From lithium batteries to aerosols, the array of products moved by the airfreight industry has evolved in recent years. Based on the reported IATA statistics the air industry handles 1.25 million dangerous goods shipments per year. As has seen in the last few years, e-commerce and battery technology will continue to drive the growth of the movement of this sector by all modes of transport. 

That includes items like perfumes, paints, aerosols, cleaning and, of course, battery-related products. Therefore, the volume of dangerous goods being moved will continue to grow in line with demand.”

“The larger manufacturers and distributors are now very familiar with the requirements around dangerous goods. In fact, if you want to sell your goods on an e-commerce platform you should be asked for Safety Data Sheets and dangerous goods information,” Sam Stretton, Managing Director of Logicom Hub, outlined. 

“If they are handling your distribution this allows their workforce to ensure that all the requirements are in place in terms of mark, labelling and documentation when items are shipped.

“However, there are platforms or small businesses popping up all the time that are shipping without knowing that their item is classified as dangerous. It is these organisations that cause concern. How to reach them as part of the business start up process when the are gaining a market domestically and internationally.”

Strict safety measures

Safety is a non-negotiable element in this field, with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) revising its technical instructions biennially to address changing demands and increasing safety protocols. These updates are key for shippers, freight forwarders, and airlines, embedding the latest rules into legislation to maintain industry compliance.

The carrier, or the ground handling organisations must play the role of monitoring compliance of the shippers and freight forwarders using reliable data to inform the competent authorities if they are; attempting to put undeclared dangerous goods on a flight or has a pattern of mis-declaring dangerous goods.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority must be able to step in and deal with non-compliance of the regulations by issuing penalty notices and discussing the implications for the organisations that do not comply.  The possibility of a penalty focus the mind of the parties within the supply chain and their role of mitigating the risk.

“As the world is working towards electronification battery technology, batteries will continue to challenge the industry,” Stretton explained.

“One major concern I see is the lack of understanding of battery building by shippers. When you take a certified cell and electrically connect this to another cell you have in effect have built a new battery that is not certified under the existing UN38.3 certificate. This would be classed as a prototype battery. We need to ensure any UN38.3 and safety data sheets cover the build of the product being shipped.

“Any equipment that contains a battery should be certified to ensure safety. 

“Manufacturers of battery-related products need to ensure that there is due diligence regarding the condition of the battery before the item is returned for a quality assessment. This is especially vital if you are selling B2C when consumers will not understand the transport requirements. Appropriate guidance must be provided.”

Technology’s role

For several years, customers have had the capability of building regulatory data into their ERP system, so when an order is processed a shipper declaration is automatically generated. This helps to reduce the number of declarations being rejected as non-compliant. 

There is Shipper Declaration checking software, which some of the ground handlers and forwarders are using to assess the accuracy of the shipper’s declarations. This is a huge productivity gain allowing a greater number of dangerous shipments to be processed in a shorter time.

Key thing is to remember is to update annually any changes and have members of the team trained to ensure your operation can contain should the system go down for any reason. 

“As AI improves, I am sure we will see further developments outside of system-generated shippers’ declarations. I fully expect robots to be capable of selecting an appropriate pre-labelled package, apply the correct amount of cushioning and seal a box,” Stretton continued.

“In years to come, the role of the human within the dangerous goods sector will eventually change to a quality assessment role, validating the package and the shipper’s declaration is accurate before arranging the collection.

“The dangerous goods industry must start to focus on technology to support the education of dangerous goods with digestible content and a blended learning experience. Thus, making the training experience accessible and in an environment that makes learning comfortable. The use of interactive e-learning and gamification will be vital with support from CAA-qualified instructors along the learning curve.”