How can a packaging supplier help you become compliant?

As a producer of dangerous goods, you are responsible for safe transportation of your goods. In case of an accident, you/your organisation will be held accountable, so selecting the correct type of packaging is crucial. But even though it’s your duty to know the regulations and be compliant, it’s a big plus if your packaging supplier is aware of these matters as well, and is able to inform you fully. That’s why we believe selecting a knowledgeable packaging partner is so crucial.

In order to help you select the right packaging supplier or evaluate your current packaging supplier, I have composed a list of questions you can ask your supplier to find out if:

They are knowledgeable enough to provide you with proper advice
They are able to provide a compliant packaging solution for your dangerous goods

Please find the list of questions below:

Questions you can ask your potential or existing packaging supplier

• How do you design, develop and produce packaging for dangerous goods?
• Do you take into account different transportation methods and dangerous goods classes? (more information regarding dangerous good classes will follow in a future blog)
• What can you tell me about UNECE regulations? How do you stay up-to-date on renewed regulations? (more information regarding UNECE regulations will follow in a future blog)
• Do you test the packaging against the appropriate UN specifications to ensure its suitability for the carriage of certain dangerous goods?
• How do you test the design of your packaging? Do you perform your own tests? Do you have your own dedicated testing labs?
• How much experience do you have in developing packaging for dangerous goods? Do you have any project cases illustrating this experience?
• Can I speak to comparable customers for whom you develop dangerous goods packaging?
• Who is the party you work with for the certification of your dangerous goods packaging?
• What does your certification process look like?

The topic in the last question is especially interesting, since certified packaging is crucial for compliance with safety regulations. Because certification is so relevant, my next blog post will cover that topic. If you want to get updated when new articles like my next post get published, please subscribe to our blog updates in the top right corner of this page.

Proper dangerous goods packaging in practice

In the meantime, you can read this customer case to see how we helped a customer with organizing the shipment and return of lithium ion batteries (definitely dangerous goods!) to various distribution points on a global level. A main requirement from the customer was to provide them with safe distribution of their replacement batteries, but also the ability to switch the old battery with the replacement and send it back in the same box.