TT Club Motion For Dangerous Goods Training

by Stewart Douglas

Story link: TT Club Motion For Dangerous Goods Training

Transport insurance company TT Club has called for employees dealing with dangerous goods on land and during shipping consignments to be offered more comprehensive training under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.

The demands come off the back of calls from the IMO’s Dangerous Goods sub-committee last week, which proposed more radical training for employees responsible for working with volatile materials.

The Code would ensure that all employees charged with handling potentially volatile or dangerous goods from packaging through to stowing and carriage would be fully trained in how to handle materials, and how to avoid causing damage to property and physical injury as a result of ignorance.

The measure would be designed with a view to creating a more safe working environment for those involved in the business of dangerous goods, that have traditionally been subject to an increased rate of accidents and damage to goods and ship containers.

Through tackling every stage of employee intervention through the various chemicals and substances transported by ship consignment, the measures backed by TT Club would see sweeping reforms of the way in which employees are introduced to working with hazardous materials, with an overall aim of reducing the number of accidents result from poor handling and packing to both staff and ship property, as well as the destruction of the goods themselves.

TT Club’s risk management chief executive Peregrine Storrs-Fox, speaking to the IMO, was quoted today as having backed the proposals to reform standard training practices in line with IMDG standards as ‘essential and logical’ in creating a safer, more efficient work environment.

Additionally, he suggested that by maintaining a focus on safety throughout the distribution and supply chain, with the backing of officials at every level, the number of accidents involving hazardous substances in transit would be dramatically reduced over the coming years.