Trainers talk about their role

SOUNDING OFF

OPINION • THE LINK BEWEEN REGULATIONS AND COMPLIANCE IS FOUND IN THE CLASSROOM. TWO TRAINERS GIVE AN INSIGHT INTO HOW THEY WORK AND WHAT IT MEANS

Trainers serve a critical role in ensuring the safe transport of hazardous materials – that much is no secret. The best trainers have the ability to break down complex domestic and international regulations in ways that are both easy to understand and memorable. In some ways, trainers are like tour guides for dangerous goods regulations: they point out where to find the applicable rules, what to look for, and where to watch your step.

Lion Technology recently sat down to talk to two experienced dangerous goods trainers who help deliver its training programmes in the US. Joel Gregier and Robert ‘Bob’ Clarke are both Certified Dangerous Goods Professionals (CDGP) with nearly three decades of dangerous goods training experience between them.

Joel has worked in the hazardous materials/ dangerous goods field most of his adult career. In addition to training thousands of professionals on 49 CFR, IATA DGR, and IMDG Code regulations, he spent time working for a major chemical distributor in the US and oversaw their transition to the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS).

Bob worked in the US Air Force for more than two decades. As an environmental coordinator operating from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany, Bob visited locations to ensure the proper storage and handling of hazardous materials. The views and insights of Bob and Joel presented here are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Lion Technology itself.

What element of hazmat/dangerous goods compliance is most challenging for those just starting in the field? Joel: The technical skills you need are most difficult when you’re first starting. Things like classifying materials, selecting proper shipping names, and the like. When you have to look at hard data and compare it against the regulations, that can be daunting in the beginning. Eventually, it becomes second nature. Bob: From a management standpoint, I think figuring out which individuals need to be trained can be tough. A lot of the time, we think only the shipping department needs dangerous goods training. But really, employees who close packages along the line might need it. People who put caps on bottles might need it. Training is important for everyone who qualifies as a hazmat employee.

What qualities do you think help professionals excel in the dangerous goods field? Joel: Precision. And attention to detail. When it comes to dangerous goods regulations, if you miss even one requirement, you could be penalised, have your shipment rejected, all of that. So precision is a must-have. With attention to detail, you have to see both the big picture and the small picture.

In other words, not only do you know that a package needs labels and markings, but exactly which labels and markings it needs. How and where they should be placed. Or how different sized packages or different modes of transportation might impact those decisions. Bob: Attention to detail is on my list too. Another example would be: I don’t just need any box, I need a 4G box. I need a certain strength box.

The big picture is that employees need training. But which employees need it? How much training do they need, and what should it cover? If you’re not paying attention to every detail, it’s easy to miss things.

Can you describe your philosophy for teaching complex dangerous goods regulations? Joel: The most important thing when I teach regulations is to be accurate and honest. Sometimes when you get a question, or someone pushes back on something you say during training, you realise that you are wrong. You have to be honest about it. Having integrity is the most important thing.

When you’ve been training for years, it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that you know it all. Remember that you will make mistakes now and again - and be open to learning from those.

It’s dangerous to double-down on a mistake. If you give someone incorrect information, they might use your false statement and run their whole operation on it. Now they are in big trouble. One small statement that you’re wrong about can cause a fiasco for the person you were trying to help. Bob: Involve the people you are training. If we’re talking about something, I want trainees to tell me what they’re thinking about it or what their experience is. I want them to actually think about this stuff.

I try to help everyone make connections in their brains between “real-world” operations and what the book says. Joel: One more thing. Knowing the regulations is important. But like Bob said, making it understandable and relatable for everyone is what I work the hardest at.

If you could change one dangerous good regulation, what would you change? Joel: The lithium battery regulations are really complicated. There seem to be infinite scenarios for shipping them and yet the requirements are constantly changing to keep you on your toes. If you could make it more streamlined, it would make it easier to comply and that would probably be a net benefit. It’s a difficult task, because we all want to use reliefs when we can. If you can’t streamline the rules, maybe simplify them in some way.

We all know by now that lithium batteries can pose certain hazards. But if you can’t keep your employees up to date on what the rules are, that can have a negative impact on safety too. If every government or air carrier makes their own rules, it creates confusion. And it sometimes introduces extra information into the supply chain that can cause confusion for people handling those packages. If someone sees a marking or label they don’t recognise, they might misinterpret it, and that makes the process less safe, in my opinion. Bob: It might be nice if the marking requirements for bulk and non-bulk shipments were the same. As in, sometimes you need a proper shipping name, a UN number, sometimes you don’t. And the rules for vessel shipments are even funkier. It would be easier to streamline it a little.

If it were the same, we wouldn’t need to keep two sets of requirements in mind. Why remember two things when you could remember one?

BOB CLARKE (OPPOSITE): THE BIG PICTURE IS

EMPLOYEES NEED TRAINING - BUT WHICH EMPLOYEES?

HOW MUCH TRAINING DO THEY NEED AND WHAT If you could give one piece of advice to the DG professionals out there, what would it be? Joel: I have two pieces of advice. First, when you start, get trained well. Get comprehensive training that covers everything. Don’t just get trained on what you think you need to meet the minimum training requirements.

If you’re just starting, that’s the best thing you can do. Good, strong training in the beginning will prepare you for what you might need to do in the future.

My second thing would be to take the job seriously. Hazmat compliance is not just a burden, not just something you do just to check a box or meet a government mandate. It’s a safety job. If you’re just doing things to check boxes, you might be able to get by for a while. But you’re more likely to make big mistakes. Bob: This was a tough one. I think my answer is to start with the basic things you need to know, then expand your knowledge later. Don’t try to master every exception, relief or special case right away. Make the basics the core of what you do. That way, when you want to use an exception or a relief, you know why it’s an exception. You know what you’re excepted from.

Another thing that’s helpful is to have step-by-step standard operating procedures or SOPs. Know what to do first, and how each step builds on what you’ve already done. Then you can review and revise SOPS, and checklists as needed.

SOPs really help when you have a bad day. You have a procedure to refer to and guide you on days when you’re not at your sharpest. You can even take photos of a fully prepared box or shipment, then make sure your end

product matches that photo every time. Oh, and keep your labels straight on the package.

You’re both Certified Dangerous Goods Professionals. How does that credential help you in your job as a hazmat trainer? Joel: Well, I had the right skill set before I got the certification. To me, being a CDGP shows others that you have the expertise. It’s a form

JOEL GREGIER: “WORKING AT LION AS A TRAINER LETS

ME HELP OTHERS BECOME BETTER AT THEIR JOBS

- I REALLY LIKE THOSE JOBS” of proof that you are knowledgeable. Bob: Earning the CDGP gave me a bigger picture of how international rules go together with our regulations here in the US. It was really instructive to go deeper into the UN Model Regulations and other sets of rules. To see how it all fits together. Joel: That’s true. You are exposed to different types of regulations. When you’re in this field, you can sometimes get boxed into a specific part of the regulations. Earning and maintaining the CDGP certification gave me a broader perspective on the global dangerous goods community. If you weren’t a hazmat trainer, what job do you think you would be doing? Joel: [Laughing] Professional athlete. Or maybe working at a zoo. Bob: I would like to work with the US FAA as a hazmat Special Agent. I would like to go to carriers and shippers and help them keep shipments safe. I think that would be a cool job. Joel: In all seriousness, I enjoy jobs where I can help people. That’s why I like working at Lion as a trainer — it lets me help others become better at their jobs. Anything where I can help others improve, I really like those types of jobs. Bob: When we train, students understanding the subject matter and then being able to apply it to real-world situations is the payoff. When people come up after class and say “I learned something today,” “I didn’t know that before,” or “I like the way you teach,” that’s why we do it.

Is there anything else you want to say about the field of dangerous goods training? Joel: It’s a great field. Most people don’t know about it. It’s not as if my goal in life was to become a DG professional. Luckily, I fell into it. It’s a great area to work in that you wouldn’t have necessarily thought to get into. Bob: I don’t think people realise how cool it is to train people! Not every job gives you the feeling of what it’s like to help people understand things.

When I was in the Air Force, there was always a bigger purpose. Everyone had their own part of a mission. We succeeded when everyone did his or her own part. In the hazmat field, we all have our responsibilities, we all do our thing to make sure these shipments are as safe as possible.

Lion Technology delivers 49 CFR, IATA DGR and IMDG Code training nationwide in the US. Instructors also develop self-paced online courses at Lion.com and present live webinars throughout the year. Full details can be found at Lion.com/Hazmat.