There’s a special charge in the air on Friday at the Dangerous Goods Symposium, because Day 3 is Lithium Battery Day. Everyone’s favorite regulated material gets an all-star panel and a no-(cargo) holds-barred Q & A session, so there’s a high capacity for shock. As IATA’s Dave Brennan said, “Lithium batteries are a very emotional…
IATA’s James Wyatt to demo automated DG acceptance tool at 2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium
James Wyatt, Assistant Director of Dangerous Goods Publications at IATA, will speak on advanced automation—and give a live demo of IATA’s new acceptance solution—at the 13th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium, September 5–7, 2018, in Rosemont, Illinois. Who determines what’s safe to load onto an airplane—and what isn’t—when it comes to the world of Dangerous Goods…
2018 Dangerous Goods Symposium speaker Dave Brennan on IATA and innovation
Dave Brennan, Assistant Director of Cargo Safety & Standards at International Air Transport Association, will share updates from IATA during the 13th annual Dangerous Goods Symposium, September 5–7, 2018, in Rosemont, Illinois. Longtime IATA veteran Dave Brennan says, “It’s been one of the quieter years for updates.” Yet even in a quiet year, he…
Share your opinion—take our annual Dangerous Goods Confidence survey
Labelmaster, Hazardous Cargo Bulletin (HCB) and IATA partner to create the 2018 Dangerous Goods Confidence Outlook How do you keep up with changing hazmat regulations? How current are your DG shipping technology and infrastructure? And how severe should enforcement of hazmat violations be? Share your opinions about these issues—and many others—with the entire DG community!…
Fall meetings highlight changes in Dangerous Goods air transport
The fall season in odd-numbered years has traditionally been a busy time for people who handle Dangerous Goods by air, and 2017 was no exception. Consider this timetable: Labelmaster’s 12th Dangerous Goods Symposium, Chicago, Sept. 6–8 IATA’s Dangerous Goods Board, 111th meeting in Brussels, Sept. 18–21 IATA’s Lithium Battery Seminar in Barcelona, Oct. 3–5 ICAO’s…
Dangerous Goods Symposium Day 3—Lithium Battery Day
Day 3 of the Dangerous Goods Symposium has, for the last few years, been known as “Lithium Battery Day.” It’s only a half day, but the always-vigorous discussion panel gives the 300 DG pros in attendance a full day’s worth of information to digest. We’ll get to highlights of today’s panel in a minute. But…
A Letter from Bangkok on the 109th Meeting of the IATA Dangerous Goods Board
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. – John A. Shedd (Salt from My Attic, 1928) A not so old adage that captures the balance between safety and action. A 21st century version might be “An airplane is safe in its hangar, but that’s not what…
Infographic | New IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations for 2017
Year after year, no transport mode sees more Dangerous Goods regulatory changes than air transport. That’s why it’s essential to have a complete grasp of each year’s changes as soon as possible—and why now is the time to order your copy of the 58th Edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. Here’s a preview of…
Lithium battery discussion heats up Dangerous Goods Symposium Day 3
Sorry for the terrible choice of words. But when you’ve convened the world’s foremost experts in lithium battery shipping the same week the world’s largest smartphone maker recalls millions of units due to battery issues, it’s all we can do to not call the session “explosive.” Okay, we’re done now. Friday morning’s lithium battery panel…
Lithium battery enforcement: A level playing field will boost safety immediately
Neil McCulloch contributed to this article. Monday’s press release from IATA, highlighting the problems and implications of non-enforcement of existing lithium battery shipping regulations, is both salutary and discouraging. Salutary, because we’ve long been on record as saying that comprehensive enforcement of existing regulations would have a larger impact on safety than enacting new regulations. Many other…