Express parcels pose high risk of DG mishaps

The more innovative
and ‘convenient’
the courier/express
parcel delivery
industry becomes – with
the advent of 24-hour
drop boxes and increased
e-commerce platforms – the
higher the risk of hidden
dangerous goods and the
greater the likelihood of
serious dangerous
goods mishaps.
Professional
Aviation
Services’ David
Alexander points
out that courier
companies, for
example, deal
directly with the public
and are essentially “driving
blind” when it comes to
hidden dangerous goods
items that are either
not declared or are
misdeclared.
“Couriers are
under continual
time pressure and
they don’t know
their clients, or
even see them in
the case of the
24-hour drop box
scenario, and they
don’t know what’s
in the box they
are picking
up or
dropping off,” he explains.
They are also not equipped
to handle the transportation
of dangerous
goods.
The same
goes for
e-commerce
companies
where
deliveries
and storage
of goods
take place
at multiple
points. The
systems are
not geared for
identification
of dangerous
goods and
clients and
supply chain partners are not
educated on the dangers of
hazardous cargo.
It’s apparent that if
the clients don’t know or
even understand the basic
principles of
transporting
or storing
dangerous
goods, the
express
parcel service
industry
needs to be
empowered
to better
manage this,
Alexander
points out.
“And
empowerment
goes hand
in hand
with proper
training and awareness –
at all levels of the express
parcel supply chain,” he
says, highlighting the need
for properly accredited
training. He says there
are numerous companies
offering training on
dangerous goods without
the proper accreditation.
Furthermore, training
around this has to be
regularly updated and
often bigger companies
with multiple branches
across the country lose
touch with which staff
members along the supply
chain have been trained.
“People get transferred
to other departments or
branches and HR at head
office is not kept up to
date on these changes –
and training in dangerous
goods compliance falls
by the wayside,” says
Alexander.
INSERT & CAPTION
Courier companies
are essentially
“driving blind” when
it comes to hidden
dangerous goods
items that are either
not declared or are
misdeclared.
– David Alexander