Hazardous Materials // Dangerous Goods Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the Washington Aviation Group
We provide information about hazmat frquently asked questions on this page.
We offer a live, online class twice a year. This allows students to get the hazmat certification that they need, from the comfort of their own desk. No travel costs and you can make more efficient use of your time; AND because it is a live class, you can ask your questions in real-time!
You can find the agenda for our online class, here.
| Download a registration form! | QUESTION: How do I register for the class? ANSWER: You can download the registration form and fax or mail it to the Washington Aviation Group. You can also call (202) 628-6777 and speak with Katt - she can take your regiatration over the phone. QUESTION: How do I pay for the class? ANSWER: You can mail your payment by check, or you can fax or call-in your credit card number and we will be happy to charge your credit card. QUESTION: What does the term "member" mean in the pricing table? ANSWER: The term "member" means that the company that is registering (or the individual) is a member of one of the sponsoring trade association: the Aircraft Electronics Association, the Aviation Suppliers Association or the Aeronautical Repair Station Association. QUESTION: What time does class start? ANSWER: The in-person class starts at 8:00 am. The online-class starts accordng to the online-class-agenda. Please be on time so that we can certify your attendance. The online class starts according to the online agenda. QUESTION: What is the daily schedule of the class? ANSWER: The in-person class runs from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm each day. This includes a one-hour break for lunch (provided) as well as the time to take the exam at the end of the class. For the online class, you can see our online-class-agenda here. QUESTION: Do I need to bring anything to the class? ANSWER: IN-PERSON: No - not for the in-person class. As long as you have registered and paid by the deadline, we will provide all class materials (including the reference materials that you will need to successfully ship hazmat from your own facility after the class is complete). We also provide a lunch on both days of the in-person class. We even provide a pen to take notes in the workbook! ONLINE: Yes. For the online class, you should (1) obtain an IATA dangerous goods regulations book, (2) download the class materials (a link will be emailed to you shortly before the class), and (3) make sure you have access to a computer from which you can log-into and follow the class. QUESTION: I am from a non-aviation company. Can I attend the class? ANSWER: Yes; although the class is designed for aviation industry personnel, and will use aviation industry examples, it teaches how to use the hazardous materials/dangerous goods regulations in a way that is useful to someone in almost any industry. QUESTION: I have never shipped hazmat before in my life. I am a novice. Is the class appropriate for me? ANSWER: Yes; the class is designed to provide the fundamental tools that you will need in order to successfully navigate the sometimes daunting regulations on shipping hazmat. Most of our students are new to hazardous materials. QUESTION: Is training required by law? ANSWER: Yes; each hazmat employer is required to ensure that each of its hazmat employees is trained. Normally, this means initial training, and then recurrent training at least once every three years in the United States. Outside the United States, two year recurent training (for those required to be trained) is commmon. Air carrier personnel are required to be trained annually. Air carriers sometimes require their business partners to obtain annual recurrent hazmat training (as a matter of contract). The FAA has determined that repair stations are generally hazmat employers. See Flight Standards Handbook Bulletin for Airworthiness 99-10 ("With rare exceptions, all air agencies are 'hazmat employers.'"). Hazmat is considered a serious matter for air carriers as well. Cf. 14 C.F.R. section 121.1001 et seq. (air carrier hazmat training requirements). QUESTION: Is this a 'Train the Trainer' class? After taking this class, can I use the information I've learned to train the other people that I work with? ANSWER: Our training is not specifically designed to be ‘train the trainer,’ because we concentrate on how to comply with the regulations; we do not concentrate on showing the class how to use teaching methods to convey information others (which is the focus of many ‘train the trainer’ classes). Nonetheless, it is common for companies - especially small companies that can not afford to have the entire staff out at one time - to send one or two people from their staff to our classes; those people then plan on going back and training the rest of the staff. People often ask what credentials they would need to go back and train the remainder of the staff at their facility in hazmat. There are no specific credentials required under current law; however, in our opinion, no one should try to train their staff unless they have a good grasp of the regulations, themselves, and they are comfortable enough with training that they feel confident in their ability to impart their knowledge to others. We have found that many people who complete our two day class end up with a good grasp of the regulations and say that they have achieved ‘a comfort level’ with the regulations – as long as they feel comfortable with their own understanding of the regulations, and with their ability to teach regulatory compliance strategies to others, there is nothing to stop them from training others. QUESTION: How often do I need to be trained? ANSWER: In the United States, generally, non-air carrier personnel are required to be trained at least every three years. 49 C.F.R. 172.704(c)(2). Air carrier personel are required to be trained every two years. 14 C.F.R. 121.1005(a). Air carrier personnel get some leeway - they can complete recurrent training in the month before or after the due date for the recurrent training. 14 C.F.R. 121.1005(d). There is no such leeway in the regulations for non-air carrier personnel, so please make sure your training is up-to-date! Outside the United States, most countries follow the training standards found in the ICAO Technical Instructions, which require training every two years for persons shiping hazmat by air. This is a matter of national law, though, so please be sure that you remain in compliance with the laws of the nations that have jursidiction over your operations. For anyone in the United States that ships internationally, we recommend following the training standards found in the ICAO Technical Instructions, which require training every two years for persons shiping hazmat by air. This is to help ensure that you remain in compliance with the recurrent training standards for each jurisdiction to which you may ship. QUESTION: Does a US repair station need to certify compliance to the hazmat training requirements? ANSWER: New repair stations are required to certify compliance to the hazmat training standards for their hazmat employees as a prerequisite to certification. 14 C.F.R. 145.53(c). This also applies to foreign repair facilities seeking US FAA 145 certificates. 14 C.F.R. 145.53(d). For existing US repair stations, the FAA issued a Notice requiring certification of hazmat compliance by August 20, 2010 (FAA Notice 8900.88). The requirement applied to repair stations certificated before Nov. 7, 2005. A complete analysis of this requirement is available in an article we published in the November 2009 Avionics News. |
