The guarantee of a constant quality is ensured through utilization of clear instructions and procedures by all the parties involved in materials handling. For each shipping written instructions are given to the captain, stevedore, terminal and agent. Very often, our operative staff promote meetings between all the interested parties before the ship arrival in order for them to verify the work-planning.

In addition to the regular control-activities, we carry out non-planned internal inspections through a Vessel Audit Report. In case a bad condition of the cargo arises, the cargo is set aside and digital pictures are immediately sent via Internet to the freighter. This can confirm, or not, the materials-shipment with minimum loss of time and productivity. To sum up, our vision of quality has grown along with fleet renewal. Extensive utilization of technology has brought relevant efficiency improvements of our systems, with the localization of a supervisor on board and the formalization of clear procedures with respect to clear procedures for key aspects of claim-handling and materials care.

Other Improvements
In our history, we have ascertained that one of the major challenges of the Quality Guarantee system is the continuous receipt of appropriate feedback, both for us and for our clients. In the past, we used to receive reports from independent inspectors from each unload-harbour, which were circulated and analyzed by all the officers in charge in order to update and improve the procedures as soon as possible.

Recently, reports have been provided which are sent to specific clients via email. Typically, these reports entail a brief summary of materials-conditions, along with digital pictures. Such reports are not extensive ones, but rather “summaries” that facilitate the general control of the cargo-conditions. If necessary, these reports can be adapted to some specific needs. For instance, it can be ascertained and reported directly to the client the case of a great number of units with broken tying, facilitating the identification and resolution of the problem. As with the most part of the companies, our procedures of materials-handling and stowage are well consolidated and have been utilized for a long time. We reckon, however, that there are still margins for further improvements. In this perspective, last year we appointed an independent consultant in order to verify critically all our vessel for lumber-products. The work of the consultant, a very skilful captain with several years of experience both on board and on earth, allowed us to hone some operative aspects.