Templates and records · SQAS2022

Driver safe behaviour observation (BBS) in SQAS

Most transport incidents trace back to a behaviour, not a vehicle fault. Safe behaviour observation measures those behaviours and talks them through with the driver.

In one sentence

The safe behaviour observation record captures planned observations of drivers on the road, during loading and during unloading, the safe and at-risk behaviours seen, the coaching conversation with the driver and the trend analysis, because the SQAS Transport Service questionnaire devotes a chapter to behaviour-based safety, which in ECTA’s analysis of the first 2022 assessments was among the lowest scoring.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Type of information: Good practice Behaviour-based safety chapter of the Transport Service questionnaire; no legal obligation
Who fills it in: Trained observers Transport managers, trainers or experienced drivers trained in the observation technique
When: According to a programme At a frequency per driver set by the company; at least one or two a year is usual
How long it is kept: At least the assessment cycle SQAS sets no retention periods; the report is valid for three years and the assessor reviews the evidence for that period. Where a legal period applies, such as those in the ADR, that one prevails.

What the standard requires

What SQAS2022 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

Behaviour-based safety means systematically observing how people work, reinforcing safe behaviours and correcting at-risk ones through conversation, without looking for someone to blame, and using the data to decide where to act.

The Transport Service questionnaire gives it a chapter of its own. In the analysis ECTA published of the first fifty assessments under the 2022 questionnaires, that chapter had one of the lowest average scores, between 50 and 59 %.

It is not a legal obligation and the ADR does not cover it. That makes it a good example of what SQAS adds: trained drivers are not enough; you have to show that you watch how they work and that the information changes something.

Read it in context: Safety, health, and environment, in the SQAS2022 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Driver observed, observer and date
Situation: driving, loading, unloading, hose connection, cleaning
List of key behaviours with a safe or at-risk result
Coaching conversation and the driver’s commitments
Conditions encouraging the at-risk behaviour (equipment, procedure, customer)
Resulting actions for the company
Aggregated trends by behaviour and by team

Example

Example: observation during a corrosive product delivery

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Driver and observer	Fictitious driver CD-031 · observed by the company trainer · 16 April 2026
Situation	Unloading 24 t of sodium hydroxide at customer QX’s plant (fictitious)
Safe behaviours	Wheel chocks in place · full protective equipment · receiving tank checked with the customer’s operator
At-risk behaviour	Hose disconnected before it was fully purged
Conversation	The driver explains that the customer’s purge point is 15 m away and he is in a hurry for the next load
Commitment	Always purge before disconnecting, even if it means reporting a delay
Company action	Ask the customer for a purge point next to the connection · transport office · 30 May
Trend	Third observation this quarter showing the same behaviour at this customer

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

Observations are used to discipline people, and drivers stop cooperating.
Only driving is observed, never loading and unloading, where many incidents happen.
Observations are recorded, but nobody analyses the trends.
Observers have had no training in the technique.
Conditions created by the customer or by the company itself never lead to actions.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1Observations are scheduled per driver as recurring records, with reminders.
2Each observation is filled in on a form containing the list of key behaviours.
3Actions that concern the company or the customer are assigned with an owner and a deadline.
4Aggregated results feed the dashboard and the management review.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

What is behaviour-based safety?

A method for reducing incidents by observing real behaviour in a planned way, reinforcing what is safe and discussing what is risky without assigning blame. It relies on data: which behaviours go wrong, where and why.

Is it mandatory?

There is no legal obligation. It is a chapter of the SQAS Transport Service questionnaire, so it counts towards the assessment score and chemical shippers pay attention to it.

How many observations are needed?

SQAS sets no number. What matters is that there is a programme, that it is followed and that it covers every driver, including subcontractors’ drivers if they drive for the company.

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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.

SQAS — Safety & Quality Assessment for Sustainability: Core and Transport Service questionnaires Cefic · Revised questionnaires in force since 1 January 2022
Experiences with SQAS 2022 ECTA (European Chemical Transport Association) · Analysis of the first 2022 assessments