Happy New Year! For those of us in northern climes, we’re well past the isn’t-winter-wonderful? phase and well into the enough-already-with-the-freezing-rain phase. Yet Dangerous Goods shipments don’t care if your eyelashes freeze together or your fingertips go numb. Your customers and supply chain partners still expect your shipments to be safe, compliant and on time,…
From hazmat hopes to new paradigms: Our top 12 posts of 2018
If you only have time to read one blog about the Dangerous Goods supply chain, we’re glad you make it ours. And if you don’t even get the time to read our blog every week, here are our top 12 posts from the last year, in chronological order: Hazmat hopes: A 2018 wish list from…
2018: The year in Dangerous Goods regulations
2018 was a relatively quiet year in the Dangerous Goods galaxy, with few major new regulatory changes and no unexpected surprises from domestic or international regulatory bodies. Still, as Labelmaster’s Manager of Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, I hear all the questions from our customers and partners about how best to comply with regulations. This…
Total value of compliance, as explained by Chicago Bears fans
Lots of us at Labelmaster are excited about our hometown Chicago Bears, who are poised to make the National Football League playoffs for the first time in eight years. As one of the league’s biggest turnaround stories, the Bears have made sharp improvements in several statistical categories. One improvement that gets very little attention? Penalty…
How CEVA’s Rusty McMains makes the C-Suite pay attention to hazmat
In today’s supply chain, the way people think about Dangerous Goods transport is evolving. It used to be common for organizations to view hazmat compliance as a necessary evil—just a cost of doing business. They cared about safety, and they cared about avoiding delays and civil penalties, but that was the extent of their concern.…
Why “total value of compliance” is a new paradigm for hazmat shippers
Why do you pursue Dangerous Goods compliance? Take a moment before you answer, because the real reason may not be as obvious as you think. We’ve been asking hazmat professionals that question for years, and the answers have evolved. Today, nearly a quarter of companies in the DG supply chain pursue compliance because it’s a…
What happens when you make hazmat compliance a competitive advantage?
At September’s Dangerous Goods Symposium, Labelmaster VP of Marketing Rob Finn said, “Companies who are best in class at compliance have better on-time rates and fewer surprises for their customers. It’s a competitive advantage, and it grows their business.” Dangerous Goods compliance as a competitive advantage? That’s kind of a radical concept. Historically, many organizations…
DOT introduces HazMatt to combat the “plain brown box”
Every year in the United States, there are approximately 1,500 reported transportation incidents caused by undeclared hazmat shipments. These rail fires, battery explosions and other incidents injure carrier employees and first responders while exposing them to dangerous chemicals and substances. Dangerous Goods regulations are useless if shippers don’t know what Dangerous Goods are. Ask any…
Want to scare a Dangerous Goods pro? 7 costume ideas for Halloween.
A career in Dangerous Goods is not for the faint of heart. Not only might you work every day with stuff that’s explosive, flammable, poisonous and/or radioactive, but you’re also responsible for making sure that stuff gets transported safely. So you’re not going to spook a hazmat pro with a Michael Myers mask. There are…
Dangerous Goods competency assessments: A level beyond training
Should people who handle Dangerous Goods be as competent at their jobs as doctors are at theirs? Philip Mondor thinks so. “Doctors, nurses and lawyers are subject to rigorous competency assessments based on robust science. We’re seeing an emergence of similar practices in occupational areas that have regulated aspects, like logistics.” Mondor is the president…