Training, Record Keeping and Quality Assurance
Training
Shippers and operators must ensure that staff who handle dangerous goods are trained in the requirements commensurate with their responsibilities. Training covers classification, packing, marking, labelling, documentation, acceptance and emergency response, and it must be refreshed at intervals set by the state (commonly every 24 months). A common trap is assuming that training is a one-time event or that it can be replaced by reading a manual.
Record keeping
Records of training must be kept and made available to the authority. Records of dangerous goods shipments, including the Shipper's Declaration and acceptance checks, must be retained for the period required by the state. Records support traceability after an incident.
Quality assurance
A quality assurance programme verifies that procedures are followed: audits of acceptance, sampling of declarations, and review of incidents. The goal is to detect and correct errors before they cause an accident.
Worked example
An operator's audit finds that a loader accepted a package labelled Cargo Aircraft Only on a passenger aircraft. The answer: this is an acceptance failure; the operator must correct the procedure, retrain the staff involved, and record the finding in the quality assurance system.
Rule of thumb
Training must be documented, refreshed and matched to the role. Records and audits are the evidence that the system works; without them, compliance cannot be demonstrated.