Björn Schniederkötter, chief executive officer of the Hoyer Group, comments: “The complexity of the logistics business, the spectrum of processes and the number of different interfaces in an international network like ours represent a special challenge. Uniform standards and systems of operation designed to maintain and continuously improve the safe and secure actions of all employees are fundamental.”
The audit of Hoyer’s own safety-related performance in the operating business takes place according to the company’s own stringent definitions of indicators. As Mark Binns, group operating board member SHEQ, explains: “Hoyer sets itself high targets, and follows a philosophy in which even near misses result in detailed investigation, analysis and appropriate risk prevention measures.” The outcome is convincing: within ten years, an already low level of serious accidents (main incidents) has been reduced by 54 per cent in the non-transport area and by 30 per cent in the transport area.
This systematic approach is regularly verified by internal auditing and intensive independent external assessments and certifications. As the SQAS assessment used in Europe shows: as a rule, Hoyer achieves results that are considerably above the sector average, both in transport activities for chemical goods (Hoyer average 89 per cent, sector average 75 per cent) or for gases liquified cryogenically or under pressure (Hoyer average 92 per cent, sector average 75 per cent), and also in upstream and downstream services such as associated workshop, cleaning or depot services (Hoyer average 89 per cent, sector average 80 per cent) or on-site logistics (Hoyer average 93 per cent, sector average 83 per cent). ISO auditors particularly emphasised the IT department’s systematic procedure and the implementation and safeguarding of very high IT-related safety and security standards. In mineral oil logistics, various customer’s commendations provide evidence of the quality of the services, which are verified by the customer’s own audits. The recertification of the Hoyer Group’s management of overseas activities in relation to food safety and security in accordance with ISO 22000 gives proof of the high quality standards in international foodstuff logistics.
Moreover, the Hoyer Group achieves very good DIN-EN-ISO-9001 certification attestations in a global context and inspires confidence with various best practices. Among other things, the speed and quality of the response by top management to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company’s exemplary internal management, the dealings with partners and service providers during the crisis, the intensive internal audits, and the system-related safety and security standards of the progressive digitalisation were emphasised in the past certification cycle.
The information security management system (ISMS) of the Hoyer Group was audited and certified for the first time according to the ISO/IEC 27001 international standard. According to Dr. Peter Jürging, head of information technology of the Hoyer Group: “HOYER thereby proactively addresses the constantly changing security-relevant challenges of global networking, driven by the progress of digitalisation and the associated services.” The special focus is on protecting the confidentiality, availability and immutability (integrity) of information. To attain these protective goals, Hoyer carries out regular risk analyses, from which it derives and implements measures appropriate to the current threats. The IT security strategy supports the maximisation of business continuity. IT security management is technologically and organisationally implemented throughout the entire Hoyer Group worldwide. Auditing of the information security management systems in accordance with ISO/IEC 27001 concluded with an excellent result and confirms the high security and quality standard of the Hoyer Group.