Hazmat Shippers Brace for Holiday Shipageddon

FedEx and UPS have warned shippers to expect significant delays this holiday season. Together, the companies added 100,000 seasonal employees to their workforces as they brace for an “unprecedented peak season.” With nearly all holiday capacity already spoken for, as many as seven million packages per day may experience delays. The coming logistics crisis has already been dubbed "shipageddon." 

Hazardous materials shippers are wisely scheduling hazmat employee training in advance of the holiday rush. Untrained or under-trained employees can make mistakes that lead to frustrated and rejected shipments, fees from carriers, incidents in transit, and DOT civil penalties now as high as $81,993 per day, per violation.

In advance of the holiday rush, organizations should identify employees who need hazmat training and provide it as soon as possible. Online hazmat courses are more popular than ever in 2020, partly because of the flexibility they offer to fit training into a busy work schedule.  

Lion Technology offers hazmat training required to ship by ground, air, and vessel in compliance with the latest regulations for 2020-2021. 

Hazmat Ground Shipper Certification (DOT)
Hazmat Air Shipper Certification (IATA) 
Hazmat Vessel Shipper Certification (IMDG) 

Plus, find specialized hazmat courses to ship lithium batteries and hazmat limited quantities. 

Who Needs Hazmat Training?

US DOT requires hazmat training for all “hazmat employees”—defined as any employee who affects the safety of hazardous materials in transportation (49 CFR 171.8).

That definition covers a lot of people. Personnel who identify which materials are regulated, who classify those materials according to 49 CFR criteria, or who select proper shipping names absolutely need hazmat training to fulfill those roles.

Employees who package materials, affix marks and labels, fill out shipping papers, convey emergency response info, select a mode of transportation (highway, air, rail, etc.), offer hazmat placards are all “hazmat employees” by DOT’s definition.

“Hazmat employee” can also cover some less-obvious job roles. A worker who selects or orders packaging must know which packages are authorized for and compatible with your material—that takes hazmat training.

Lastly, an employee who signs shipping papers or Hazardous Waste Manifests need comprehensive hazmat training. When you sign a hazmat shipping paper, you legally certify that the shipment was prepared in full compliance with the latest US and/or international regulations.

Browse online hazmat training courses. 

For more on who needs hazmat training, view the Hazmat Training FAQ.

Training New Hazmat Employees

To meet demand during the holiday months, may retailers and e-commerce shippers will hire new or seasonal staff. For new hazmat employees, DOT requires training within 90 days of hire date. New employees may not work unsupervised until hazmat training is complete. 

Re-training for hazmat employees is required once every three years. 

[see 49 CFR 172.704]

Streamlined Hazmat Courses for Shipping Ops Personnel

For non-manager shipping employees, Lion offers a step-by-step hazmat training course that provides general awareness, security awareness, and function-specific hazmat training for typical job roles.  

Or get even more granular with unique courses aimed at specific hazmat job roles like packager, loading dock worker, and shipping clerk. 
 
 

Tags: 49 CFR, DOT, hazmat training