Manufacturing and automotive drivers and staff
Drivers for line-side deliveries and time-critical runs between factories, suppliers and assembly plants.
The work
Manufacturers depend on deliveries that arrive when the line needs them. Parts come from suppliers to the factory, finished products go out to distributors and customers, and pallets and returnable containers go back and forth. A late delivery can stop a line, so the driver works to a delivery window and a schedule set by the plant.
Automotive plants run tight schedules. Components arrive in set windows, and drivers take parts between suppliers, warehouses and assembly plants. Some runs are regular loops done every day. Others are urgent collections that go out when a supplier is short of a part.
Factory sites have rules: safety inductions, speed limits, marked walkways and loading bays with their own marshals. Drivers are inducted, dock at the bay they are sent to, and hand over the paperwork at goods-in. Timekeeping is part of the job.
Vehicles and loads
- Curtainside and box trailers for pallets and boxed components
- 7.5 tonne box vehicles and vans for urgent and short-notice parts runs
- Returnable pallets, cages and stillages that go back to the supplier
- Bays, marshals and timed delivery windows at the plant gate
Licences, cards and tickets
- Category C+E, C, C1 or B, according to the vehicle on the run.
- Driver CPC and a digital tachograph driver card for lorries over 3.5 tonnes.
- A site induction at each plant, arranged by the client.
- A forklift certificate if the driver is expected to load or unload with a truck.
- Safety footwear and high-visibility clothing, as the site names.
Shift patterns
- Days
- Deliveries to plants and warehouses in daylight, to the delivery window the plant sets.
- Nights
- Plants that run night shifts need parts delivered at night. Night work follows the working time rules.
- Tramping
- Long runs between a supplier and a distant plant can take a driver away for part of the week, agreed in the booking.
- Weekends
- Plants that run weekend shifts need parts on Saturday and Sunday, and operators book cover for those runs.
Checks we run for manufacturing and automotive
Licence and cards
Licence, Driver CPC and digi card are checked before the first shift.
Timekeeping
We ask referees about punctuality and reliability on timed runs, because a late delivery costs a plant.
Site induction
We pass on the plant’s safety induction, gate and PPE requirements before the first shift.
Hours awareness
We ask about recent hours, so that a fixed early delivery does not clash with the previous day’s rest.
The full list of checks is on the compliance checks page.
Roles in manufacturing and automotive
Where we cover it
Questions about manufacturing and automotive work
- What is line-side delivery?
Delivering parts to the point on the production line where they are used, rather than to a central warehouse. The driver follows the plant’s rules for the bay, the window and the handover.
- Do I need a forklift ticket?
If the site expects you to use a truck, you need training for that truck type, and HSE encourages the use of a certificate from an accredited provider as evidence of it. The booking details say whether the driver loads and unloads, and the client confirms it.
- What is a delivery window?
A set time slot in which a delivery has to arrive. A plant gives each delivery a window so that parts arrive when the line needs them and bays are not clogged.
- Do plants take deliveries at night?
Where a plant runs a night shift, it can take parts at night. The booking states the delivery window, and night work follows the working time rules.
Book a driver for a plant run
Give us the plant, the route, the vehicle, the licence category, the delivery window and the start time. We come back on who can cover it.