Employee or Employer Working with Dangerous Goods? This is for YOU!

Are you working with dangerous goods or planning to? Are you a business owner that employs workers that are handling/shipping, or are carriers/receivers of dangerous goods?

You may want to ensure that the following undertakings are done to indemnify/protect yourself and your organization.

EMPLOYEES should ensure that the following four steps are in place to be legally indemnified/protected by their employer in the event an incident occurred while handling/shipping or transporting dangerous goods. Ignorance of the regulations has never worked as a defense before – remember that.

Be trained by a reputable training establishment that has a proven track record;
Be in possession of a valid, unexpired training certificate that has been certified by your employer;
Be prepared with one person on staff trained in dangerous goods, even if you are only handling limited or excepted quantities of dangerous goods. It is important to be able to identify when an employee requires training (certified) to handle the dangerous goods;
Be diligent at staying within your training and your workplace SOP’s when performing tasks assigned by your employers.

EMPLOYERS should ensure that the following four steps are in place to demonstrate due diligence in the event an incident occurred while an employee was handling/shipping or transporting dangerous goods. The proper processes being put in place will minimize legal liabilities in the event an accident occurs.

Be trained. Your employees should be properly trained by a reputable training establishment to meet your organization’s needs and regulatory standards;
Be in possession. Keep detailed records of employees testing, training, and certificates;
Be prepared. Conduct periodical testing of your employee’s knowledge on dangerous goods;
Be diligent. Review and update your employee training records and make sure they are aware of their job requirements. Make sure SOP’s are being followed by all employees.

More and more governments are legislating training standard requirements to help ensure proper compliance and due diligence. The preceding points should be remembered and followed by employees and employers. ICC The Compliance Center is always there to help assist meeting the regulatory compliance of dangerous goods – by helping develop workplace standards and perform training needed to meet such requirements.

Click here to view Transport Canada’s most recent legislation on employer’s training standards.

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