With environmental regulation a continuing cause of discontent with many in the Irish accident repair industry, an interesting example of how regulations can adopt a common sense solution has been shown by a UK refinisher and its local council.

Based in the West Country county of Somerset, Tor Trucks is a major car and commercial vehicle bodyshop. It has been given a ‘low-risk’ category status by its local council after an environment inspection. As a result, the operation will now pay the lowest level for its spray painting permit and importantly, the council will reduce the number of inspections it undertakes of the premises. Tor Trucks achieved this low risk status through investment in equipment such as spraybooths and extraction systems and by adopting best practices in relation to use of products containing VOC’s.

The council inspected the premises and produced a risk score based on factors such as operator performance, record keeping, training and responsibility. This year, due to a significant improvement in performance in these areas, the company’s risk assessment dropped from a score of 45 to 15. They will thus pay a lower permit charge and will receive less frequent inspections.

This is perhaps a model that Irish authorities could look at, as one of the major criticisms of registered bodyshops is that they receive no reward for their responsible attitude and their significant investment in meeting environmental regulations, while unlicensed operators seemingly go unpunished.