RU EN
Technical Committee

The SSA standards

The official standards of the Association — Standards of Sustainability and Security Assessment. Developed by the industry for the industry and observed by participants in the supply chain as minimum security requirements.

What the SSA standards are

Written by the industry — for the industry

The SSA standards are the official standards of the Association. The Association acts as the regulator: it initiates their development and secures their implementation. The documents themselves are produced by the Technical Committee — specialists in the field in question, not an outside drafter.

The standards rest on best practice, current technology, training and risk management. Participants in the supply chain observe them as minimum security requirements — not as recommendations.

They differ from international management system standards in subject. ISO 9001 or ISO 14001 describe how management is arranged. The SSA standards describe what has to be secured in a particular industry: at a tank cleaning station, in a warehouse, in feed production.

The family of standards

Nine standards in three groups

Two industry series cover chemical logistics and the food chain link by link. The third group holds separate standards for fields where security is assessed differently.

Chemical logistics CLSSA
CLSSA Transport service
Transport services
Carriage of chemical products: requirements for the carrier, the vehicles and the handling of the load in transit.
CLSSA Tank cleaning
Tank cleaning stations
Cleaning of tanks and vessels: procedures, control of residues, safety of personnel and handling of waste.
CLSSA Warehouse
Warehousing
Storage of chemical products: storage conditions, compatibility, access control and readiness for incidents.
Food safety FSSA
FSSA Food
Food production
Food safety and sustainability assessment standard: control of hazards, traceability and the recall of batches.
FSSA Packaging
Packaging production
Packaging for the food industry: materials, contact with product and hygiene in the production of packaging.
FSSA Feed
Feed and animal products
Production of feed and food products for animals: raw materials, cross-contamination and traceability.
Sector standards SSA
SSA Cyber
Cyber security
Cyber security and sustainability assessment standard: data protection, continuity and security across the supplier chain.
SSA Aviation
Aviation security
Aviation security and sustainability assessment standard for industry participants and servicing organisations.
SSA Automotive
Automotive industry
Security and sustainability assessment standard for the automotive industry and its suppliers.
Application

How the standards work in practice

Four provisions that determine how an organisation enters assessment against the SSA standards and what follows.

01
Revised every three years
The standards are revised every three years. This is not a formality: security requirements age along with technology, and a document left unrevised for years stops reflecting the risks.
02
The company chooses its level of implementation
An organisation selects the level of implementation that matches its own requirements and those of its clients. The standard sets the minimum; the company rises above it on its own account.
03
Condition for organisations outside the Association
Companies that are not members of the Association may undergo SSA conformity assessment only after completing the official security manager training course.
04
Remote virtual audit
Part of the assessment may be carried out remotely, using video conferencing systems and the EAASS audit templates. Which part depends on the standard and the subject of assessment: the details are confirmed with an audit body approved by EAASS.
Who develops them

The EAASS Technical Committee

The committee develops and improves standards in a defined field, reviews drafts of international documents and forms the Association's position on them. Decisions are taken by a vote of its members.

Industry depth comes from the expert councils — on logistics security, food safety and information security. They prepare the substance; the committee puts it to the vote.

Structure of the Association Ask a question
01
Development and improvement of standards
New documents, and revision of those in force within the three-year cycle.
02
Requirements for assessment schemes
Establishing exactly how conformity with a standard is verified.
03
Cooperation and exchange of experience
Work with other organisations, so that requirements stay comparable.
04
A vote of committee members
A document is adopted collegially, not by the administration of the Association.
Who may assess against these standards
Accreditation
Auditors are accredited to carry out independent assessment against the SSA standards. Accreditation is carried out by EAAC — a separate legal entity to which these powers are delegated.
Accreditation
The security manager course
Attestation
Official training courses are delivered by training organisations recognised by the Attestation Committee. For organisations outside the Association, the course is a condition of access to assessment.
Attestation