THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

September 2008

Road accidents involving vehicles transporting Dangerous Goods are showing a decline with transport contractors leading the way ahead of those companies using their own transport reports Andrew Parker. 

According to figures released by the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA), the incident rate per 100 000 tons transported by contractors fell from 0,77 in 2002 to 0,18 in 2006. The figures for those companies using their own transport fell from 1,43 to 0,55 during the same time period. The figures for 2007 - 2008 were not available at the time of going to press but it is expected that this improvement will have continued.

Commenting on the statistics, Richard Durrant, CAIA Responsible Care member and independent transport and SHEQ (Safety, Health, Enviornment and Quality) consultant, made the following assumptions.

“Assuming an average load is 30 tons, 0,18 incidents per 100 000 tons works out to 3,333 loads. If we assume the average trip dustance is 300 km, this translate into one incident per 5,555,556 km travelled.” 

Making it a bit simpler, Durrant says assuming each vehicle travels 10 000 kms per month (120 000 kms a year) it means there is one incident per 46 trucks per anum. 

CAIA reports that an incident entails any incident involving the spillage, leakage or other escape of company products or wastes being transported from a factory or depot to the primary customer or disposal site, as well as any incident involving raw materials, process chemicals or catalysts being transported from the point at which the company takes ownership of them and their arrival at the factory site (more than 200 kg hazardous or 1 ton non-hazardous). 

This also includes incidents causing public disruption defined as any event involving company products or other materials being transported as described above, not involving chemical release but causing public disruption due to the danger, or perceived danger, of a chemical release, resulting in evacuation of the public, road closure, restriction of public activity or other significant precautionary measures having to be taken. 

It also covers any incident which involves the attendance of the local emergency services as well as any incident which attracts adverse local or national media attention on environmental, health or safety grounds. 

Back in 2003, CAIA introduced a directive that chemical companies using road hauliers to transport chemicals should be Responsible Care signatories and comply with the requirements of the Safety and Quality Assessment System (SQAS). 

This system was developed by the European Industry Chemical Council (CEFIC) for the European Union and has been assessed to be acceptable by CAIA as Responsible Care verification for haulier members in South Africa. 

Since the launch of SQAS in 2003 and until the end of 2006, just on 115 hauliers had been audited of which 90 attained preferred supplier status (meeting 90% of the criteria) and 25 received provisional supplier status (meeting 60% of the criteria). In addition, 21 hauliers had become signatories to Responsible Care. 

Speaking at a recent South African Chemicals and Allied Industries Association (CAIA) transport workshop, Durrant said it is most important that all parts of the supply chain (freight forwarders, trucking companies, warehousing companies) understand and implement the philosophy of Responsible Care in their daily operations, since the weakest link determines the strength of the entire logistics chain. 

“A proper education and training programme for the people who handle the logistics on chemical products is the key to raising the awareness level in every company,” he said, adding that heavy vehicle drivers are often blamed for accidents and incidents but if thorough root cause investigations are carried out, it is often the management of these drivers who are at fault! 

Wearing his CAIA cap, Durrant reports that, overall, the response from the transport industry to CAIA’s transportation workshops has been positive.

“Certain sectors of the road transport are supportive of the Responsible Care initiative as it complements the safety, health, environment and quality management programmes that the more responsible operators generally have in place,” he says. 

“These programs are based on the ISO and OHSAS Standards for SHEQ. One of the benefits is that if a haulier has reached preferred status in the SQAS (Safety Quality Assessment System) audits, they are automatically accepted as compliant with CAIA Responsible Care requirements.” 

Asked to identify the main challenges facing transport operators in their efforts to comply with the SQAS requirements, Durrant says the SQAS is a European based evaluation/ audit system that has been adapted to suit South African conditions and is the recommended minimum requirement for the transportation of Dangerous Goods.

“Now known as SA-SQAS, the attainment, compliance and maintenance of the 90% plus score required to be a preferred haulier is no small task! The continual maintenance of the system is time consuming, costly and requires serious commitment.”

Adding to this, Durrant says that due to the skills shortages within the transport industry, inexperienced staff are often given the job of managing the SA SQAS system.

“The attainment of preferred haulier status is a significant achievement but it is no guarantee to getting business, preferential transport rates or any other benefits from the chemical industry,” he says. 

“Once you cut to the chase, transport rates and BEE status are often the most important factors considered. SHEQ compliance is often a secondary consideration but for responsible hauliers working in the chemical industry, SHEQ compliance is a prerequisite”

Durrant explains that compliance is monitored by full SA SQAS audits conducted every four years with interim compliance audits every two years. Targeted Audits have been started and these take place after a significant incident has occurred. ISO and OHSAS audits, if a company is certificated, are also interim compliance monitoring tools. Durrant says while the availability of qualified SA SQAS auditors is a concern, actions are being put in place to address this shortage.

On the question on whether there is enough training being provided to the drivers and their assistants in terms of handling and transporting dangerous or hazardous cargo as well as their responsibilities in the case of an emergency situation, Durrant says training requirements have improved recently with the appointment by the Department of Transport of 16 approved service providers who can provide the training for the drivers Professional Driving Permit – Dangerous Goods (PrDP-D) to an approved syllabus.

“This training must be conducted at least every two years, in line with the validity of the PrDP-D. The driver must also have annual refresher training, with a valid training certificate re-issued but it should be noted that at this point, this refresher training syllabus is not specified.” 

Assistants do not require training by law but in practice, says Durrant, there are not many transporters who use assistants on their vehicles.

“Training will always be a challenge! The Dangerous Goods standards and legal requirements in South Africa are world class but the shortage of skilled and sufficiently educated drivers makes efficient implementation difficult. The lack of visible enforcement and policing further aggravates the problem,” he says.