Quality Bulletin - September 2003

Contents

• Quality Time
  
• Step One...
  
• Stop Two...
  
• Step Three...
  
• Quality Accreditation
  
• Objectives
  
• Company History
• Key Performance Indicators
• Mission Statement
• Quality Policy Statement

Welcome to this special issue of the Suckling Transport News Bulletin, covering QUALITY.

Quality, like safety and the environment, are important issues in the distribution of fuel by road. Suckling Transport has shown great innovation in respect of both safety and the environment, culminating in awards from organizations such as the Freight Transport Association, the IFW, Brake and Greenfleet.

Whilst the company hasn't won any awards for Quality, Suckling Transport is recognized as an organization with a strong quality-based ethos, that delivers a high quality service to its customers.

So why has this special issue of the News Bulletin been produced now? Well, for the past two years, the management of Suckling Transport has been working towards registration to the new Quality Standard ISO9001:2000. The Company opted for the 2-year transitional route and is now awaiting the final assessment, and approval, by the British Standards Institute (BSI).

On 2nd October 2003, Paul Jackson, an assessor from the BSI will visit the Company's head office at West Thurrock to conduct that assessment.

Why do we need to register to ISO9001:2000? Well, firstly, because several of our customers insist on it. But secondly, and more importantly, it means we can show, through our processes, that we know what to do and how to do it at all times. This ensures that a quality service is delivered to our customer.

Those processes are described in the Company's Quality Manual and many are also shown in the Driver's

Handbook as part of the requirements of that job. Apart from assessments by the BSI, we also have our own Internal Quality Auditors, Perry Southgate and Nikki Pacey, who regularly audit the system to ensure compliance with the Standard.

It is important that all employees are familiar with the Company Quality System and, inside this special issue, you will find guidance notes on the Assessor's visit, together with details of our Quality Policy Statement, our Quality Objectives, our Company History, and Accreditation, together with some graphs and charts which we use to demonstrate how we measure our performance.

What will the Assessor do?

• The 'assessor' is a representative from BSI (British Standards Institution) who will visit locations to meet managers and employees.
• He will check whether the organization and activities carried out meet the ISO 9001:2000 Standard.
• The BSI Representative will generally do the following things:
• Consult Processes and Procedures.
• Observe activities as they happen … to see whether we carry out activities according to written instructions.
• Look at results/consult files and check if root cause analysis have been done and corrective action has been taken and recorded where necessary.
• Talk to employees, about the job they do.

BSI wants us to keep the certification so they are definitely NOT trying to catch us or trick us! Remember that the assessor is human too! Here are some hints about how you should react if spoken to by the assessor.

1. Be pleasant and positive
A positive attitude will help the results of the audit. A negative attitude can create negative results.

2. Be relaxed
You know how to do your job - and you will only be asked about activities you are familiar with.

3. Listen carefully
If you do not fully understand the assessor's question, ask for clarification until you do. Never 'make up' an answer.

4. Respond only to the specific question
Do not offer extra information. This could either confuse things or open up new areas for questioning.

5. Do not refuse to reply
If, however, a question does not relate to your job function or you are uncomfortable in answering, simply refer the person accompanying the assessor to your manager.

Discuss these questions with your manager and your team so that you can reply easily if asked:

• What is your job title?
• Who is your Manager/Teamleader?
• What Department / Area / Function do you work in?
• What does your department do?
• What are your current tasks?
• How do you perform these tasks?
• How do these tasks interact with ones from others?
• How did you learn to do your job?
• Are these processes documented?
• If you are unsure about any part of your job, what do you do?
• In case of an emergency, what do you do?
• Do you have the resources to do the job efficiently and effectively?
• Does the department have processes in place to measure performance results?
  

J.W. Suckling Transport Limited was assessed by BSI Quality Assurance in November, 1990 and was subsequently accredited to the following internationally recognized standards:

BS EN ISO 9002
(formerly BS5750:Part 2:1987)
BS EN 12798

During the twelve years since their initial registration, Suckling Transport has developed a Quality System second to none in their industry sector. This claim is consistently endorsed by the British Standards Institute, whose regular audits have produced the following comments:

"Suckling Transport is an excellent ambassador for ISO9002 and BSI".

"A very good quality system".

"Review of system does not identify any weak area".

"Performance graphs are impressive and indicate the Company's top performance levels".

"Another excellent audit".

"Non-conformance reporting and analysis demonstrates the Company's commitment to an extremely high standard of delivery of quality and service to customers".

"Internal Auditing, Management Review and NCR analysis is effective and well documented".

To achieve the objectives of the Company's Quality/Policy Statement the Directors review both its Quality and Safety Performance against targets set by the Directors on an annual basis, in the following categories:

• Sales revenue per service failure (see note i)
• Miles per vehicle accident (see note ii)
• Sales revenue per vehicle accident (see note ii)
• Sales revenue per spillage/crossover (see note iii)
• Number of employees per personal injury (see note iv)

Notes
(i) Service failures are defined as either
(a) vehicle breakdown resulting in late delivery as defined by customer
(b) driver absence resulting in late delivery as defined by customer
(c) a crossover or spillage incident
(d) a complaint about the condition of the vehicle
(e) Any other customer, or Third Party complaint in writing

(ii) Any accident resulting in un-recovered repair costs to a Company owned vehicle or a settlement being made to a Third Party.
(iii) Any spillage of crossover resulting in a settlement to a Third Party.
(iv) Any personal injury resulting in absence or requiring greater than first aid attention.

In October 2000, J.W. Suckling Transport Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harris Holdings (Grays) Limited.

The intention of the Directors of Harris Holdings (Grays) Limited is to dedicate Suckling Transport to tanker haulage and to continue with the operation which had commenced during the 1988/89 year with a small number of used tanker vehicles. The trading policy of Suckling Transport Limited has been agreed as the provision of a high quality contractual tanker haulage service.

The Directors believe that the future success of the company will in part depend upon the recognition by potential customers of the quality of Suckling's operations and to the that end the company successfully achieved accreditation to BS EN 9002 on January 01st, 1991.

In order to further enhance the quality and safety of its operation, the Company also registered to BS EN 12798 - a standard that specifically refers to the haulage of dangerous goods in bulk and is intended to compliment the good management practices established by BS EN 9002 - 2000.

Key Performance Indicator graphs are used by the company to identify the way the Company is performing. They cover areas such as Safety, Driver Profile, etc.

The graph covering Service tracks Sales revenue per Service Failures for all customers. An upward line on
this graph indicates an improvement in our performance.

The graph shows an improvement over the past 12 months from a rate of £40,000 per failure to just over £55,000 per failure.

JW Suckling Transport Limited is an independent company, which provides resources and services for the distribution of hazardous and non-hazardous goods in bulk. Our mission is to be he leading provider of goods transportation services in the United Kingdom in terms of quality , safety and profit. We are resolved to
achieve this aim by providing exceptional standard of service to our customers on terms which allow us to renew both our employees and shareholders, whilst providing a sound base for continuing growth in the future.

We have left the most important item until last - so you wont forget it. Our Quality Policy is: -

Suckling Transport provides tanker transport haulage services on a contract, term or spot hire basis for the carriage of hazardous and non-hazardous goods, including petroleum products in tankers.

In addition to its commitment to comply with all legislation and statutory requirements, it is the policy of this Company to supply services, which completely meet the quality expectations of its customers and to ensure that the service provided is reliable and consistent through the implementation of its Quality Management System.

To achieve this aim, Suckling Transport operate a business management system to measure continual improvement, which will meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000.