Say you’ve invented a robot that doesn’t just vacuum floors, but cleans all the grime off your showers, sinks and toilets, too. (Let’s call it the “Bathroomba.”) If an informal poll here at Labelmaster is any indication, your brainchild will command a premium price and sell a million units by next Wednesday. There’s only one…
As blockchain gets bigger, will hazmat transport get linked up?
Almost a year ago, we asked why no one was talking about blockchain in hazmat shipping. As far as we know, we’re still the only ones asking. There have been no significant developments in the application of blockchain technology to Dangerous Goods transport. Yet, as blockchain continues to grow more important to worldwide logistics, it…
What do hazardous waste labels say about your DG partner?
In the world of Dangerous Goods transport, a few millimeters can send otherwise calm logistics professionals scrambling for that extra bottle of Tums. That’s what happened in January 2017, when an update to the 49 CFR (section 172.301, for you regulation geeks) went into effect mandating that, for all hazmat or hazardous waste packages larger…
TMC 2018 Annual Meeting preview: innovation and reliability
This week, trucking’s leading fleet professionals, vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers will gather in Atlanta for TMC18—the Technology & Maintenance Council Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition. Of course, Labelmaster will be there at Booth 811! “People at TMC are always looking for innovation,” says Mike Kelly, Labelmaster Director of Sales Operations. “Increased fuel economy,…
10 things your C-suite might not know about Dangerous Goods
In our 2014 Master Series video—“DG and the C-suite: What Every Executive Needs to Know”—Labelmaster President Alan Schoen says: “Unfortunately, the C-suite does not know a lot about the transportation of Dangerous Goods. They think we’re shipping nuclear bars from the waste treatment plant, and that’s not what it is.” How much has changed in…
Hazmat experts agree—it’s time to sign up for the Dangerous Goods Symposium!
Register today! Rates go up April 1. September seems a long way off, doesn’t it? We in the Midwest are still digging out from our biggest snowfall in a couple of years, and major league baseball players are only just reporting to spring training this week. But it’s not too soon to talk about September,…
DG Digest: FRA establishes Emergency Relief Docket for year, and the Coast Guard announces next chem transport committee meeting
The Mid-February winter doldrums are here—we’re all ready for spring, but it still feels distant. Hopefully the crocuses will soon be peeking out, and a new cycle will return us to sunshine and the new green. The week saw a slight uptick in regulatory activity; here’s the latest: FRA The agency established its annual Emergency…
7 new lithium battery technologies; 0 new regulations
Considering the sheer impact of lithium batteries and the devices they power on today’s global economy, any new wrinkle in the regulations governing lithium battery transport creates aftershocks among: Battery manufacturers Device manufacturers Airlines and freight carriers E-commerce retailers Product recall managers Third-party logistics companies Hazmat trainers And anyone who owns a cell phone, laptop,…
Confessions of a 3PL hazmat manager: “Lithium batteries are my life.”
Cody DeGrush is Hazardous Materials Manager at GEODIS. As a hazardous materials manager for a major third-party logistics (3PL) company, I’m almost a regulatory consultant within my own company. I share guidance with other organizations whenever regulations change, I gather information when onboarding a new client, and I oversee training. For the last four years,…
Dangerous Goods transport technology: Wouldn’t it be cool if …
A couple of weeks ago, we published our 2018 DG Wish List, in which Dangerous Goods professionals from around the world shared their fondest dreams for the industry. Most of these wishes were pretty practical, from simplifying lithium battery shipping regulations to making sure shippers were better educated about hazmat. Others were grander in scale—like…