At the Microlise Transport Conference yesterday (Wednesday 20th May), Samworth Brothers Supply Chain driver Alan Marsh took home the Microlise Driver of the Year award, being first named as the winning driver in the long distance category, before being named Overall Winner.
Marsh beat 90,000 other drivers to be named Microlise Driver of the Year, which were run in conjunction with Microlise partners the Road Haulage Association and The University of Nottingham. MAN Truck & Bus UK sponsored the awards, providing a track at the Porsche Experience Centre, attended by shortlisted drivers on the 19th May.
Marsh said: “This is a very proud moment for me and for Samworths, which have given me the tools to do the job. The secret of my success is down to the pursuit of perfection and the fact that I love my job.”
Anonymised driver data was analysed by the Advanced Data Analysis Centre at the University, to create an initial shortlist of 15 drivers in each of three categories – short, medium and long distance. Manager questionnaires were then collected, before the RHA were provided with the data and questionnaire responses, both of which remained anonymised, in order to produce a shortlist of five drivers in each category, category winners, and the overall winner.
The short distance category was won by John Bramhill of specialist food and drinks logistics provider Culina, whilst Douglas Thornton of John Mitchell Haulage and Warehousing was named the top driver in the medium distance category.
Having been named winners of their respective categories, Bramhill, Thornton and Marsh were all considered for the overall Microlise Driver of the Year award, with Marsh ultimately coming out on top.
Commenting, RHA chief executive Richard Burnett said: “I’d like to state at the outset that the judging process for these awards was completely anonymous and was entirely based on results as opposed to personalities. I was therefore delighted to learn that the overall winner of this year’s competition is a driver from my previous company, Samworth Brothers Distribution. Alan Marsh is a credit to the company and a great ambassador industry as a whole.”
The shortlist of drivers in each category included drivers from Agrii, Bidvest 3663, Birchall Foodservice, Brocklesby Logistics, Carlsberg, CEVA, Chamberlain Transport, Culina, John Mitchell Haulage and Warehousing, Samworth Brothers, Synergy, and W M Armstrong.
“The Microlise Driver of the Year Awards were designed to recognise the professionalism of drivers, and the contribution they make to the industry,” said Bob Harbey, Executive Director at Microlise. “Alan scored very highly in terms of the telematics data, and the manager questionnaire showed how highly he is valued at Samworth Brothers and what a superb job he does, day-in, day-out. He is a deserving winner, and everyone at Microlise congratulates him on what is a fantastic achievement, being named overall Microlise Driver of the Year out of an initial 90,000 drivers who were considered.”
The Microlise Transport Conference was chaired by award winning motoring journalist, author, TV presenter and FairFuel UK campaigner, Quentin Willson.
