What is Dangerous Goods Training?

What is Dangerous Goods Training?

This question comes up frequently, especially when a company is new to shipping, or has new products that they are trying to ship. The question might arise from discussions with a Freight Agent or Carrier who ask you if you have Dangerous Goods Training, or whether you are Air (sometimes called IATA or ICAO), Road (ADR) or Sea (IMDG) Qualified. If those acronyms don’t mean anything to you, or you have never heard of Dangerous Goods, the answer is probably no.

What are Dangerous Goods?

Dangerous Goods are any Articles or Substances which can cause harm to people, property or the environment during transport.

The main aim of any company in the Dangerous Goods industry is to keep any products which are Dangerous Goods, from causing this harm – or at least minimising the risk as far as possible. As part of that governments impose a legal requirement on anyone who is packing, shipping or carrying these goods to be adequately trained. So, it is a legal requirement to be properly trained if you are hoping to ship or carry Dangerous Goods. The legal requirements vary by mode (Air, Road or Sea) and by country (we will focus on the United Kingdom for this post).

What does a Dangerous Goods Course cover?

The idea of any Dangerous Goods Course is to run through all of the hazards that may be presented by products classified as Dangerous Goods, what the Dangerous Goods Regulations (DG Regulations) for that particular mode require, how to pack dangerous goods, dangerous Goods labels and Dangerous Goods Documents.

A typical Dangerous Goods Course may have the following topics:

· The Shipping Regulations for Dangerous Goods

· The Nine Classes of Dangerous Goods

· How to identify Dangerous Goods with a UN Number and Proper Shipping name

· How to select and interpret the correct packing instructions for specific goods

· How UN specification packing is tested and what the requirements are

· How to choose the correct packaging for specific goods and identify the quantity limits within packages

· How to mark and label specific goods in accordance with the regulations

· How to correctly mark and placard vehicles depending on what is being transported

· How to complete and understand Dangerous Goods Transport Documents

· Other mode-specific topics such as DGSA, Tunnel Code, Stowage Categories, ERG Codes etc.

What Dangerous Goods Regulations apply to the Carriage of Dangerous Goods?

There is a range of Dangerous Goods Regulations that apply to the carriage of Dangerous Goods, however the main Shipping Regulations are:

Air – ICAO TI’s (International Civil Aviation Organization - Technical Instructions for the Safe Transportation of Dangerous Goods) this is the international legal text applying to the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Air – Although many people use the IATA DGR (International Air Transport Association - Dangerous Goods Regulations). This is produced by the airline trade association and is more commonly used – it does comply with the ICAO TI’s.

Sea – IMDG Code (International Maritime Organization - International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code)

Road – ADR (United Nations – European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road)

How long does Dangerous Goods Training take?

How long Dangerous Goods Training takes is dependent on what role the trainee will be playing in the transport of Dangerous Goods. Are they overseeing the shipment, packing the shipment, carrying the shipment, loading the shipment, arranging the logistics or receiving the shipment?

Typically, the training durations are:

Air

Shippers/Packers/Loaders/Forwarders - 2-3 Days depending on prior experience

Sea

Shippers/Packers/Loaders/Forwarders – 1 -2 Days depending on prior experience

Road

Shippers/Packers/Loaders/Forwarders – 1 -2 Days depending on prior experience

Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) – 3-5 Days depending on prior experience

What does Dangerous Goods Training Cost?

As an approved training provider – you can find all of our current pricing here ……………………………………………………

Dangerous Goods Training can be a complicated subject and I hope that this has helped to answer What is Dangerous Goods Training. If you have any questions, you can always comment below, contact us or use the live-chat in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. Thanks for reading!

*Notice: This blog aims to give you an introduction to Dangerous Goods, it is not intended as a reference material so always conduct your own research and check anything with your Dangerous Goods Specialist or DGSA before taking any action based on the subjects discussed here.*