A 30,000 foot review of IATA's Upcoming Changes

Change is inherent to any business, and the air transport industry is not immune to new guidance. Groups like the International Air Transport Association (IATA) - a trade association for the world's airlines- help formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues.

Professionals like you rely on the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (IATA DGR) manual every day to make sure dangerous goods are transported safely and efficiently. To that end, the 2021 IATA DGR spells out significant changes to air shipping regulations:

• Expands new UN numbers and specifies proper shipping names to the List of Dangerous Goods in Section 4.2
• Amends many of the packing instructions relating to lithium cells or batteries
• Revises the criteria for assigning packaging groups to corrosives and mixtures
• Adds new practices to address solid medical waste containing Category A infectious substances
• Revises the standards for assigning packaging groups to corrosives and mixtures
• Adopts a new, competency-based approach for dangerous goods training in Section 1.5.

It's worth honing in on the last point. A "competency-based approach" to dangerous goods (DG) training helps decision makers identify the necessary competencies and skills that each employee will need to complete his or her job, then provides the necessary resources to develop these competencies. The idea behind this change is to make DG training concepts easier to grasp and more relevant to workers.

The significance is that "competency-based training" differs from the hazmat training approach. That is to say, generally speaking, employees experience the same level and detail of DG training, regardless of the factors mentioned above. That's where we come into the picture. We deliver high quality, easy-to-use training courses for a variety of safety standards and regulations. Keep your company safe and compliant with our online training courses, complete with a management system to track compliance and printable certificates and wallet cards for successful course completion.

Returning to the topic at hand specifically, dangerous goods regulations training is required for any employee involved in the packing, marking, labeling, shipping, loading, transporting, or accepting of hazardous materials and dangerous goods for shipment by air. Employees cannot complete any functions associated with air shipment of dangerous goods until they have successfully completed IATA certification training, online or in-person.

Mandatory compliance with the new edition IATA DGR starts on January 1, 2021, which means you need to act quickly to ensure your employees are equipped with the knowledge they need to comply with industry regulations. Questions? We're only a call away: +1 (512) 539-2696.