Archive for News
This July 4th, what is the most patriotic hazardous material?
Here’s a question that should have American Dangerous Goods pros debating hotly as July 4th approaches: What is the most patriotic hazardous material? Okay, it’s actually kind of a silly question, but it’s worth considering—especially since so many Dangerous Goods are normal, household items that American shippers often don’t realize are regulated hazmat. So, let’s...
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DG Digest: FMCSA to extend compliance date for some provisions of Medical Examiner’s Certification for three years.
Believe it or not, it’s already the lead up week to the Independence Day holiday. We all know what that means—increased use of both legal and, unfortunately, some illegal fireworks by the general public. Be sure to remind your employees that they should behave extra safely around fireworks—after all, as DG professionals, we know what these explosive...
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Time to get excited about the 2021 Dangerous Goods Symposium!
Does DG stand for “Delirious Groupies”? Based on this new video, the answer is “yes.” Okay, maybe you’ve never been that excited about an upcoming Dangerous Good Symposium. But there are lots of good reasons to be excited about the 16th annual Symposium this year. What do you most want to see on this year’s...
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DG Digest: FMCSA Posts Revisions to NHMRR and OSHA Issues Emergency Protections for Health Workers from Exposure to COVID-19
It’s now meteorological summer; time to dust off those hot weather work plans and make sure our fellow employees are acting safely under them—plenty of water, breaks when needed, limit time in closed and stuffy spaces, and most importantly, everyone looks out for each other. Let’s have a safe working summer! The regulatory news for...
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The new father’s guide to Dangerous Goods shipping
“Shipping Dangerous Goods as a rookie is a lot like your first year of fatherhood,” said the old DG trainer. “There are a lot more details to worry about, and if you screw up, you’re gonna have a mess on your hands.” With apologies to all the mothers out there—whose parental sacrifices and Dangerous Goods...
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DG Digest: Biden DOE Releases National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries 2021- 2030
Believe it or not it’s nearly mid-June already. The long hours of daylight and warm weather this time of year often lead workplaces to tackle those outdoor projects that may have been lagging all winter. If your site plans such work, be sure to do your homework first—secure necessary permits, plan your safety, especially fall protection...
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How Labelmaster e-procurement can lower your costs of hazmat compliance
How you buy your Dangerous Goods transport resources isn’t as important as how you use them. But it can still make a difference in your operation’s compliance. For example: e-procurement. Many Labelmaster customers already take advantage of our support for e-procurement platforms including Ariba, Coupa, Hubwoo (Perfect Commerce), Smart by GEP, SAP S/4 and many...
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DG Digest: PHMSA announces corrections for civil penalties introduced last month
Meteorological summer has begun; the warm season always brings extra attention to heat related illness in the workplace. Make sure your facility has a plan to help keep employees cool and safe this summer. The first week of June kicks off with busy action at PHMSA; Special Permit and other agency actions are in the news. There were...
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In Dangerous Goods, every month is National Safety Month.
Since June is National Safety Month, we thought it would be a good time to reiterate the most important reason Dangerous Goods professionals do what we do. Yes, it’s safety. Why do we help shippers understand and comply with Dangerous Goods regulations? Safety. Why do we consistently point out areas where shippers may need extra...
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DG Digest: Transport Canada to impose new fees for dangerous goods packaging producers
Transport Canada In action impacting Canadian producers of dangerous goods packaging, the Ministry is holding a webinar on the proposed regulations that introduce new fees for companies required to be registered under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Directorate’s Means of Containment Facilities Registration Program. The Ministry is proposing to introduce new fees and service...
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How a Dangerous Goods pro enjoys the Indy 500
The 135,000 race fans attending this Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 will be the largest crowd at a U.S. sporting event since the COVID-19 pandemic started last March. Even though that’s just 40% of the capacity of the mammoth Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’ll be exciting to see so many people in the same place celebrating the same...
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DG Digest: PHMSA publishes multi-part ICR on requesting changes, exemptions in relation to the HMR
We head into May’s final full week with a holiday weekend set to happen at its end. Make sure that your holiday plans include not only the usual safe practices related to travel and work around the house, but that we all remain mindful of the ongoing issues surrounding the pandemic. Let’s all keep doing what...
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Lithium batteries will be everywhere this summer! Are we worried?
Most normal people greet spring and summer with unbridled joy—and this year, with public life re-opening after a year of pandemic precautions, people are excited for warmer weather like never before. Dangerous Goods pros feel that enthusiasm, too. But we’re also prone to see summer approaching and say Holy shipment! There are lithium batteries freaking...
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DG Digest: TSA published requirements to become a Certified Cargo Screening site
Mid-May already! Time does fly. The middle of the month finds us in a quiet period for the regulations, with only minimal activity. Meanwhile, the vaccine programs march on. As an HSE professional, be sure you do your part to help facilitate the efforts to inoculate the employees at your workplace who express interest in getting the vaccination. ...
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Poll results: How would you rate your Dangerous Goods expertise?
With the pandemic accelerating seismic shifts in the global supply chain, operations that manufacture, handle or ship Dangerous Goods have leaned on their experts like never before. In recent weeks, we at Labelmaster have been examining the topic of DG expertise pretty closely ourselves. We’ve written about finding and training internal subject matter experts, and...
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DG Digest: DOT to perform ‘Regulatory Review’ in light of recent Executive Orders
The second week of May is here, and the Spring storm season is in full swing—a annual risk we all need to recall even as we continue to cope with the pandemic. If your facility is located within the broad swath of the country facing possible exposure to severe weather, be sure your emergency plans...
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DG Digest: Agencies Adjust Civil Penalties; DHS Delays REAL ID Enforcement Until May 2023
Happy May greetings! Hopefully this new month will bring not only the traditional “May Flowers” but also mark a turning point in our nation’s ongoing battle to control the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point the whole country is eligible to be vaccinated, so as HSE professionals, let’s make sure we’re ready to help our fellow...
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9 essential Dangerous Goods pointers for returning to your workplace
Like millions of organizations worldwide, we at Labelmaster are starting to return to our offices. While our warehouse and shipping teams have been working onsite since the earliest days of the pandemic—for which we cannot even begin to thank them enough—we office types have been working from home since last March. And let’s be honest....
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Top 10 Dangerous Goods questions our hotline experts answer every day.
Whether you’ve been shipping Dangerous Goods for 10 days or 10 years, there’s never any shame in admitting you don’t know the answer to a question. That’s why we set up the Labelmaster Regulatory Hotline. Next time you have a question about hazmat transport, you can call 1.800.621.5808—8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Central time, Monday...
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DG Digest: UNECE releases corrective corrigendum to the EU ADR
Moving into the third week of April, the nation is rapidly moving into a phase where vaccines against the COVID virus are becoming much more widely available. At the same time, the virus, in its variant forms, is also surging once more. Let’s all do our part to help limit the further spread of the...
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Guest post: 5 ways 3PLs can capitalize on the e-commerce boom
Our guest blogger is Robert Liva, Senior Account Executive at Pierbridge. Have you noticed that there’s a different delivery van pulling up on your block five or six times every day? Those vans are evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated several shipping trends that were already developing pretty quickly. Online spending accounted for 21.3% of...
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Hazmat shippers need internal SMEs. Who are they, and how do you train them?
If your organization ships Dangerous Goods with any frequency, you probably have one person whom everyone else goes to with hazmat questions. They’re the go-to guy, the resident wise woman, the walking DG shipping manual—in other words, the internal subject matter expert. And they’re indispensable to your operation. Where did your internal hazmat transport SME...
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DG Digest: US Regulatory Agencies Update Semi-annual Agendas
Welcome to April! As we pass into the heart of the Spring season, hopefully everyone is ramping up their efforts to help employees stay safe and get vaccinated if they choose to do so. Let’s all keeping working together to end this pandemic and get our nation back on track. The week featured some significant...
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A Public Relations Influx Leaves Federal, Other Organizations Looking Savvy
During the last year or so of global pandemic, Dangerous Goods regulatory bodies have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate unforeseen challenges while keeping the hazmat supply chain safe. Now that the world’s economies may be inching their way back toward something resembling normal, these agencies are taking unprecedented measures to raise their images within...
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DG Digest: Transport Canada updates COVID-19 exemptions and the Chemical Safety Board to meet virtually on April 2nd.
The end of March finds the regulatory world continuing a fairly quiet spell. Meanwhile, with the return of spring weather, the threat of severe weather is appearing on the radar screen for many areas of the country. If your business is in a place impacted by spring storm season, be sure you and your employees have and...
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The 6th Annual DG Confidence Outlook gives your opinion real power.
How often do you get to influence the direction of your entire industry? If you’re a Dangerous Goods professional, now’s your chance. Participate in the 6th annual DG Confidence Outlook, and your voice can resonate throughout the hazmat supply chain. “By participating in this survey, you get a voice to possibly make changes in the...
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DG Digest: UN ADR Wraps Up 15th Meeting of the Working Party on the transport of Dangerous Goods
Spring arrived Saturday. With it comes not only flowers but the hope of a looming end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many workplaces are assisting interested, eligible employees with finding vaccination availability. Eligibility criteria varies across the country on a state-by-state basis; if your workplace has an assistance program, be sure you’re ready to answer questions...
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Guest post: Why your product data must be intelligently stored and organized
Our guest blogger is Clint Boaz, Senior Sales Engineer at ProShip, Inc. If you spend a lot of time cooking, you’re a lot more efficient with an organized spice rack. If you like to grow beautiful things in your yard and garden, you can save a lot of time by getting your shed straightened up....
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Supply Chain Moves: Week of March 15th, 2021
Week of March 15th, 2021 Linking technology news with Dangerous Goods compliance Technology innovation can also bring with additional risk, especially when shipping goods classified as hazardous around the world. That’s why it’s critical for organizations to understand how regulations impact their supply chains, and ensure their teams are properly trained to safely and...
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These 4 words can be a key to Dangerous Goods terminology
Your typical Dangerous Goods regulatory manual is more than a thousand pages long and may contain close to one million words. How is it possible that four of them could be so important? According to Labelmaster Senior Manager Jim Shimko, “There are four words that can help you interpret the regulations. And they can work...
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DG Digest: PHMSA updates ‘org chart’ and ICAO issues 2nd addendum to the TI
The first week in March found the nation increasing its rate of vaccination against the COVID-19 virus. Let’s all keep working together to keep ourselves, our families, and our fellow employees as safe as possible as we push forward to finally end the pandemic. Regulatory activity was relatively minimal during the last week, although PHMSA...
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Why smart e-bike retailers consider lithium battery training a growth strategy
E-bikes started as a trend, quickly became a mainstream movement, and are well on their way to becoming a revolution. They’re also a major story for the Dangerous Goods community, because e-bikes are powered by large format lithium batteries. These rechargeable batteries are fully regulated hazmat, since they carry a small but significant risk of...
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DG Digest: IATA issues second addendum to the 62nd DGR, PHMSA to hold Lithium Battery Air Safety meeting this week
Today’s digest covers the two weeks just past. The first week of the period was quiet; the second week, quite busy. IATA published a new addendum and PHMSA was quite active. All in all, a busy period. Meanwhile, the vaccination effort against the ongoing pandemic continues. Let’s all keep working and living safe and do our part to battle this...
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Want to raise your Dangerous Goods game? Study chess!
Like millions of others, we were inspired by The Queen’s Gambit to dig out the chessboard from the back of the closet behind the kids’ games. Unlike millions of others, we’re Dangerous Goods pros, and we sometimes mingle our personal and professional obsessions. So lately we’ve gotten to thinking about intriguing parallels between the world...
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DG Digest: OSHA proposes bringing the U.S. inline with U.N.’s 7th revision of GHS.
It’s mid-February, and hopefully everyone had a chance to enjoy the spirit of the Valentine’s Day Holiday. We can all be grateful for loved ones. Keep doing your part to help keep them safe. The week’s biggest news was easily the late in the week publication of a proposed revision to the nation’s Hazard Communication Standard or...
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Everything you need to know about MSDS-SDS conversions
Sometimes, we overlook the obvious. I was working with a client just last week and was asked to evaluate a pair of materials for further handling at a new site they are developing. “Will you please send me the Safety Data Sheets? I’ll take a look and run the numbers,” I said. A few minutes...
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DG Digest: TSA wants to collect biometric data for drivers, OSHA extends HCS comment period