Uzuko Carriers, an empowered joint venture between Cargo Carriers and Caltex Eastern Cape Marketers, the master franchisor of more than 106 Caltex service stations in the province, recently undertook a large-scale Emergency Simulation on the N2 in East London, to ensure their readiness to respond to the unlikely event of an incident.

Notably, the initiative was planned around a scheduled emergency simulation by the Buffalo City Fire Department on behalf of the South African National Roads Agency Limited.

It was a resounding success demonstrating all organisations’ ability to effectively respond to an improbable incident.

This is the first of a series of scheduled annual Emergency Simulations that will be undertaken by Uzuko Carriers in the Amathole District Municipality. Meanwhile, Buffalo City Fire Department and the larger Amathole District Municipality have also expressed a keen interest in participating in the future drills.

This is considering the important insights gained from the event. These were discussed and shared during a Post Incident Assessment where existing procedures were also reviewed to ensure preparedness for incidents, ranging in severity from controllable spillages through to major roll overs.

Uzuko Carriers is now finalising a report on the findings of the emergency drill that will be used to benchmark and institute improvements to its current Safety Health Environment & Quality (SHEQ) Management System wherever necessary.

The company’s SHEQ Management System is already of an extremely high standard considering Uzuko Carriers’ close affiliation to Cargo Carriers, one of South Africa’s leading transporters of fuel and hazardous goods.

Importantly, the final report will also be used to raise awareness among and to train Uzuko Carriers’ staff to hone their abilities to effectively manage emergency scenarios in line with Cargo Carriers’ ongoing Customer-Centric drive.

Established in 2010, Uzuko Carriers has an impressive track record undertaking last-mile distribution on behalf of the Caltex brand in the Eastern Cape and has further expanded its footprint supplying filling stations in the rural areas of the Transkei, the platteland towns of the Karoo, as well as the Nelson Mandela and Buffalo City Metros.