After completing an exhaustive evaluation process, Montes del Plata has become the first company in Latin America to receive roadway safety certification the Fédération Internationale de l`Automobile (FIA).  The certification was awarded at a ceremony attended by officials the Ministry of Transport and Public Works, the National Roadway Safety Office (UNASEV), the FIA and CEPA Safe Drive (the certifying company).

Montes del Plata achieved a 5-star rating the FIA, the highest granted by the entity.  The certification covers the company´s entire wood transport system over land.

Montes del Plata general manager Luis María Rodríguez said that "earning this certification is satisfying and makes us proud, because it recognizes the major effort put forth by the company to promote roadway safety, which is an important issue for Uruguay."

Likewise, Rodríguez noted that the initiatives to achieve this goal help Montes del Plata create benefits for its collaborators, the communities in which the company operates and the country in general.

Rodríguez said the company "trusts that this initiative, as the first company to be certified in Latin America, will offer multiple benefits to all public road users. This, in turn, will increase the region&rsquos roadway safety standards, which is where this process began, where work will likewise continue to work towards roadway safety."

UNASEV president Gerardo Barrios underscored the "inter-institutional efforts" with which Montes del Plata designed and implemented its transport management system and prevention strategies, by involving employees and diverse organizations in the public and private spheres.

Barrios said the certification awarded to the company is a "good practice in terms of roadway safety" and stated the need for the initiative to be reproduced and fostered throughout the country to "engage all companies and employees."

Before starting operations, Montes del Plata began to develop a long-term sustainable transport system. The supply of wood for its pulp mill entails a system combining land and river transport, which today is performed by four barges that ship wood the company port in Río Negro to the Punta Pereira port. This system eliminates the need for 100,000 truck hauls every year.

Sixteen Uruguayan companies were contracted to carry out major investments in vehicles to meet Montes del Plata´s demanding specifications.  The company installed a Transport Centre and invested in technology to monitor its fleet in real time and to monitor shipping orders online.

Through a 2012 agreement with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP), Montes del Plata encourages the professionalization of forestry sector drivers through a comprehensive training course by the Roadway Safety and Education Institute (ISEV) that includes theoretical and hands-on aspects. This course, which has already trained more than 700 drivers, is an essential requirement to work at transport companies contracted by Montes del Plata in addition to other requirements, such as aptitude tests.

Furthermore, the company provides continuous training for drivers working for outsourced companies. As part of the training, drivers attend monthly meetings with Montes del Plata and CEPA to systematically reflect upon the importance of safe behaviours, to analyze cases during the period and to propose preventative and corrective actions to reach established goals.

This is complemented by quarterly meetings of the Safety Team, which includes owners and managers of transport companies, Montes del Plata personnel, CEPA and ISEV professionals. The objective of these meetings is to monitor key indicators and promote the continuous improvement of operations.

In addition, Montes del Plata supports educational and awareness activities in the communities where wood is transported. These activities are attended by the drivers of outsourced companies. "To increase road safety we have to involve all stakeholders who share the roads and we must be highly committed to the results," said the company´s general manager.

About the certification

Under the governing principle of "ensuring safe, clean and affordable means of transportation," the FIA created the FIA DTCP program while taking into account the measures by the United Nations General Assembly in its Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2011-2020.

To implement the global certification program, the FIA chose the Uruguayan company CEPA Safe Drive, which has been training drivers and advising companies in road safety for almost 30 years.

With offices in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay, the company has trained drivers in over 1,000 cities in 78 countries and has worked with large fleets of trucks sectors such as forestry, mining and fuel transport, among others.