ITCO continues @tco depot audits

SIGN OF QUALITY

DEPOTS • THE @TCO DEPOT AUDIT SCHEME IS ALIVE AND WELL AND CONTINUES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE QUALITY OF TANK CLEANING AND REPAIR SERVICES IN ASIA

WHEN THE ASIAN Tank Container Organisation (@tco) was first established, one of its main aims was to improve the provision of high-quality tank depot services in Asia. Working together with the Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM), the body representing international chemical companies with activities in China, @tco developed an audit protocol and a network of properly trained and assessed surveyors.

THE AWARD OF AN @TCO DEPOT AUDIT

PLAQUE IS A MARK OF HIGH STANDARDS

Over the years, that system has been effective in lifting quality standards among tank depot operators, particularly in the independent sector. And the system is still in place, following @tco’s merger with the International Tank Container Organisation (ITCO) at the beginning of 2018. To show that nothing has changed, ITCO held an @tco Depot Forum meeting in Singapore on 22 November 2018, immediately after its Regional Meeting.

At the Depot Forum, ITCO president Reg Lee and technical director Graham Wood, both of whom were involved in developing the @tco depot audit scheme, stressed that it was designed to fill a gap, by setting recognised standards for repair, cleaning and waste management as well as for health and safety among depot employees. AICM had been concerned that many depots handled only dry box containers and had little experience with tank containers; moreover, surveyors sometimes had very close relationships with the depots for which they were working, something that tank operators felt was iniquitous to the need for independence.

RESPECT THE PLAQUE There are, Wood said, many depots in China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region that do not comply with local or government regulations. ITCO has no authority to get them closed down but it can report non-compliance and also make recommendations to chemical companies that they should only use @tcoapproved depots. ITCO does have the ability to withdraw accreditation from depots where standards are not being maintained.

However, Wood said, all those depots that have been successfully audited according to the @tco standards have managed to maintain that accreditation; indeed, most of them have shown an improvement in standards in their second and third audit updates.

Since the merger of @tco and ITCO, accredited depots have been offered a preferential rate to become members of ITCO, while ITCO continues to promote the accredited depots to its global member companies. The benefits of ITCO membership include access to ITCO’s technical specialists, who can give direct advice on matters such as tank repairs, cleaning and the relevant regulations.

There was, though, a note of caution: ITCO membership does not necessarily mean that a depot has been audited or meets the @tco audit standards. Only those listed on the ITCO website are authorised to call themselves @tco-approved and use the depot plaque that marks their successful audit.

At the end of the Depot Forum, Lee and Wood presented an @tco plaque to the latest tank depot to be successfully audited – and the first in Taiwan: Union Tank Container Management of Xianxi, near Taichung. This is the 20th third-party depot to be accredited by the @tco scheme and the 29th in all. HCB www.international-tank-container.org