Around the world, and across all sectors, the COVID-19 outbreak 
has led to the cancellation of classroom courses 
and an unprecedented shift towards online training solutions

Online training has, for many years, been accessible to those involved in the transport of dangerous goods. However, in UK and Ireland this has been, until now, the preserve of sea and road transport. To comply with the regulations, these courses are for those whose duties concern the carriage of dangerous goods and who “…shall be trained in the requirements governing the carriage of such goods appropriate to their responsibilities and duties.” 

All training must be function specific and online courses are available for packers, consignors, shippers, loaders, operators and for those who only require general dangerous goods awareness. The tests to show competence are within the course material so there is no need to sit a separate exam.

To meet the requirements for air, anyone shipping dangerous goods must a have a current certificate to show that they have passed an exam to demonstrate competency. Both the training and the exam are approved by the state regulator - in the UK, this is the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and in Ireland, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). Recurrent training must be provided every 24 months to ensure that knowledge is current.

Traditionally, this training has always been delivered in a classroom environment over a number of days. Typically, a generic course for shippers and cargo agents (Category 1) will take three days and a refresher course would normally take two days. 

New CAA accredited course for air

Labeline is pleased to offer the first CAA approved online training courses for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air. Online training is both cost effective and flexible for employers, staff and the self-employed. It gives candidates the opportunity to take the course at home and at any time. Furthermore, the modules can be repeated as often as required to reinforce learning.

Currently, the following CAA accredited online courses are available:

Category 1 (Shippers)

Category 6 (Operators)

Lithium Batteries

To ensure that candidates are tested for competency, an invigilated classroom exam must be taken after completing the online training modules. To fulfil this requirement, multiple dates and locations offer plenty of options to attend the exam: Heathrow; Milton Keynes; East Midlands; Manchester; Exeter; Crawley and Aberdeen.

To help overcome the uncertainty around the availability of exam venues during the pandemic, accessibility to these courses has been temporarily extended to 24 weeks.

For a relatively small additional fee, Labeline can arrange for a proctor to come and invigilate an examination in your workplace. All candidates will need access to the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) to accompany the course and a printed copy to refer to in the exam. Candidates can purchase the IATA DGR at discounted prices from Labeline.

With the move towards competency-based training in the air industry, generic courses will not always be appropriate. Going forwards, online solutions will offer the flexibility to be modular and easily tailored to suit the role and specific requirements of individual candidates.

For some, the classroom environment will always be the preferred option as it brings in the benefit of the trainer’s experiences and interaction with other candidates. However, it is clear that, especially in these uncertain times, interest in online training is gathering momentum and may soon become the norm. 

Digitisation of DG Documents

Changes are also afoot in the way that Dangerous Goods Documents (DGD) are generated for all modes of transport. At Labeline, we regularly hear from customers who have had consignments held by their forwarder or transport company for providing handwritten DGD’s. Fortunately, we can offer DGOffice which generates and prints compliant documents for all dangerous goods shipments. 

It is a sophisticated software solution that saves a significant amount of time by classifying a consignment and self-populating pre-saved product information, such as pack sizes, packaging types, consignors’ addresses and other data. 

During the process it will also highlight when limited quantity thresholds are breached and, for air, calculate the Q values.

The transport industry is moving to digitise information flow (e-Freight) and to maximise the potential from online resources. DGOffice is at the forefront of these developments across all modes and the system is e-Freight ready.

The air industry is leading the way - on the back of e-Tickets and digital Airway Bills, e-DGD’s are now being trialled by a number of airlines.

Shipping lines too are starting to adopt new protocols as the industry suffers approximately one container ship fire every 30 days. It has been shown that more complete dangerous goods data could reduce the likelihood of incidents such as the fire on board the MSC Flaminia, which claimed three lives and caused significant loss and damage to cargo. The subsequent landmark case led to a $280m liability being shared between a chemical manufacturer and tank container company. 

Eventually all data will, inevitably, be provided in a paperless format such as the XML platform used in DGOffice. The benefits of e-Freight were discussed in detail during an interview published in this section of last Summer’s Truck and Track.

Biennial Dangerous Goods Roadshow

With the cancellation or postponement of many important industry events this year, the 2020 Biennial Dangerous Goods Roadshow in September looks set to be very popular. 

This key regulatory update seminar is timed to coincide with the publication of the amended dangerous goods regulations for all transport modes that will apply from 1st January 2021. Eminent speakers and knowledge leaders from across industry will take to the stage to discuss the changes.

They include Dave Brennan, IATA’s Assistant Director, Cargo, Safety and Standards; Caroline Raine, Associate Director at NCEC and Gene Sanders CDGP, Author, Trainer and DG Specialist.

One of the key themes running through the agenda will be the implementation of the latest technology to improve safety. There will also be presentations by the police on enforcement and an insightful look at the procedures and requirements that should be in place for emergency response to chemical incidents. 

To book your place at the Biennial Dangerous Goods Roadshow or to view the options available for online training for all modes visit www.labeline.com. 

For a free trial of DGOffice, contact Richard Shreeve 

(compliance@labeline.com).