On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a guidance document addressing the transfer of hazardous material shipping papers during the current COVID-19 pandemic. PHMSA has received many questions related to the transfer of shipping papers between shippers and carriers, and the difficulties with maintaining…
Distilleries making hand sanitizer? Hooray! Here’s how to ship it safely.
Among all the dire news surrounding the COVID-19 crisis, there’s one story that’s lightened a lot of people’s moods: distillers of alcoholic beverages (including several in the Chicago area) switching over some of their production to make desperately needed hand sanitizer. We love this story because: Supplies of hand sanitizer have been running low at…
What COVID-19 test sites must know about shipping infectious substances
For complete guidelines and resources for transporting COVID-19 test samples, please visit our coronavirus shipping guidelines page. With new COVID-19 test sites setting up all over the United States and the world, many businesses and their employees will be transporting infectious substances for the first time. These shippers must be aware of two important topics:…
Undeclared hazmat? The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is on the case.
Say you need a replacement 420 Wh battery for your electric snowblower. Instead of ordering a new one from the manufacturer, you find an online retailer offering a used battery at a discount. When the battery arrives, you—being somewhat knowledgeable about the rules governing transport of lithium batteries—are surprised to see it’s in a plain,…
Why it’s absolutely essential to choose the right hazmat placard
True fact: No one ever got promoted for choosing the right hazmat placard. Choosing the wrong placard, however, could have negative consequences for anyone’s job prospects. Think about it. Every Dangerous Goods shipment represents a significant investment in time and materials, and it could be part of a supply chain impacting several organizations. Yet one…
Postal rates may increase if U.S. departs Universal Postal Union
Although it does not have the current traction in the news that many other topics do, a technical arrangement that governs the US Postal Service’s relations to other international postal bodies may leave US-based shippers facing higher fees. A meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on September 25-26th is more or less the last chance for the…
DG Digest: Should training providers be able to administer CDL skills testing?
The summer doldrums continue in the regulatory sector, with minimal activity underway. The FMCSA is the big player this week, with a significant proposal to modify CDL driver testing standards. Here’s all the latest: FMCSA The agency proposes to allow States to permit a third party skills test examiner to administer the Commercial Driver’s License…
Hazmat hopes 2019: Top Dangerous Goods professionals share their wishes
Work in Dangerous Goods long enough, and you may find yourself wishing things were different. Couldn’t that new IATA regulation be worded more clearly? Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to explain Limited Quantities to your customer—for the third time? And how exactly does a 2mm-thick label border make a hazmat shipment safer?…
11 must-have items for hazmat shipping when your eyelashes freeze
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,…
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…