Governance

Product and service quality

We carry out an ongoing programme of audits to ensure that all our processes are effective, relevant and where required, corrective action is taken. Our Operations Support Department manages a team of 17 trained Internal Auditors which carries out unannounced audits across the Organisation. Each distribution and retail location receives at least two audits per year.

The Company benefits from the continual improvements driven by Internal Audit and the robust management of subsequent corrective action.

Head Office and Support Departments are audited on at least an annual basis by the Group Quality Manager. All audit results and trends are reviewed at monthly Quality meetings, attended by the Company’s senior management.

As an organisation certificated to ISO9001:2015, our processes are verified twice a year by external assessors. As a subsidiary of Itochu, a publicly listed Japanese Corporation, we are required to comply with JSOX legislation. This involves the testing of operational controls by Itochu’s Internal Audit Division.

Health and safety

The Company strives for continuous health & safety improvement. We encourage communication of good practices, promote awareness of H&S issues, and ensure that high standards are achieved and maintained. Our approach to occupational health & safety is systematic and our safety management system is completely integrated within a fully documented process. We believe that health & safety in the workplace is an issue for everyone. Therefore, beyond our robust systems and management approach, we vigorously promote a programme of continuous safety in the workplace. The general level of safety and occupational health awareness in our workplaces is continuously improved through the education of employees and we are fully committed to the development of employee awareness and competence.

Anti-slavery policy

Our business involves the operation of vehicle servicing garages and the sale of tyres across the UK. Our supply chain therefore primarily involves the purchase of automotive parts and tyres. It is complex and global in nature.

We are committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in our supply chains or elsewhere in our business. All suppliers, both new and existing, have to complete a Modern Slavery questionnaire annually. Our Anti-slavery Policy reflects our commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in our business relationships. This is supported by our policies on bribery and corruption.

As part of our initiative to identify and mitigate risk we endeavour to: Identify and assess potential risk areas in our supply chains; Monitor potential risk areas in our supply chains; and Protect whistle blowers.

In addition to our Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy, there is a modern slavery learning module for senior leadership and senior management on our in-house training system which is now being rolled out to all staff.

Privacy and data

The nature of our business requires us to hold personal data, for instance a customer’s name, address, vehicle(s), appointments, where their vehicle was seen and by whom, when and why their vehicle was seen, value spent, type of payment method used and relevant related comments.

We hold this personal data in a secure cloud in approved data centres. Information is stored in a protected repository where data is collected from all sectors of the Organisation and processed in line with the Company policies and current data regulations.

Fuel consumption in our transport operations accounts for the largest proportion of our energy use. ETEL is testing the use of electric vehicles within its overall fleet although as yet, there are not viable EV options available for the bulk of its deliveries or for the mobile fitting fleet. However, EV and Hydrogen technology in the commercial space is advancing and we are hopeful that zero emission options will become available in the medium term.

In the meantime we are investing heavily in the latest technology to allow for the most efficient driving and delivery routing of our current vehicles. We have a full telematics system installed on every ETEL commercial vehicle which allows us to track, by driver and vehicle, how the vehicle is being driven. This allows us to maximise fuel efficiency/reduce wear and tear through driver programmes of education, training and recognition. We have an ongoing review programme which interrogates our route planning which enable us to continually reduce delivery miles through more efficient routing and execution.