SQAS – Safety & Quality Assessment System

In 1991 the European Chemical Industry Council CEFIC, within the framework of Responsible Care, set out to improve the efficiency of the logistics services used. One of its actions was to establish a Safety and Quality Assessment System (SQAS) to evaluate the safety, environmental management and quality of the distribution services contracted by the chemical industry.

In 1994, CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council) presented the SQAS block to certification bodies after having carried out a pilot program.

SQAS has multiple advantages, both for the logistics service provider and companies in the chemical sector:

It avoids the logistics service providers the continuous and numerous evaluations that each chemical company can request individually, each one with different criteria.
It minimises the subjectivity of the parties through the intervention of an independent inspector specialised in the System, ISO standards and regulations and standards applicable to the transport activity.
Facilitate decision-making in the chemical industry when hiring logistics services.
It streamlines the relationship between the chemical industry and the distribution companies by creating a two-way mechanism: the chemical company can suggest improvements to the operator and the logistics operator obtains impartial information on their strengths and weaknesses.

An independent entity carries out the SQAS assessment. It does not lead to a certificate but to an objective, data-based report that each chemical company will evaluate according to its requirements.

Although SQAS does not guarantee the safety and quality of the supplier’s service, it does offer a mechanism to evaluate continuous improvement. The system provides directly to the supplier useful information on the strengths and weaknesses observed during the assessment. Furthermore, after examining the evaluation results by the chemical company, it can “feedback” to the service provider, thus creating or strengthening the foundations of a true partnership with advantages for both.

Companies in the transport sector face multiple problems when applying SQAS:

Great diversity of processes (loading, unloading, storage, transportation…)
The difficulty of integration with other management systems of the company: quality, environment, safety and health at work.
Global market that tends towards intermodality (road, sea, air or rail).
Complex and variable legislation where different codes for transporting dangerous goods interrelate: ADR for road transport, IMDG for maritime transport, IATA for air transport and RID for rail transport.

We provide solutions

OAK designs and establishes Safety and Quality Assessment Systems (SQAS) that provide solutions:

Integration with quality management systems UNE-EN ISO 9001.
Integration with environmental management systems UNE-EN ISO 14001, EMAS, eco-labels – type III environmental declarations UNE-EN ISO 14025.
Integration with ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management systems,
Adaptation to current legislation and regulations for the transport of dangerous goods: ADER, IMDG, IATA, RID.
Our approach and flexibility allow their full adaptation to intermodal and multifunctional companies with diverse processes (tank washing, storage, logistics operator…) and products (containers, bulk, packed…).

The development of Safety and Quality Assessment Systems (SQAS) is essential in any company related to the transport of chemical substances and preparations that wants to have a competitive position.

Our mission is to make complicated projects simple. Our experience in the improvement and standardisation sector makes the establishment of the SQAS questionnaire requirements easy and acceptable for the organisation, that CEFIC requirements are met and inspection by the authorised body is feasible (Aenor, Lloyd’s Register…).

SQAS – Safety & Quality Assessment System

We provide solutions

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