Safety 101 with Don: An Introduction to All Chemical's Safety Standards

If you’ve been in the liquid bulk transport game for more than a minute, you’ll soon notice: everybody talks the “safety” talk, but few walk the “safety” walk.

At All Chemical, our safety record is exemplary—not because we do the easy thing and talk about it, but because we put in the grunt work. That means upholding our stringent safety standards consistently, even and especially when no-one’s looking.

Learn more from Don Wrege, our Director of Safety & Maintenance, on how we uphold All Chemical’s impressive record year after year.

Safety 101: How We Measure Up

Don oversees our driver safety programs, OSHA compliance, and equipment maintenance. He says the key to All Chemical’s stellar record is our refusal to take shortcuts.

“Some liquid bulk transport companies might steer by the motto, ‘Just do your best,’ and that sounds like great advice,” says Don. “But I’m here to tell you: When you don’t have the tools to do the job safely, don’t do it. Safety comes first. That’s the real way to do your best.”

We set the bar high, and we don’t cut corners. In fact, our standards far exceed federal standards for liquid bulk transport companies like ours. That’s how we’ve earned such an excellent CSA (Compliance, Safety, Accountability) score.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) established CSA scores to spot high-risk carriers and thereby increase public and driver safety. The FMCSA determines company scores by pulling data from roadside inspections, crash reports, registration information, and other sources to create a full picture of a company’s overall safety performance.

Let’s just say, ours is a very flattering picture. To point to one example, in the entirety of 2023, we incurred only one Department of Transportation (DOT) recordable accident. (That’s an accident all transport companies are required to report because of any injury, towing or a fatality.) Because of this, we earned the DOT frequency score of 0.156! In years past, a comparable number to our 6.3 million mileage bracket was 0.943!

Plus, we pursue innovation, technology, and other means of constant safety enhancement:

Our new Motive AI camera system, which helps monitor drivers’ road performance (tailgating, speeding, improper lane changes, etc.)
Our driver trainer (through Smith System), reviews daily performance and provides coaching for individual drivers
Don’s role on the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) Safety Council, where he receives regular updates about regulation changes
Our connection with a third-party compliance monitoring company to provide quarterly reviews

In short, we’re always on the job prioritizing safety protocols, ensuring and exceeding industry benchmarks.

Liquid Bulk Transport Emergency Preparedness at All Chemical

We know emergencies are a fact of life. That’s why we prepare for them before they happen—so we’re ready when they do.

We rigorously train our drivers in our specific safety protocols for emergencies. They know how, when, and what to communicate with the proper personnel to ensure a swift and effective response. Spills, accidents, injuries, you name it: our drivers know what to do. They know when to report, when to ask for help internally, and when to make contact with Chemtrec, the industry-celebrated 24-hour emergency call center for incidents involving hazardous materials.

We follow transparent procedures for investigation, reporting, and developing preventative measures to avoid future recurrence:

Driver incident reports
Prompt carrier notification
Picture documentation
Data gathering

Once we’ve taken all these steps, we review the details of the incident in question.

What was the root cause?
What additional training can we implement?
Do we need to update our systems, equipment, design, or methodology?

We contact media outlets where necessary, and we communicate with customers in all cases of an incident involving a customer’s product, regardless of fault. In other words, we’re committed to the safety of the public and of our drivers.

How We Maintain a Safety-First Culture

It takes our whole team to maintain our impressive safety standards. From leadership on down, we are committed to proactively cultivating a safety-conscious culture. To do this, we employ

Semi-annual drivers’ meetings to stay sharp on safety
Cash incentives to drivers for clean roadside inspections
Quarterly bonuses for accident-free driving
A new fuel bonus program
Smith5Keys training for all personnel, including mechanics, tank washers and all office personnel

At the end of the day, safety is our number-one priority, because safety benefits everyone. We pursue it together, and we benefit together.

“I’ve been in this business for 50 years,” says Don, “and I live by this philosophy: share all results—good, bad, and indifferent—with your employees for their input.” Don and his team are working behind the scenes to keep our people, our customers, and the public safe.

Read more about Don Wrege and his impressive legacy at All Chemical.