A series of investigations by Al Jazeera’s sister site, Al Jazeera Investigations, has exposed major flaws in transport logistics firms across the world.
Here are the main findings from the report:The top three transport logistics teams that have been singled out in the audit include:Transport logistics firm RWE, based in Hamburg, Germany, which is one of the world’s leading providers of freight transport, has had a reputation for poor quality, poor safety and a low quality of customer service.
The firm has been investigated by two major investigations into safety and quality, the International Transport Union and the Transport Safety Bureau.
A third firm, Transmeta, based at the UK’s Bournemouth Airport, was criticised by the watchdog after a series of serious accidents and poor quality control, including an accident in 2009 that left three people dead.
In 2014, a series, ‘Transmeta Safety Investigation: A Critical Report’, by the London School of Economics and Political Science found that Transmeta had a history of unsafe and unsafe working practices, which had resulted in injuries, fatalities and significant delays for some of its customers.RWE has also been investigated in a series by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) which found that the company’s handling of air cargo in the past was “particularly concerning” and that the firm had not addressed any of the issues raised in the DOT’s report.
Transmeta’s CEO, Richard Burdett, told Al Jazeera that he was “extremely proud” of his company’s “leading position in the field” and said that he “absolutely” accepted the findings of the DOT report and that he has taken corrective action.
Transmetro, a major supplier of air freight in the UK, has also had a bad reputation.
The watchdog said that in the period between 2009 and 2013, it had experienced 10 serious safety incidents, including the crash of a cargo plane that killed three people and injured more than 100 others.
The company was fined more than $2.6m by the Transportation Safety Bureau for serious safety violations.
Rafael Silva, an engineer at the firm’s London offices, said that while Transmetro’s safety record was poor, it was not “one of the worst in the industry”.
“Our safety record is a lot better than other companies and we have always had excellent management,” he said.
Rene Alvarado, the company vice-president for the Americas, said Transmetronys performance was “well above average” and added that it “remains committed to being a high quality supplier”.
He added that Transmetros “highly regarded” safety record “remained stable”.
Rafal Carrero, the head of logistics at the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which has a reputation as one of Europe’s biggest transport logistics providers, said in an interview that the organisation had an “outstanding safety record”, and that it was “very proud” to be “the most trusted and trusted in the world”.
But the auditors said the company was not doing enough to address “serious shortcomings in safety and safety training”.
They found that Deutsche Bahns “continues to fail to meet the needs of its employees”.
A spokesman for Deutsche Bahnis said the firm was “disappointed and distressed” by the audit findings and that they had “zero tolerance for safety defects in the supply chain” and had launched a thorough internal investigation.
The auditors also criticised Deutsche Bahnt for “systematically failing to address the safety concerns” and “continuing to fail in its duties to improve safety in its operations and its supply chain”.
“We are concerned that Deutsche Bhas failed to improve its own safety processes,” they said.
A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn, the world leader in rail freight, said it was working to improve the safety of its operations.
“We take these issues very seriously and will continue to do all that is possible to improve our safety and standards,” she said.
Transport infrastructure firm BAM has had several high-profile safety investigations over the years, including one last year in which three people were killed in a freight train accident in Russia.
In that case, the German company was found to have “inadequate” safety controls in place, including inadequate training and inadequate monitoring of its own employees.BAM’s management has said that it has “zero control” over safety and said it “will not tolerate any risk to its employees” and will “fully cooperate with the authorities” in any investigation into the crash.
In January, the United Kingdom’s Highways Agency announced it was considering whether to shut down the rail company Railtrack UK.
In a statement, the Highways agency said it would review its current and planned transport infrastructure investments in light of the audit.
“We will also consider all the recommendations that are included in the report,” it said.