Hibiscus is pleased to introduce Heli Hörkkö, DGSA, as a guest blog contributor. Based in Finland, Heli brings extensive experience across a wide range of logistics operations, including domestic and international transport, freight forwarding, and warehousing. Her career has involved close collaboration with regulators and competent authorities, giving her a strong foundation in regulatory compliance and dangerous goods governance. Heli has also served for many years as Chair of the DGSA Group within the Finnish Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association, where she developed deep insight into dangerous goods practices across forwarding networks both in Finland and internationally.
What are the main responsibilities of the shipper and the carrier in dangerous goods transport?
These are the two most important parties in your logistics chain, and their cooperation must be seamless.
In the transport of dangerous goods, understanding the shipper’s responsibility is critical. As a shipper, you should not assume it becomes somebody else’s responsibility once your dangerous goods shipment starts its journey and is on its way.
Everything starts in your warehouse, with your dispatch operations, your expertise, and the specific requirements imposed by your dangerous goods shipment.
As a shipper, you need to know your dangerous classified product so that your dispatch department can do their part correctly by complying with your instructions. You need to prepare clear instructions and procedures. You need to ensure your staff carry out packing, marking and labelling according to regulations. And, remember to consider all other parties involved along the route to your customer.
Even if you use external service providers for packing, marking and labelling, you as a shipper are responsible for providing them with all the necessary data such as the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of your product, so that all participants in the logistics chain can make the necessary preparations and carry out their work correctly and safely.
Be ready to educate and train your staff in dangerous goods handling and shipping requirements.
There are many training options available for the transport of dangerous goods. Choose the best for your needs, or request a more tailored programme from your training provider. It is not always so easy, especially if your business is ‘small’, perhaps involving only a few dangerous goods/products.
Please remember that ensuring safe packing, marking, labelling and transport documentation is just as important for a single 300 ml can—or a small shipment such as 10 × 25 L cans of flammable paint (e.g. UN1263)—as it is for full loads of chemicals such as sodium hydroxide (UN1824) packed in 1,000 L IBCs. The same level of care is required in all cases to protect the safety of everyone involved.
As a responsible dangerous goods shipper, you may and must choose your service providers carefully.
Examples of matters what you need to consider include:
- Who supplies your UN-approved transport packaging (cartons, boxes etc.)?
- Who supplies your dangerous goods labels and markings/tags?
- How do you create dangerous goods transport documents for your shipments?
There are several essential things to consider, including transport documentation and destination requirements. Where are you sending and delivering your products? Are these domestic road transports only, or international shipments? Are you operating under ADR road transport regulations, IMDG Code for sea transport, or do you need to ship by air in accordance with ICAO-TI and IATA DGR?
Know the dangerous goods transport regulations that apply to you as a shipper.
Know those regulations that you must comply with directly. Also, make sure you understand the other related regulations that exist and how they may impact or guide your operations. The more you develop your business, the more you need to understand the wider regulatory environment.
For example:
- Local (domestic) dangerous goods transport regulations that you, as a shipper, must follow when transporting dangerous goods by road.
- ADR – the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, applicable when transporting goods internationally by road.
- IMDG Code – the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, applicable when transporting goods by sea.
- ICAO Technical Instructions (ICAO-TI) and IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (IATA DGR), applicable for air transport.
By the way, do you recognise whether High Consequence Dangerous Goods (HCDG) are present in your business and logistics chain?
In Dangerous Goods Awareness courses, these regulatory requirements are explained in detail.
Do you need a Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA) for your business?
It is possible that you either need your own DGSA or, at minimum, a trained and certified dangerous goods expert to assess what support your operations require. This includes reviewing your processes and providing basic induction training where necessary, depending on legislation, your business activities, products, staff, and customers.
Remember to involve your DGSA, or DG-responsible person, in discussions when planning any Electronic Data Interchange involving dangerous goods classification data with any party in your logistics chain!
It many cases, you may need DGSA to determine whether you need DGSA!
Be prepared to review your dangerous goods operations and ensure safety across your entire logistics chain.
It is worth the investment in safety. There is no level of chemical or dangerous goods business where safety is not a critical factor that can be fully externalised.
Stay aware, prioritise safety, and take care!
Your carrier is a trusted partner in your Dangerous Goods transport operations!
When choosing a carrier to serve you, it is a very important decision. How do you assess their performance? How do you book shipments—via EDI, an online portal, or an application? What do you prefer? It is your staff who will need to use these systems so they must be practical and efficient, not complicated and slow.
To whom do you give part of your customer service? Your carrier effectively represents part of your customer service offering. Who is your last mile representative? Do they deliver your shipments on time and in good condition? Do they communicate any significant delays or problems on their routes? Costs are not the only thing to consider when choosing a carrier. Can they handle your dangerous goods correctly and safely? Are drivers and carrier’s terminal staff trained to handle your dangerous goods, do drivers have ADR licenses and are their ADR equipments in correct condition and level? Is a strong safety culture an integral part of your carrier’s operations and quality processes?
Contact your carrier and ensure your DGSA has direct communication with their DGSA. Co-operation is an essential part of good safety culture during all transport activities and processes. Keep these communication channels open and stay in contact!
If you’re looking to up-skill your team and ensure compliance when handling hazardous materials, Hibiscus Plc’s Dangerous Goods training courses provide practical, real-world knowledge for every level.
Our Dangerous Goods Awareness course is ideal for teams needing a clear understanding of classifications, labelling and safe handling, while our DGSA certification and tutoring programmes are designed for those taking on greater compliance responsibilities. Delivered by experienced industry professionals, our training focuses on making complex regulations easy to understand and apply in day-to-day operations.
