The Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA) is currently training 50 SQAS Southern Africa auditors at its head office in Rosebank, Johannesburg, in collaboration with the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC).

Responsible Care

In 1994 the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA) launched the Responsible Care programme in South Africa. Responsible Care is the global chemical industry’s unique initiative to improve health, safety and environmental performance and to communicate with stakeholders about products and processes.

“The Responsible Care Safety and Quality Assessment System Southern Africa (SQAS-SA) is designed to evaluate the quality, safety and environmental performance of hauliers and logistics service providers and chemical distributors by means of standardised assessments,” says Deidré Penfold, Executive Director of CAIA.

The transport of hazardous materials poses specific risks that make it essential for hauliers and logistics service providers to have management systems in place to identify and control these risks.

Failure to do so can cause harm to people, animals, property and the environment in the event of an accident.

Accreditation standards

According to Penfold SQAS Southern Africa is a management system similar to the ISO quality management system.

“SQAS Southern Africa covers many elements of the ISO standards and more. It looks at things like legal compliance, driver employment, driver training, driver wellness, emergency procedures, risk assessments, vehicle maintenance, tyre maintenance, operational controls, security, on-road behaviour of drivers, and the quality of the vehicle itself. The principle behind it is that a company will implement the management system and an independent auditor will conduct an audit of the system every two years to ensure quality and safety for all.”

The SQAS-SA auditing process covers three sectors namely:

• Road transportation
• Warehousing operations
• Tanker washing facilities

The SQAS-SA auditor training ends on Friday, 18 August, when a site visit for all participants will be conducted.