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What is PAS 43:2012?

PAS 43 is the publicly available management system specification for the safe working of vehicle breakdown and recovery operations.

The standard is sponsored by SURVIVE (Safe Use of Roadside Verges in Vehicular Emergencies) which exists to improve the safety of breakdown operatives, employees and customers at breakdown and recovery situations.

1998 saw six vehicle recovery operators killed on the motorways and hard shoulders of Britain and, as a result, the AA and the RAC funded the establishment of SURVIVE in March 1999. The purpose of the group was to promote the safety of persons working or stopping on motorway hard shoulders and high-speed dual carriageways.

The SURVIVE report was published in May 2000 and included a large number of conclusions, some of which are detailed below :

Some organisations were unable to give sufficient advice to operatives or to demonstrate effective training
Members of the public are frequently unaware of the dangers of stopping on a hard shoulder
No standardised practise for the livery or lighting of recovery vehicles.

As a result, the following recommendations were made :

The extension of motorway lighting at junctions has clearly shown a reduction in accidents and should be continued
‘Rumble strips’ have shown to be effective in improving safety and should be introduced across the entire motorway network
Information regarding these issues should be standardised and better disseminated to the public
A common code of practice should be introduced for breakdown and recovery operators, including requirements for training, competence and best practice

Following the recommendations made by SURVIVE, a committee comprising representatives from the Police Force, the Government, motor services organisations and the motor industry, was set up to create a specification (PAS 43) encompassing these recommendations.

Who is PAS 43 applicable to?

The scheme is open to all vehicle breakdown and recovery operators and similar organisations working on the motorway networks.

What are the immediate benefits of registration to PAS 43?

Improved stakeholder relationships - particularly employees and customers who will recognise that the organisation takes their safety and welfare seriously
Improved risk management - through improved working practices that protect employees and customers from harm during recovery
Customer satisfaction - through service delivery that consistently meet customer requirements
Reduced operating costs - through continual improvement of processes and resulting operational efficiencies
Legal compliance - by understanding how statutory and regulatory requirements impact the organization and its customers
Proven business credentials - through independent verification against recognized standards
Ability to win more business - particularly where procurement specifications require certification to PAS 43 as a condition to supply.
Safe working of vehicle breakdown, recovery and removal operations - Management system specification.

How to gain registration?

NQA provides certification to PAS 43 jointly with ISO 9001 registration. The process of registration follows three simple steps:

Application for registration is made by completing the QMS questionnaire
Assessment to ISO 9001 and PAS 43 is undertaken by NQA - the organisation must be able to demonstrate that its quality management system has been fully operative for a minimum of three months and has been subject of a full cycle of internal audits
Registration is granted by NQA and maintained by the organisation. Maintenance is confirmed through a programme of annual surveillance visits and a three yearly re-certification audit.

Initial Certification Audit

The assessment process for achieving certification consists of a two stage Initial Certification Audit as

follows:

Stage 1 - the purpose of this visit is to confirm the readiness of the organisation for full assessment.

The assessor will:

confirm that the quality manual conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and PAS 43
confirm its implementation status
confirm the scope of certification
check legislative compliance
produce a report that identifies any non-compliance or potential for non-compliance and agree a corrective action plan if required.
produce an assessment plan and confirm a date for the Stage 2 assessment visit.

Stage 2 - the purpose of this visit is to confirm that the quality management system fully conforms to the requirements of ISO 9001 and PAS 43 in practice.

The assessor will:

undertake sample audits of the processes and activities defined in the scope of assessment
document how the system complies with the standard
report any non-compliances or potential for non-compliance
produce a visit plan for the first surveillance visit

Please note that if any major non-conformance is identified, the organisation cannot be certified until corrective action is taken and verified.

Contact us

For more information about this service, contact our friendly team today on 08000 522424. We will be pleased to help you.

For further information please download the information below.

PAS 43 Revision Guidance
This document acts as a guide to the amended 2010 edition of ‘PAS 43 – Safe working of vehicle breakdown, recovery and removal operations – Management system specification’
Download information