Templates and records · SQAS2022
ADR safety adviser’s annual report for SQAS
It is a legal document, not an SQAS one. But it is the best yearly snapshot of how dangerous goods are managed, and the assessor asks for it right at the start.
In one sentence
The safety adviser’s annual report summarises the company’s activities involving the carriage of dangerous goods, the accidents that occurred and the improvements proposed; the ADR requires it to be prepared and kept for five years at the disposal of the authorities (1.8.3), in Spain Royal Decree 97/2014 develops the role further, and for SQAS it is key evidence that management knows and controls its risks.
- Type of information
- Mandatory record ADR obligation (1.8.3), kept for five years; evidence for the Core management area
- Who fills it in
- The safety adviser In-house or external; received and signed by the company’s management
- When
- Once a year Covering the activity of the previous calendar year
- How long it is kept
- 5 years ADR retention period for the annual report, at the disposal of the authorities
What the standard requires
What SQAS2022 demands and what it leaves to your judgement
The ADR requires undertakings that carry, load, unload, fill or pack dangerous goods to appoint one or more safety advisers, save for the exemptions it provides. Among the adviser’s duties is preparing an annual report for management on those activities, which is kept for five years and made available to the authorities.
In Spain, Real Decreto 97/2014 governs the appointment, the site visits, the technical report after each visit and the accident report, and a ministerial order adds the content of the annual report.
SQAS does not ask for this report as such, but many questions in the management and safety areas are best answered with it: it shows that management receives information on incidents, training and compliance, and what it decides.
Structure
Fields the template should include
- Company, sites and activities involving dangerous goods
- Appointed adviser and their certificate
- Goods carried or handled, by class and quantity
- Visits made and their conclusions
- Accidents and incidents and their reports
- Training of the staff involved
- Condition of vehicles, tanks and equipment
- Breaches found and measures proposed
- Follow-up of the previous year’s proposals
Example
Example: report for the 2025 financial year
Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.
| Field | Content |
|---|---|
| Company | Transportes Zuriain (fictitious company) · 38 tankers · based in Pamplona |
| Activity | Carriage in bulk of classes 3, 8 and 9 · 41,000 tonnes in 2025 |
| Visits | 4 visits to the depot and 2 to loading customers, each with a technical report |
| Accidents | None involving a spill · 2 minor incidents during unloading, investigated |
| Training | 52 drivers with a valid ADR certificate; 6 renewals due in 2026 |
| Breach found | Instructions in writing from an earlier version in 3 vehicles |
| Proposal | Check on-board documents at every monthly vehicle inspection |
| Delivered | To the general manager on 28 February 2026 |
At the audit
Mistakes auditors commonly flag
- The report is the same template year after year, with no data specific to the period.
- The adviser’s proposals never reach the management review or turn into any action.
- The reports for the previous five years have not been kept.
- The incidents in the report do not match those in the incident log.
- The external adviser has never visited the depot or the loading customers.
In Kimobox
How this record is kept in Kimobox
- 1The report is stored as a controlled document, with its date and management’s acknowledgement.
- 2The adviser’s proposals become actions with an owner and a deadline.
- 3The incidents, driver training and fleet maintenance already on record supply the data without collating it by hand.
- 4Reports from earlier years stay archived and easy to find for an inspection.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us before getting started
Does every company need a safety adviser?
Those that carry, load, unload, fill or pack dangerous goods by road do, save for the exemptions provided for in the ADR and specified in Royal Decree 97/2014. A chemical haulier assessed under SQAS almost always needs one.
How long is the annual report kept?
Five years, under the ADR, available to the national authorities on request.
Can the adviser be external?
Yes. It can be the owner or a manager of the company, an employee or an outside professional, provided they hold a valid training certificate. What matters is that they genuinely know the operation.
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Sources
Where each figure comes from
References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.
- Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) UNECE · Current edition
- Real Decreto 97/2014, de 14 de febrero, por el que se regulan las operaciones de transporte de mercancías peligrosas por carretera en territorio español (Spanish Royal Decree on the carriage of dangerous goods by road) BOE-A-2014-2110 · Consolidated text
- SQAS — Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability: Core and Transport Service questionnaires Cefic · Revised questionnaires in force since 1 January 2022