TCR Protocol

TCR – TRANSPORT COMPLIANCE RATING

The first international rating protocol,
SPECIFIC TO TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS.

Transport Compliance Rating is the first international, fair and transparent evaluation model specifically designed for Transport and Logistics that assigns an objective value to Companies, based on continuous and lasting compliance standards defined in collaboration with Principals and Manufacturers.

TCR was created to guide Principals toward an informed choice of their suppliers, while helping virtuous Transport Operators to effectively convey, to current and future Customers, all the distinctive value of their Company.

The TCR Protocol is aimed at all organizations in the Transportation and Logistics sector, regardless of type or size.

It can be used by internal or external parts of the organization including certification bodies or independent third parties to assess the organization’s ability to meet requirements.

The Transport Compliance Rating model includes all logistics activities such as: loading, transportation, unloading, storage, sorting and distribution.

The TCR protocol cannot be used for the purpose of market classification and stratification, but its sole purpose is to assign a rating against identified requirements.

The requirements that must be met can be traced to the following areas:

  1. of structure and organization;
  2. of product safety;
  3. of safety in the workplace;
  4. of environmental compliance;
  5. of road safety;
  6. of risk management and business continuity;
  7. of the use of technology and information systems;
  8. of integrity and reputation;
  9. of sustainable development.

TCR Regulatory References

The TCR protocol cannot disregard the application of the mandatory legislative requirements for the transport and logistics sector, in relation to the places of destination.

The TCR scheme can be supplemented with the following standards:

  • ISO 9001:2015
  • ISO 14001:2015
  • ISO 45001:2018
  • ISO 39001: 2016
  • ISO 31000: 2018
  • ISO 22301:2019
  • ISO 50001:2018
  • ISO 27001:2017
  • ISO 28001:2020
  • TAPA FSR, TSR
  • IFS LOGISTCS 2.2
  • ISO 22000:2018
  • ISO 26000:2020
  • SA 8000:2014
  • ISO 37001:2016

Purpose of the TCR

The TCR Protocol specifies requirements for the implementation of a system that enables the organization to be qualified to:

a) demonstrate control of risk factors and hazards related to activities with particular reference to certain areas;

b) increase the safety of customers and all interested parties not only on the safety and legislative compliance of its activities but also on the high technical and professional management capacity of the complex services provided in the trucking and logistics sector;

c) to contribute to the adoption of management models that enable continuity in business management following potentially negative events of both internal organizational and external origin (e.g., generational changeover and/or damage as a result of socio-environmental events);

d) enable sustainable management of the organization including governance, environmental, social and ethical aspects.

TCR requirements are general in nature and can be applied to all organizations in the sector. Non-applicable requirements must be justified and, in any case, must not affect the organization’s ability to keep the risk factors and hazards related to trucking and logistics safety and legislative compliance under control.

Join TCR
Get the TCR rating

Evaluation rules

The evaluation is based on responses to questions pertaining to the various aspects considered in the TCR Protocol.

Overall, the evaluation system includes:

  • Checklist, divided into nine (9) assessment areas, with questions defined by the TCR Observatory and updated by it periodically, to be used to score the company for each requirement.
  • Calculation of the percentage of compliance for each of the nine assessment areas. The sum of these scores should be divided by the number of assessment areas (9) to obtain the total score achieved by the company.
TCR - Scala del Rating
TCR - Scala del Rating

Rating Scale  

0-40 % OF CONFORMITY: The company has serious critical issues and/or deficiencies in most of the assessment areas.

41-69% CONFORMITY: : The company meets the minimum requirements of the TCR, although there are critical issues in one or more assessment areas.

70-89% CONFORMITY: : The company has achieved an adequate level of compliance with TCR requirements, with minor critical issues in one or more assessment areas.

OVER 90% COMPLIANCE: : The company has achieved an excellent level of compliance with TCR requirements, with no significant critical issues.

TCR Assessment Areas

The requirements defined are related to:

TCR - AREE DI RISCHIO

An organizational chart must be available showing the company’s structure and information on legal status and ownership of authorizations under current law. The organizational chart must include, if applicable, associated operational facilities and equipment (e.g., independent warehouses, depots and other places where logistics activities are carried out, ownership of vehicles, etc.).

Both structure and business organization, in this case, should be understood in a broad sense. Thus, all parties involved and all companies related or in any form connected to the company under consideration, whether domestic or foreign, are taken into consideration. As for the organization, it is essential to analyze the entire transportation and logistics process with the identification, in particular, of the involvement of third parties (e.g., sub-carriers).

Management must define and implement a company policy in accordance with the requirements of this document. The company policy must be communicated to all employees and stakeholders.

A properly implemented risk management system must be in place. For the food industry, an HACCP system must be used, which must be based on Codex Alimentarius principles. The risk management or HACCP system must cover all product groups, as well as every process from goods receipt to shipping and delivery.

The risk management/HACCP system must describe the difference between logistical management of unpacked and packaged products and between temperature controlled products and products at room temperature. The company’s own control system must be in accordance with the existing risk of the product. Adequate procedures must be adopted and documented to also ensure physical protection of the product, including those related to farm perimeters, access routes and security of transport stages.

Appropriate procedures regarding hygiene of personnel, facilities, equipment and infrastructure must be adopted and documented.
Visitor policy must provide for product protection. Freight forwarders and loading/unloading workers in contact with product must be identified and must comply with company-defined access rules. Visitors and outside service providers must be identified in product storage areas and must be registered when they enter. They must be informed about site policies and their access must be controlled.

An appropriate planned, maintained and documented maintenance system must be in place, covering all equipment (including transportation) critical to ensure compliance with product-related safety and quality requirements. This applies to internal and external maintenance activities. Requirements for environmental control (e.g., temperature, humidity) that affect product quality and safety must be defined and implemented.

Procedures for receiving and transporting goods must be established, effectively implemented and communicated to all relevant personnel.
All vehicles and transport units used for intermodal transportation must be capable of maintaining proper conditions at all times.

When a company uses a third-party transportation service provider on a regular basis, all specified requirements must be met.

The organization must establish, implement and maintain one or more processes for the continuous and proactive identification of hazards.
The processes must take into account, but not be limited to:

a) how work is organized, social factors (including workload, work hours, harassment, harassment and intimidation), leadership and culture in the organization;

b) routine and non-routine activities and situations, including hazards arising from:

  • infrastructure, equipment, materials, substances and physical conditions of the workplace;
  • product and service design, research, development, testing, production, assembly, construction, service delivery, maintenance and disposal;
  • human factors;
  • ways of performing work;

c) major accidents that have occurred, internal or external to the organization, including emergencies and their causes;

d) potential emergency situations;

e) people, taking into consideration:

  • those who have access to the workplace and their activities, including workers, contractors, visitors and other persons;
  • those in the vicinity of the workplace who may be affected by the organization’s activities;
  • workers in a place that is under the direct control of the organization;

f) other factors, taking into consideration:

  • the design of work areas, processes, installations, machinery/equipment, operating procedures and work organization, including their adaptation to the needs and capabilities of the workers involved;
  • situations occurring in the vicinity of the workplace caused by work-related activities under the control of the organization;
  • situations not kept under control by the organization and occurring in the vicinity of the workplace, which may cause injury and illness to persons in the workplace;

g) actual or proposed changes in the organization, operational activities, processes, activities in the OSH management system;

h) changes in knowledge of hazards and acquisition of new information about them.

The organization must determine the environmental aspects of its activities, products and services that it can keep under control and those over which it can exert influence, as well as their associated environmental impacts, considering a life-cycle perspective.

In determining environmental aspects, the organization must take into account:

a) change, which includes planned or new developments and new or modified activities, products and services;

b) abnormal conditions and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.

The organization must:

a) identify the compliance obligations related to its environmental aspects;
b) determine how these compliance obligations apply to the organization;
c) take these compliance obligations into account in the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of its environmental management system.

The organization must maintain documented information of its compliance obligations.

The organization should consider the following aspects under international road safety standards to pursue goals aimed at accident reduction:

  • Road design and relative speed;
  • Use of road routes appropriate to the type of vehicles used;
  • Use of personnel safety equipment;
  • Proper use of speeds also in relation to vehicle type, traffic and weather conditions;
  • Health status of drivers with special reference to fatigue, distraction, alcohol and drugs;
  • Safe travel planning, including assessment of the need to travel;
  • The amount and mode of travel;
  • The choice of route, vehicle and driver;
  • Vehicle safety, particularly with regard to occupant protection;
  • The protection of other road users, the reduction of road accidents, and roadworthiness;
  • The carrying capacity of the vehicle and the safety of loads inside and outside the vehicle;
  • The appropriate authorization to drive the class of vehicle driven;
  • The non-use of roadworthy vehicles and drivers;
  • Post-accident response and first aid; Emergency preparedness;
  • Post-accident recovery and rehabilitation.
The organization must demonstrate that it has implemented appropriate staff training programs also related to compliance with mandatory regulations.

The organization must implement and continuously improve a documented system to protect itself from events that may affect the smooth running of its business through an operational impact analysis.

The organization must:

a) define the types of impact;
b) conduct a risk assessment;
c) set up procedures for managing disruptions;
d) identify the individuals responsible for their implementation;
e) determine how to communicate them to the relevant parties;
f) validate and confirm what has been defined with exercises and tests.

The organization must demonstrate that it has carried out a risk analysis with regard to the insurance coverage required to perform its activities and has entered into appropriate contractual arrangements.

Adequate technology and information systems enable the efficient exchange of alerts and information, which promotes rapid adaptation to the many unforeseen events that can occur in a typical workday, both in terms of security and business continuity.

Alongside the performance aspects of technological evolution, special attention must be paid to the protection of information. Again, the organization must define and apply an information security-related risk treatment process to:

a. select appropriate options for information security-related risk treatment, taking into consideration the results of the risk assessment;

b. determine all controls necessary to implement the selected options for information security-related risk treatment.

The organization must have a description of the values, principles, norms of behavior, and standards adopted to demonstrate how it upholds and addresses reputational aspects and its ethical conduct, including image and communication, to stakeholders.

There must be clear evidence of how the organization works to avoid discrimination, abuse and harassment and how labor regulations are complied with.

The organization must implement a risk assessment procedure for corruption, including the criteria used in the risk assessment.

The organization must allow unethical or illegal behavior to be reported without risk of retaliation.

The organization must keep records of all actions taken against it by supervisory and judicial authorities.

This section aims to complete the collection of data that allow for a more comprehensive assessment of the organization’s alignment with ESG issues. Complementing what is stated in the other 8 sections is the focus on the prospective view of the organization’s commitment to sustainable development goals by dynamically aligning them with the demands and directions of the legislature.
Get the TCR Rating
Get the TCR Rating
Join TCR
Join TCR
Register and take a free trial
Register and take a free trial

CLIENTS

Choosing consciously

TRANSPORT

Much more than a certification