Safety via satellite, acquisition of new vehicles and equipment, and operations of stuffing and unstuffing at own warehouse were some of the most recent investments of MTF Transports that even with all of this is still very aware of its QHSE (Quality, Healthy, Safety, & Environment) System.

In the last year, because of all the new business opportunities, MTF has grown and stood out in this market continually more. The investments made in this period alone have reached R$ 5 million.

Because of the process of applying norms and procedures for implementing QHSE, MTF has already passed through the first stage of audits that are required by ABIQUIM (Brazilian Association of Chemical Industries). The result of this first audit was positive according to the assessment of the person responsible for Quality in the company, André Luiz Lo Pomo: "As the actions implemented are put into practice, we are sure that by March/2009 we will have a company recommended in the System. It was good for MTF to have invested heavily in the areas of Quality, Occupational Safety, and Environment, among other areas," he shares with enthusiasm.

Occupational Safety walks hand-in-hand with the QHSE guidelines because it studies various disciplines such as introduction to safety, hygiene and occupational medicine, preventing and controlling risks with machines, equipment, and installations, training, occupational diseases, cleanliness on-the-job, legislation, technical norms, civil and criminal responsibility, investigations, protection of the environment, ergonomics, lighting, and protection against fires.

André Lo Pomo explains that environmental protection and occupational safety are a set of measures that have the purpose of minimizing work accidents and occupational diseases in order to protect the integrity and performance capacity of the worker, as well as to prevent environmental incidents.

QHSE

QHSE makes it possible to evaluate performance in the areas of quality, health, safety, and environment in the companies that provides services to the chemical industry. The highway module was the first to be launched and is directed to transportation companies and logistics operators. The system is based on the model applied successfully in Europe by CEFIC - European Council of the Federations of Chemical Industries.

The evaluation of the companies is done by independent certification organizations approved by Abiquim. The "central elements" are evaluated such as the company's administrative, financial, and social aspects and the "specific elements" such as service and operational structure.

The evaluation in QHSE is not mandatory, but its application generates an important advantage for companies certified by the system by proving that they offer services qualified in the operations of transportation.

In March/2005 began the agreement among the companies associated with Abiquim and all those that signed the Responsible Actions Program, to only contract companies evaluated by QHSE for highway transportation of bulk chemical products. Since January/2006 this commitment was extended to the highway transportation of packaged chemical products.