Transport Safety

When working with logistics providers, WACKER ensures that hazardous-goods vehicles are always checked prior to loading. Vehicles not complying with legal requirements are not loaded and faults are systematically recorded and tracked. These records form the basis for agreements on improvement measures. The success of this approach is reflected in the declining fault rate: less than 3% of checks (tendency falling) justify a complaint. Generally, WACKER audits hazardous-goods shippers every two years. Aside from the mandatory monitoring of hazardous-goods shipments, WACKER also tracks the transport of non-hazardous goods.

WACKER’s safety standards are often above the minimum required for hazardous-goods transportation. For example, we ship chlorosilanes to customers not by truck but by rail, and in containers of the highest safety classification.

To evaluate shippers, WACKER uses the Safety and Quality Assessment System (SQAS) of the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC). The system’s goal is to have independent experts assess logistics providers according to uniform chemical-industry criteria, e.g. vehicle equipment, accident response measures and employee training levels. The results are available to all SQAS service group members, who then agree on improvement measures with the logistics providers.

During the period under review, we recorded 17 transport accidents. This figure includes any accidents involving the distribution of our intermediates and products if we ordered the transport. It also includes incidents that did not adversely impact people or the environment, e.g. the recovery of a truck stuck on an impassable road. Such incidents are also listed in shipper evaluations.