Training, Records, and Compliance
Training, records, and compliance
This domain tests who must be trained, what the training must cover, how certificates work, and how records prove compliance. Expect questions on expired certificates, generic online courses, and supervisor responsibilities.
Core rules
- Anyone who handles, offers, transports, or imports dangerous goods, or who directly supervises those activities, must be trained and hold a valid training certificate.
- Training must be specific to the person's duties and the goods handled. It covers classification, documentation, safety marks, packaging, loading and securing, emergency response, and the regulations that apply.
- A training certificate normally includes the person's name, the employer, the date it expires, and signatures of the employee and employer. It must be produced on request by an inspector.
- Recurrent training is required. In the Canadian TDG framework, certificates commonly expire three years after the date of training; confirm the current rule and any provincial variation.
- Keep training records, certificates, and proof of recurrent training. A carrier should verify that drivers and handlers are trained before assigning dangerous goods work.
Worked example
A loader was trained four years ago and has a certificate on file. The certificate shows no expiry date and the employer cannot produce training records. The loader is not compliant for current dangerous goods work. A new certificate alone is not enough: the employer must show that the training covered the actual duties, including the classes and loading tasks performed.
Traps
- Treating WHMIS or a generic safety orientation as TDG training.
- Assuming a certificate never expires.
- Training only drivers and not loaders, shippers, or supervisors.
- Keeping records at head office when an inspector requests them at the dock.
- Using a certificate with no name or no employer signature.
Exam focus
Ask three questions: is this person's duty covered, is the certificate valid now, and can the employer prove the training content? A missing record is a compliance failure even if the worker knows the job.