In focus

Bertschi AG, with its headquarter in Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, has signed as the first Logistics Service Provider in Bulk Transportation the European Road Safety Charter initiative in 2005.

“A lot of our customers within the chemical industry realize and accept that the highest safety standards in European transportation are becoming our trademark. We must not only maintain this position but further improve upon in 2006. This will also safeguard our jobs”, said CEO Hans-Jörg Bertschi in the employees annual newsletter.

As part of this commitment towards safety the Bertschi AG Group has also intensified the efforts within the Behaviour Based Safety Programme (“BBS”) throughout the last 2 years. This programme plays important business factor, comments Heinz Munder, Group Quality and Safety Manager within the Bertschi Group “because in Bulk liquid transport within Europe a medium-sized company like us will only maintain to be successful in long-term through excellent records in both, quality and safety performance”.


BBS aims to increase safety during transport by positively influencing the behaviour of the drivers through observation, coaching and communication during individual training on the road. In this context a fleet of more than 1,000 drivers are regularly trained on the principles of BBS through 25 full-time driver instructors and 5 professional BBS-trainers. According to Peter Kupferschmied, responsible for the BBS-programme “significant progress has been achieved however we still have the overall goal to reduce our own accident ratio from 2003-2007 by at least 50%.”



Furthermore and in order to raise the driver awareness towards the Company’s strict safety principles such as:

• Alcohol - 0.00%
• Wear always - safety belts
• Wear working clothes – BERTSCHI uniform and PPE during loading and discharge process.
• Secure yourself - when working above ground level
• Wear always - safety helmet
• Truck lights - to be switched on day + night
• Phone calls – under NO circumstances while driving

More than 6,500 individual driver checks in these areas while working have been conducted and analysed in 2005.

Last but not least it has been also a positive effect for more safety on public roads when shifting transports from road to intermodal means. Bertschi AG has achieved a ratio of 75% by 2005 and it will continuously work to increase the capacities and the efficiency of it services for both, rail transport and short sea shipping within its own European network.

More information about Bertschi and in particular on BBS and further activities in Quality & Safety can be found at: www.bertschi.com