Most carrier visits turn into a tour of the yard. You see trucks, a clean office and a friendly manager, and you leave with a feeling. A feeling is not a record.
The Department of Land Transport has already written down what a visit should look for. It did so in the manual for its voluntary Q Mark standard, which tells the outside auditor what to ask to see for each requirement. You do not need the certificate to use the list. You can run the same visit yourself.
The short answer
- The manual has 39 requirements in five areas. 27 are "must" and 12 are "should".
- For each one it names the evidence an auditor accepts. A document, a record, or a staff member who can explain it.
- The test behind all of it is repeatability. If one employee leaves, the next can do the job the same way. A visit checks whether that is true.
- Few carriers hold the certificate. The Department's page showed 458 certified non-fixed-route operators, against about 40,900 operators in total. That is roughly one in ninety.
- So the list is more useful as a visit guide than as a filter. Ask to see the evidence yourself.
What the standard is, and is not
- It is voluntary. An operator applies. Only a holder of a non-fixed-route licence, or a private transport licence for vehicles carrying animals or things, can apply.
- It involves a visit. The operator fills in a self-assessment, the Department checks the documents, and an independent assessing body visits the real premises. A committee then decides.
- The certificate lasts 3 years. It ends if it is not renewed, if it is revoked, or if the transport licence itself is not renewed, is revoked or expires.
- The auditor samples and asks. The manual says the auditor looks for four things: a plan, work done to the plan, a record of the result, and a review when the result misses the plan. Staff such as drivers and office workers are interviewed.
Two limits matter to a buyer.
- It checks a system, not your freight. A certified operator has shown it runs a system. That does not promise your goods arrive on time.
- The manual's example documents are not requirements. Chapter 6 is built around an invented company. The examples in it show one way to do things, so they are not a standard to hold a carrier to.
The visit, area by area
The numbers in brackets are the manual's own, so you can find the item. Every item is a "must" unless the text says "should".
Organisation: who is in charge
| Ask to see | What the auditor accepts |
|---|---|
| Who is responsible for transport safety (1.1) | An organisation chart that shows the transport department and names the person responsible for safety. Staff can describe their own duties |
| How damage to goods is handled (1.5) | A defined limit of responsibility and a procedure, shown by an insurance policy or a sample contract, plus damage reports. If there has been none, the auditor asks for an example of at least one type |
| How software is used (1.3) | At least one use of information technology, such as a transport cost calculator or a transport management system |
The 1.5 item is the one that connects to your claim rights. The law on who pays for damaged goods sets the default. This item tells you whether the carrier has a procedure at all.
Transport operations: the part that touches your freight
All eight items here are "must".
| Ask to see | What the auditor accepts |
|---|---|
| The path from order to delivery (2.1, 2.2) | A written procedure from receiving the order to handing over the goods, with a named owner for each step, for each customer type. A manual that matches it, so any employee works the same way every time |
| Route planning (2.3) | A route list that marks risk and danger points, and safe rest stops that do not disturb neighbours |
| Trip records (2.4) | Driver, plate number, travel time, pick-up and drop times. A trip report counts |
| Review of results (2.5) | Per-trip results and errors, such as late trips and wrong trips, collected and analysed for causes, on a continuing basis |
| Speed and driving behaviour (2.6) | A control measure, such as GPS, and a way it is supervised |
| Emergencies (2.7) | A procedure for an accident: who is told (insurer, police), help for the injured. A copy with phone numbers in every vehicle. Drills done regularly |
| Accident log (2.8) | A record of each accident, its cause and the fix. If there has never been one, a blank form ready to use |
Item 2.5 is worth the most to you. A carrier that counts late and failed trips by cause can tell you why last month went wrong. One that does not can only apologise. The five questions worth tracking on a carrier are the numbers to ask it for.
Staff: who drives
| Ask to see | What the auditor accepts |
|---|---|
| Hiring and files (3.1, 3.5) | A recruitment procedure or, failing that, personnel files that show one. A file per driver and a current list of drivers |
| Work rules (3.2) | Rules for every position covering working hours, rest, annual leave and penalties. Staff know them |
| Training (3.3) | A plan for at least two courses a year: safe driving, and basic vehicle checks and care. Proof, such as photos, sign-in sheets or a per-person record |
| Health (3.6) | An annual health check per the Social Security Office schedule. At the first assessment, evidence that at least 30% of drivers have had one |
| Working hours (3.7) | A plan for each driver, or a check that no one drives continuously beyond what the law allows and that drivers get enough rest |
| Alcohol (3.8) | Testing with a meter of accepted standard, a record of the results and a penalty. The manual adds that it should be done before every departure |
| Drugs (3.9) | Regular random testing, or a blood test in the annual health check, and a penalty |
Item 3.7 asks whether the carrier checks driving hours, which is a different question from whether a rule on them exists.
One "should" in this area is cheap to look for: a strict rule against leaving the engine running for long when parked (3.10).
Vehicles: three records per truck
| Ask to see | What the auditor accepts |
|---|---|
| Fuel (4.1) | A fuel record per vehicle, analysed for efficiency and improved over time. Where fuel is paid as a lump sum, the amount compared with distance, showing efficiency was considered |
| Readiness and servicing (4.2) | A pre-trip check every day, and a service plan by time or distance (the manual's own example is an engine oil change every 10,000 km), with the results kept for each vehicle |
| Repair history (4.3) | A repair and maintenance history per vehicle |
The yearly state inspection is a snapshot, as explained in whether a carrier maintains its trucks. These three records show the days between inspections.
Customers and outside parties
- Customer records (5.1, must). Names, contacts and service history.
- Satisfaction measured and used (5.2, must). Results analysed and fed back into the work.
- Should-haves (5.3 to 5.5). A channel for suggestions, information on your customers' customers, and regular meetings with customers.
How to run the visit
- Start with the paper. Ask for the transport licence first, then the Q Mark certificate if there is one. The Department's site lists certified operators with certificate number, type and end date.
- Pick one trip and follow its records. Ask for the trip report, the daily check, the fuel entry and the driver's file for a trip last month. One real trip tests more than a folder of policies.
- Ask the person doing the job, not the manager. The manual's own method is to interview drivers and office staff. If the written procedure says one thing and the dispatcher describes another, you have found the answer.
- Mark each item three ways. Shown, told only, or none. "Told only" is common and is the one to note.
- Weigh the items by your freight. For most buyers the heavy ones are 1.5, 2.1, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8 and 4.2.
What to put in writing
- Name the records you can see. A clause that gives you the right to inspect trip reports, the accident log and the vehicle service record, on reasonable notice.
- Ask for the exception counts monthly. Late trips and failed trips by cause (item 2.5) cost the carrier little to send once it keeps them.
- Ask for the emergency sheet. The one kept in each truck, with the phone numbers. Check it is current.
- Treat a missing "must" as a dated task. For a carrier you want, agree a date to fix it rather than walking away.
Where the evidence stops
This article uses the Department's manual for what to ask to see, and the outsourcing chapters of the textbook for the idea of a site visit. No Thai study was found that measures whether certified carriers deliver better on time or have fewer accidents, so the manual is a guide to the right questions and not proof of better results. The 458 and 40,900 figures come from two undated pages, so the one-in-ninety share is approximate. No Thai statute is cited here, so there was no statutory text to verify.