Haz-Mat
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GaryE
Haz-Mat
I am wondering how other dealerships are managing and shipping Hazardous Materials. From what I see, many are dealing with this illegaly. We are a midsize dealer and just getting starting as our Manufacturer has told us they will be requesting the return of warranty airbags. I have gone online to find the requirements and (since it fed gov't) find things cofusing. After finally getting my UPS rep to call me back to find their requirements I am more confused and looking at (possible) thousand + dollars to train and purchase software to be able to ship this stuff out. (This would be okay if we shipped some Haz-Mat daily, but currently we only warranty 1 airbag every 2 to 3 months.) My biggest concerns are the training - I have seen that there is a short course for car dealers, parts stores and their vendors, etc because of the limited Haz-Mat they ship (air-bags, pressurized shocks, etc.)- and UPS requires we use a "Third Party" software vendor to print out the forms and warnings to be attached to the Haz-Mat. This software is expensive and we are looking for alternatives. Could I lean upon those out there that have the experience?
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greg01
Haz-Mat
Gary,
At a recent meeting a company gave me a free CD to become certified as Haz-Mat. I still have the CD, but the registration code is in my name, so it wont do any good. Their web site is www.shipmate.com. If I remember it was like $200 to buy, but they gave me a free CD.
I am not affiliated with them at all, and stand to gain nothing by mentioning them. I also can not give a good/bad opinion on their services, as I never used their free CD (because I did not want to be the pivot man for haz-mat at my dealer. At the meeting, they told me that the person certified is resposbile for the entire dealers actions, even if they had no knowledge of the acts).
At a recent meeting a company gave me a free CD to become certified as Haz-Mat. I still have the CD, but the registration code is in my name, so it wont do any good. Their web site is www.shipmate.com. If I remember it was like $200 to buy, but they gave me a free CD.
I am not affiliated with them at all, and stand to gain nothing by mentioning them. I also can not give a good/bad opinion on their services, as I never used their free CD (because I did not want to be the pivot man for haz-mat at my dealer. At the meeting, they told me that the person certified is resposbile for the entire dealers actions, even if they had no knowledge of the acts).
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Ronc925
Haz-Mat
2 years ago I was filling in for a shipping and receiving at a dealership. I needed to ship an Air Bag module and found FED-EX to be very helpful, along with the area PDC for information. We did not have to do the specialized training, purchase software or buy training CD's. Things could have changed since then. UPS required a 60 hour training class at the dealership's expense.
A couple things I remember:
Ship ONLY in the original shipping container (box). It's already coded for the Hazardous material inside.
DO NOT put the box inside any other boxes, or in any way cover pre-printed information on the original box.
If the item was originally shipped to you, use the shipping for coding for the original shipper. This coding is required to be on any shipping manifest for the truck/method involved in delivery.
When in doubt, ask the agency doing the shipping for you. Much better than the liability involved with improper documentation and shipping. Your Manufacturer's PDC can be of a great help.
Ron
A couple things I remember:
Ship ONLY in the original shipping container (box). It's already coded for the Hazardous material inside.
DO NOT put the box inside any other boxes, or in any way cover pre-printed information on the original box.
If the item was originally shipped to you, use the shipping for coding for the original shipper. This coding is required to be on any shipping manifest for the truck/method involved in delivery.
When in doubt, ask the agency doing the shipping for you. Much better than the liability involved with improper documentation and shipping. Your Manufacturer's PDC can be of a great help.
Ron
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GM Parts Girl
Haz-Mat
We are a dealer in Indianapolis. As it turns out, the training is required by Law. A dealer in this area was fined 50K for not having the training and doing the shipping wrong. We attended a training class that cost only 195$ and it was well worth it. All they talked about was the things we actually ship (airbags, batteries, paint, etc). So when we left the class, we could actually ship the hazmat we needed to. We didnt have to spend any money on CD's or any other software either. One of the benefits of this company is that any time we have a question about how to ship a hazmat correctly, they tell us the right way at no additional cost. I know they do seminars specific to our industry around the country. The information we got really opened up our GM's eyes. I deal with a girl named Loren and she's been great. Her number is 800-723-3734. I would highly recommend her. BTW, Airborne, FedEx, Consolidated and Overnight, etc. do not require you to buy any additional software.
As for the comment about saving the box to reship, one thing I learned in the class is that if someone sent you the airbag in the wrong box, and you send it back in the same box, you get caught, you get the fine. 195$ training class is a cheap insurance policy against a 50K fine.
As for the comment about saving the box to reship, one thing I learned in the class is that if someone sent you the airbag in the wrong box, and you send it back in the same box, you get caught, you get the fine. 195$ training class is a cheap insurance policy against a 50K fine.