H. Gittins Transport
Our Accreditations and Approvals
Accreditations decide two practical things: whether a site will let our lorry through the gate, and whether a repair we carry out will stand up in your maintenance file. These are the ones we hold and what each of them actually means for you.
DVSA Authorised Testing Facility
Our site is approved by the DVSA to host heavy goods vehicle annual tests. A DVSA examiner attends and tests on our lane with our equipment, so you book around your operation rather than around a government test station’s diary. It covers rigids, tractor units, trailers and PSVs.
FORS accredited
FORS is the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme. It audits vehicle safety, driver standards and how an operation is actually run, and it is renewed against evidence rather than claimed.
It matters because many local authority, construction and infrastructure contracts will not admit a haulier without it. If your load is going somewhere that checks at the gate, this is the thing to check before booking anyone.
HS2 approved supplier
We are an approved supplier to HS2, which is a separate approval from FORS with its own requirements. Together they open sites and contracts that are closed to most hauliers.
WABCO, Knorr-Bremse and SAF authorised service centre
We are an authorised service centre for WABCO and Knorr-Bremse braking systems and for SAF axles. That means we work to the manufacturer’s procedures, with their diagnostic equipment and their parts.
For an operator the practical value is in the maintenance file: a braking repair carried out by an authorised centre to the manufacturer’s procedure is a different document from one that says a part was replaced.
Haldex ABS and EBS
Diagnosing Haldex ABS and EBS faults on trucks and trailers is one of the things we do most often, including the faults that only appear once a unit and trailer are coupled — the case that tends to defeat a general workshop.
Frequently asked questions
Why does FORS accreditation matter to me?
Many local authority, construction and infrastructure sites will not let a haulier through the gate without it. We hold FORS alongside HS2 approved supplier status, so we can deliver where other hauliers are turned away.
What does being an authorised service centre change?
We work to the manufacturer’s procedures with their diagnostic equipment and their parts. In a maintenance file, a braking repair carried out by an authorised centre to the correct procedure stands up differently from a note saying a part was changed.
Does the DVSA authorisation cover trailers and PSVs?
Yes. Our lane is used for rigids, tractor units, trailers and PSVs. Trailers are tested in their own right on their own axle count, and PSVs are priced on seating capacity.
More about us
About us
Hughie Gittins started this business in 1972, and it has been in the family ever since.
Our facility
Everything is on one site on Aston Fields Industrial Estate: the DVSA authorised test lane, the workshop that prepares and repairs the vehicles that use it, the rolling road, and a gated yard with room for anything up to a full-length artic..
Come and see the place
We are on Aston Fields Industrial Estate, minutes from M5 Junction 5. Call us on 01527 870400 and we will tell you what you need to know.