DANGEROUS GOODS FEATURE
its IATA contract until they are replaced. Even the bigger forwarders need to
ensure that they are complying with the rules, which state that any individual office or station that issues air waybills must have a minimum of two DG-trained staff. As Sou Ping Chee commented: “A
compliance manager may be needed to check that each station has the requisite number of trained staff and also that training is 'in date' – the qualification must be renewed every two years.” An employee who is new to the DG
programme must take a three-day course, and pass an exam at the end. Those who are renewing an existing qualification can choose to take a shorter, two-day course. An important potential change is that
ICAO has signed an agreement on a new ICAO/FIATA training programme, recognised by the aviation industry. Panalpina’s Fielder – whose previous function also included the role of corporate DG adviser – has welcomed the move, saying that it could lead to increased choice in what has been until now a pretty restricted field. More importantly, perhaps, he hopes
that this may also include more practical- based awareness training that is particularly specific to forwarders.
Modal differences There are important differences between the air and ocean environments, as far as DG is concerned. One is that, as a forwarder, you are much more likely to handle the goods. Also, “if you ship mercury thermometers and a couple of them leak in a sea freight container, it doesn’t matter too much, but that type of scenario could – and has – grounded aircraft, as mercury corrodes aluminium,” Fielder said. Forwarders need to be mindful of the
air freight rules if they switch cargo from sea to air, particularly if the change is an unplanned one, he pointed out. Fielder says that he has tried to extend the DG training, which is essentially
functional covering documentation, packaging or handling, to increase general DG awareness – and not just among those people who have taken the official course, but throughout the company. “We have also provided basic training
to our operational and sales staff to make them more aware of the issues, and to our top management, to make them more supportive – if they know what the issues are, they better understand why other people in the country are refusing to accept a cargo of badly-packed fireworks.” Panalpina has also linked with a third
party to provide online DG software, which is made available to staff through an Intranet portal. This is much easier than leafing through a manual to pick up all the myriad state and operator variations, and ensuring that the software is up to date is much easier than with a paper manual. However, Panalpina restricts access to
the portal to those staff that have undergone some hazardous goods training – this could be DG awareness training, not necessarily the full IATA or other courses – as it is potentially risky to allow untrained people access to such information. Some forwarders may simply rely on
the carriers to manage DG but this is not a very healthy state of affairs, Fielder noted: “Often, I find that some carriers are less knowledgeable than our own staff.” Even with the best training, however, it
is impossible for a forwarder – or a cargo-carrying airline for that matter – to know for certain what is in a package if the shipper has not declared it accurately. But the way they handle dangerous
goods is an extremely important matter for many of them. “For instance, it may well be that up to or more than 50 percent of the cargo on a freighter flight from Europe to Asia could be dangerous goods – such as chemicals, or more likely paint,” Fielder cautioned.
ALM AIR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT 43
Sou
“A compliance manager may be needed to check that each station has ... trained staff”
carriers are less knowledgeable than our own staff”
“Often, I find that some
David Fielder
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68