Hazardous materials barreling down the highway in an 80,000-pound tractor trailer – what can go wrong?
Unfortunately, a lot can.
Hazardous materials barreling down the highway in an 80,000-pound tractor trailer – what can go wrong?
Unfortunately, a lot can.
The storage of corrosive chemicals, whether liquid or solid, is a tightly controlled process. Many risks present themselves if proper specifications and handling methods are absent. Fires, explosions, leaks and human injury are a few of the unfortunate circumstances that could occur if the warehouse is inadequately constructed, and if warehouse personnel are not sufficiently trained in corrosive storage and handling.
If done incorrectly, hazardous material storage of commercial inventory can be extremely dangerous. A single slip up or oversight doesn’t just impact line items on a balance sheet, it puts lives at risk. With the right provider, however, hazmat storage and distribution can be just as safe as the storage of any non-hazmat item.
Chemical warehousing, including the storage of hazardous materials, is a highly regulated undertaking with a substantial investment in both the physical storage environment and rigorous adherence to associated protocols, practices and paperwork required to ensure safety and compliance. If you are responsible for the storage and distribution of commercial chemicals, this article serves as a primer on key safety and compliance basics.
When you partner with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for chemical and hazmat warehousing, there’s a lot to consider during the vetting process. Among other steps, you’ll want to take a tour of the facility, interview management and associates, and ask for referrals. However, there is one other crucial component you don’t want to overlook: the auditing process.
When you entrust your chemical products to a 3PL, it’s critical that you partner with an experienced provider that is compliant with modern chemical warehouse requirements. Chief among these requirements are the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). In this article, we’ll examine CFATS and explain why compliance is essential to chemical warehousing operations.
Finding the right chemical storage facility for your products is an involved process. You’re not only looking for a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that can comply with all regulatory requirements, you’re looking for a partner that truly knows your product and can fit seamlessly into your existing supply chain. In this article, we’ll try to simplify the sourcing process and identify the top 4 factors you’ll need to consider when finding the right chemical 3PL partner.
If you are a chemical company seeking third-party logistics support, you’ll want to do a careful evaluation. There are many liability and safety risks associated with hazardous material storage and shipping. This is particularly true in the heavily regulated California market.
Several types of chemicals occupying the same storage facility. Sounds dangerous, right? It doesn’t need to be.
As consumers we live in a world where we are forced to constantly make decisions. Some require a great deal of time and research such as buying a car and some are simpler such as buying lunch. Although some may argue that is a greater feat. Nevertheless, there are endless options. With all the options available today, how do you decide and be confident in your decision?
Well, chemical logistics is no different. There are a variety of options to be considered. Although we think we are AWESOME. Your choice for a chemical warehousing facility should not be based off our bias. We want you to be fully confident and 100% on board with your decision.
That is why we have a worksheet with 7 tips to choosing a partner for chemical storage and distribution. These will help you find what questions to ask when looking at prospective partners and key things to look for.
Here are just a few of the tips you will find:
Check the provider’s reputation with objective sources.
Don’t rely on the 3PL’s marketing claims to gauge capabilities. Check those claims against the opinions of outside companies and agencies familiar with the provider. For instance, local fire departments with jurisdiction over the provider’s warehouses are part of the local permitting process and will be aware of the company’s ability to manage health, safety, security and environmental requirements for hazmat storage. With a little research, it may also be possible to identify the 3PL’s current or past customers. Call up these companies and ask for a candid assessment.
Choose a partner for present and future needs.
Too many Requests for Proposals ask only about a 3PL’s ability to address current needs. Instead, you should anticipate your needs well into the future and look for a partner that can satisfy these requirements to avoid the cost and risk involved in switching providers. For instance, today you may not be moving goods via rail, but you may want to exploit this lower-cost shipping option in the future. In that case, choosing a warehouse with a rail spur is smart planning. Likewise, your need today might be for simple pallet in/pallet out storage and distribution. But what if future requirements involve, for instance, repackaging 50-gallon drums into ten 5-gallon pails? Can the provider handle the job? Does the provider even want to do this kind of work?
Look for a provider of integrated services.
You’ll find many candidates for chemical warehouse services and many for last-mile transportation. But the pool of chemical logistics providers that can integrate these services with seamless visibility to product at rest and in motion is much smaller. The advantages of integrating logistics services with one provider include:
For more tips on vetting chemical warehouse providers, read our Insight paper: Chemical Logistics: 7 Tips for Choosing a Partner for Storage and Distribution.
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Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
855.GO.WEBER (855.469.3237)
info@weberlogistics.com
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