operator's own performance and NOT as a result of changes by the industry in general. The more clear encounters, the lower the score.
Available data
In calculating an operator's score, VOSA are going to start taking into account more data. At the current time, only two years worth of encounters are considered in formulating the OCRS score. When the new changes come into effect on 30 April 2012, VOSA will start looking at three years worth of information. Furthermore, the scores will be re-calculated on a weekly basis instead of the current monthly approach.
Points system
Point allocation for traffic offences will be moved to the same system as for mechanical defects, graduated based on the severity of the offence. Rather than different points for each defect or offence, a set number of points will be allocated based on the seriousness of the defect or offence.
Weighting by age
Going forward from 30 April 2012, all points will be weighted by age. As defects/offences slip into the past, their weighting will reduce and the operator's score will become greener (assuming no new offences), giving operators the chance to improve their score without a clear encounter with VOSA. For example, if an operator has an encounter on 1 May 2012 and attracts 20 points, the value of those points for calculating the OCRS score will change as follows:
Year 1 1 May 2012 - 30 April 2013 20 points (x 1)
Year 2 1 May 2013 - 30 April 2014 15 points (x 0.75)
Year 3 1 May 2014 - 30 April 2015 10 points (x 0.50)
Points for prosecutions will now only be added once found guilty - not when the summons is issued.
Red Shift
In addition to changing the way points and the four colours are calculated, VOSA is also taking this opportunity to introduce certain events which trigger a 'straight to red' colour coding, no matter what their baseline score is. For example, a conviction will move an operator to red for a 12 month period, after which the operator will revert to the status merited by their baseline score.
The 'straight to red' colour coding can occur in one of two scenarios:
1. Where an operator is successfully prosecuted for an offence, the operator's score (regardless of the actual calculation) will be placed at red for a minimum period of one year.
2. Where an operator or driver commits what is considered to be a "serious infringement", or even though there might be no prosecution, the operator's score will go straight to red for a period of six months. The serious infringements are based on five of the "seven deadly sins" which were introduced into operators licensing in December 2011 and are as follows:
i. Exceeding the maximum six days driving or permitted fortnightly driving time by more than 25%
ii. Exceeding permitted daily working or driving time by 50% or more without taking a break or without taking more than 4.5 hours uninterrupted rest iii. Driving without a tachograph, speed limiter or when charts or data have been falsified
iv. Driving with another person's digital tachograph card in place or using falsified card or one obtained on a false basis
v. Breaching certain rules and regulations in relation to transporting dangerous goods.
Fixed RAG bands
VOSA is looking to move to a system where operators are rated as Red, Amber or Green depending on their baseline score - rather than continuing with a fixed percentage of operators in each band.
This means that operators will only move between the bands as either the result of a vehicle inspection or the result of a weighting factor reducing the score.
More information
To find out more information on the new system, please visit www.vosa.gov.uk/ocrs-faqs or download the attached PDF
VOSA emails out regular updates to ensure customers are informed of changes to regulation and enforcement policy via VOSA Direct. If you would like this information delivered direct to your inbox subscribe to www.dft.gov.uk/vosa
