Essential Steps to Training Your Staff to Properly Ship Hazardous Materials

If you’re a part of the shipping industry it’s certain that sooner or later you’ll be shipping hazardous materials of one type or another. As the term states, hazardous materials are, well, hazardous, and if they’re not handled properly and shipped in the proper containers they can pose a danger to you, your employees, and anyone else that might come into contact with them during transport, as well as being an environmental hazard. Some chemicals are so dangerous that just one or two drops in a lake, for instance, can kill all the water life, and they can be just as dangerous to humans.

Therefore it’s essential that your employees are well trained to handle the various hazardous materials they’re likely to encounter as required by both Federal and international law. A good training system is structured and well planned.

Here are six steps to help create employee training for shipping hazardous materials

1. The first step in proper hazmat training is to determine the kind of training that is required. Are you shipping by air, ocean and/or ground? Most IATA training will certify you for both air and ground transportation. And IMO training will certify you for ocean transportation.


2. Once you have the selected the course(s) that you want to complete, you will need to purchase the proper manuals for these trainings. If you are going to take the IATA course you will need the most up to date IATA DGR which currently is the 2013 54^th edition. You will also need a copy of the most recent CFR title 49 Parts 100-199 2012 edition. If you are going to take the IMO Ocean training you will need the most up to date IMDG Code which is currently the 2012-2014 IMDG Code. The latest edition and addendums can be obtained from Air Sea Containers, an official distributor for IMO and IATA publications.


3. The types of training required include General Awareness and Function Specific, and some employees will need both, so you’ll need to assess what individual employees require. It’s also required that employees have completed your company’s workplace safety training course.


4. Keep in mind that management has to participate in the training too, even if they don’t actually handle the materials. Management is ultimately responsible for making sure employees are trained and that hazardous materials are handled properly and needs to have a good understanding of the regulations and procedures. Failure to do so can in some cases lead to civil and criminal charges.


5. Keep in mind that to remain effective hazardous materials training has to be ongoing. Plan for refresher classes at intervals and be prepared to implement training for any new materials you might be asked to ship. Also bear in mind that it’s a requirement that records be kept detailing all training given so consider that as part of your overall plan.

There’s a learning curve involved with shipping hazardous materials but once the initial training is done keeping your employees up to date is pretty easy. Well trained employees will help to avoid costly accidents and compliance violations and save your company money in the long run. Air Sea Containers is available to provide professional guidance and to supply all of your hazmat shipping requirements.

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