Today, Barnastock is one of the leading logistics operators specialising in the storage of hazardous chemicals.
That is why we do our utmost to ensure that we have all the necessary certifications. In this way, we are able to respond to current demand and the requirements of current legislation.
But more than that, because of our commitment to best practice in the field of sustainability and to offer the best to our customers, we set out to obtain the SQAS assessment.
We tell you what it is and why we wanted to undergo this type of assessment.
What is SQAS?
SQAS significa “Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability”.
In Spanish, this would be translated as “evaluación de calidad y seguridad para la sostenibilidad” (quality and safety assessment for sustainability).
This is an external, EU-wide evaluation system that analyses the performance of logistics service providers – such as Barnastock – and distributors.
This evaluation system is specific to those of us who work with chemical products.
It ensures compliance with certain quality and safety requirements for sustainability (as the name suggests).
These SQAS audits are an initiative of the CEFIC (European Chemical Industry Council). This body is therefore in charge of managing the SQAS and ensuring its integrity.
Assessment vs. certification
Although we have many different certificates at Barnastock, SQAS is not a certification system. Rather, it is an assessment system.
While certificates consist of passing a series of requirements in order to achieve certification, the assessment analyses the level of compliance with the questionnaires.
At the end of this process, a detailed assessment report with a specific score is produced.
Thanks to these reports, chemical companies can select their logistics service providers, taking into account whether they comply with quality and safety levels in accordance with their standards.
The 5 modules of the SQAS
This assessment consists of 5 different modules.
Each of these modules has a specific assessment questionnaire to be completed, along with the common basic one known as “Core”.
The SQAS modules cover the different types of chemical logistics and distribution service providers:
- Transport services.
- Rail operators.
- Tank cleaning stations.
- Chemical warehouses (this is where Barnastock would come in).
- Chemical distributors (SQAS ESAD).
Moreover, what exactly does this evaluation cover?
- Quality.
- Environment.
- Safety.
- Occupational health and safety.
- Protection and corporate responsibility of the organisation (CSR).
As we said before, the main objective of the evaluation reports is that chemical companies can assess their suppliers according to their quality, environmental, safety and security requirements…
The advantages of using SQAS
Here’s why we chose to use SQAS:
- It is a key tool in the risk management of logistics operations, and allows us to adhere to Responsible Care (a programme to improve performance in the activity of the chemical industry), through the AECQ (Spanish Association of Chemical Trade).
- We undergo assessment questionnaires that are common to the entire chemical industry.
- SQAS assessors are trained and accredited.
- It is an assessment that most chemical companies support and use to select their suppliers.
- This assessment allows us to know where we stand in order to increase the quality of our performance by improving our processes on a daily basis.
Thanks to this evaluation we can carry out an improvement plan.
The Barnastock SQAS
In the case of Barnastock, we have been assessed within the Chemical Storage module.
Our first assessment was in 2012. Since then, we have gone through 4 assessments (the validity period of the assessment is 3 years, but intermediate assessments can be done to improve the previous score).
The evaluations consist of 3 days in which a very thorough field evaluation takes place. In addition, the evaluation has 344 questions covering a wide range of different aspects.
Barnastock’s results in the SQAS
In the 2021 SQAS assessment results, Barnastock achieved an overall score of 78%.
As the graph shows, compared to the European average of 83 %, Barnastock is very close to this percentage.
When compared to the average score of companies nationwide, Barnastock is 13 points higher.
On the road to sustainability to offer the best service
Having the results of this voluntary assessment allows us at Barnastock to establish an action plan and continue to improve.
In addition, it gives us greater reliability: our clients can check that we meet their requirements before contracting our services.
If you want to know more about Barnastock, our certifications, and how we work, don’t hesitate to contact us. We can give you all the information you need and we will listen to your proposals in case you want to hire our services.
Write to us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
