When did you last audit your Dangerous Goods?

We understand how easy it is as a fulfilment distributor to fall into the trap of a growing inventory that includes Dangerous Goods. You may be unaware that new products contain Dangerous Goods, especially lithium batteries – they are hidden in so many devices these days.

You hold stock on behalf of your customer and your role is to pick, pack and arrange international transport to the final consumer. If you are not armed with any Dangerous Goods knowledge you could easily fall into situations with having your shipments stopped and potential penalties for not declaring what you are shipping.

We recently visited a client to conduct a Dangerous Goods Safety Audit to ensure that they had captured working instructions for all the products that they ship from their facility to all corners of the world. We opened the meeting with the question “How many articles containing Dangerous Goods do you believe are in your inventory?” Response about 4 or 5.

On our way to the area containing the DG, we took our time and the staff proudly showed us different areas of the warehouse. As we were on our way we stopped and said “Oh what about this, it has Lithium Batteries in it?” Response – Goodness we need to add that to the list”

After several stops and finding further DG products, we ended up with 2 x A4 sheets of inventory in their warehouse that would be considered dangerous for transporting and needed to be checked in more detail to ensure that they are compliant.

How can you avoid this?

– With the quarterly or monthly stock inventory controls check that your warehouse team know to look out for batteries, gases, magnets etc to ensure that the system has the articles flagged as hazardous.

– Ensure that your stock system has the capability of flagging Dangerous Goods – so only trained employees can handle.

– Have processes in place with the buyers that are sending you products, so that for every inbound shipment a Safety Data Sheet is part of the communication prior to the arrival of goods, so you can prepare for what is due to arrive.

– Train your customer service teams on Dangerous Goods with an Awareness course so that they can recognise potential problems that may arise.

– Talk to your senior management team about a Dangerous Goods policy – what type of products and hazards are you insured to store in your facility?

– Ensure that you have trained staff and they are retrained every 2 years.

Always talk to a professional if you have any concerns or need assistance on how to correctly pack, mark and label and document dangerous goods.

If you ship or pack dangerous goods internationally that is moving by Road Freight to Ireland or Central Europe, you are required to have access to a Dangerous Goods Safety Auditor. This became a requirement on the 1st January 2023.

Contact Logicom Hub if you need any support in setting up a Dangerous Goods Audit or documenting work procedures for your staff.