To give you an idea, acids, paint,
batteries, bug spray, fertilizers, insecticides, motor oil,
pharmaceuticals, spray cans, x-ray film – these are some of the
hazardous materials.
All dangerous goods shippers, by
default, are required by the federal government to have job-specific
training to handle dangerous goods shipment to FedEx or just about
any other carrier. It is ultimately the shippers who are primarily
responsible for the appropriate transport of dangerous goods by land
or air.
Regulations by the government ask that
every person involved in the shipping or handling of dangerous goods
be trained, including a recurring training with updated handling
procedures every two years. All hazardous materials handling and
procedural training will be reviewed by a designated enforcement
agency at any time.
As far as the process goes – first, to
be able to ship hazardous materials FedEx asks you to go through an
approval process on its customer care number, 1.800.GoFedEx
1.800.463.3339.
If shippers are transporting batteries
via highway transport, they are asked to adhere to the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations with regard to
marking, packaging, and labelling requirements.
FedEx ensures that the terminals of
batteries are protected against short-circuiting, and covered to the
best possible extent. The battery is not to come in direct contact
with another item within the packaging.
Damaged or defective batteries are
rejected.
FedEx requires all hazardous materials
packages to be packaged and prepared in sync with the Title 49 Code
of Federal Regulations (49 CFR).
FedEx does not acknowledge hazardous
items set under International Air Transport Association (IATA) or
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Packages to be
delivered under DOT require special permit. FedEx collects a copy of
this permit for its ground facility that accepts your package.
FedEx accepts both hazardous and
prohibited materials. In the accepted list, it exempts fireworks.
The prohibited list contains materials
like – explosives, poisonous gas, dangerous when wet, poisonous
materials, and radioactive material.
To ensure a safe and smooth shipping,
FedEx uses a specialised Ship Manager Software to process all
hazardous materials and dangerous goods shipments for transport.
There is also a detailed Ship Manager
Software guide that provides instructions for creating shipments and
shipping profiles, printing forms, and building a database of
frequently shipped hazardous materials and dangerous goods.
FedEx, being one of the first companies
to offer Dangerous Goods training to external customers right from
the beginning in the mid-1980s, has trained over 35,000 customers in
procedures affiliated to handling and shipping Dangerous Goods. FedEx
has also maintained a Dangerous Goods currency for over 10,000
employees annually.
All FedEx seminars are equipped and
taught by experienced Dangerous Goods Instructors, who, apart from
leading seminars, help customers ship over 600,000 Dangerous Goods
shipments every year.
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