The surge of freight that came with COVID (and the growth in ecommerce), meant we contracted Dangerous Goods Management Ltd (DGM) to process our Auckland customers' ‘Dangerous Goods’ at our depot. This has allowed our service standard to remain high while ensuring compliance with ‘Dangerous Goods’ regulations.
Administration Fee to be applied from 8 August 2022
DGM has been checking and processing Dangerous Goods in partnership with New Zealand Couriers on-site since May 2022. The volume of corrections being completed is not sustainable.
When faced with either getting these delivered promptly or holding them for collection by customers, the decision was made that DGM would correct these, to ensure rapid delivery (as opposed to holding them back). Going forward, we need to recover the costs associated with these corrections.
From 8 August 2022, there will be an administration fee of $12.50 for processing each Dangerous Goods courier item with incorrect paperwork; labelling, or packaging.
We do not set the rules regarding the movement of Dangerous Goods (these are set by the NZ Transport Agency), but we must abide by them when moving courier items. If it's necessary to have items corrected so they can travel, we need to hand on a portion of the cost associated with this.
We hope you can ensure your Dangerous Goods are declared, labelled and packaged correctly. We want to avoid our customers having any additional costs to their business.
The chain of responsibility for absolute accuracy surrounding the movement of Dangerous Goods continues once they leave your hands. New Zealand Couriers and our contractors take accuracy and compliance very seriously and have recently adapted our processes to further support the safe and compliant movement of ‘Dangerous Goods’.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of Dangerous Goods errors may be occurring?
-
Declaration Error (DGWD)
- Incorrect UN Number
- Incorrect Proper Shipping Names or n.o.s. entries missing
- Missing packing group
- Packing Groups are listed as numbers instead of Roman Numerals e.g. 2, not II
- Number & Types of packages not listed or insufficient information e.g. 1 x Fibreboard Box
- Incorrect weights of packages
- The statement “DGLQ” is missing on DGLQ consignments
- Full name & signature missing
-
Packaging Error (DGRP)
- Incorrect packaging/missing, incorrect labels
- Labels or marks are wrapped around the corners of packages
- Missing DGLQ mark from packages when the Dangerous Goods Declaration states the package is DGLQ.
- UN Specification packages are missing the UN Number & Proper Shipping Name.
- Products being declared as DGLQ, but after inspection, they are in fact UN Specification and do not have UN Specification packaging.
- Packages are not compatible with the product they contain e.g. Product heavy for the package used
How will Dangerous Goods errors be processed as of 8 August 2022?
Incorrectly declared or inadequately documented consignments
- DGM corrects these as they are identified.
- DGM then becomes ‘the consignor’ to ensure that your Dangerous Goods item is travelling per legal requirements. This will be done on a new Dangerous Goods declaration form from DGM to your intended receiver - and it becomes legal and accurate in the eyes of the authorities. DGM then also carry the risk.
- A $12.50 fee will be charged to your account per incorrect item. This charge covers a portion of the cost of DGM consigning the item correctly.
Our preference is a correctly packaged and labelled item with the correct paperwork.
How will this administration fee show on invoices?
The $12.50 fee will show on your debit advice under the following category:
- DGRW - Incorrect documentation / Paperwork errors / Missing information/ Incorrect packaging / missing, or incorrect labels, or Incorrect multiple (meaning a mix of some)
If you want a copy of your initial incorrect paperwork with an indicator around the incorrect area, please contact your New Zealand Couriers Credit Controller.
DeleteHave I made errors with my recent sends?
Your NZC Business Representative will show you the count of incorrect DG’s sent by your business since May 2022. If there is an alarming number of corrections completed, we would recommend that you contact a ‘Dangerous Goods Trainer/Specialist’ to review and identify improvements for your ‘Dangerous Goods’ processes.
Also:
- If DGM is unable to correct any given Dangerous Goods item due to the class being one that New Zealand Couriers does not carry, or if the packaging was not legally suitable for the class of Dangerous Goods, your NZC Business Representative will contact you to collect the item from our branch.
- There will also still be a requirement for a Dangerous Goods ticket (DG ticket) to be affixed to each item, so in cases where an item is incorrectly declared, as well as being short ticketed, both charges will apply to the one item.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
DeleteIs there Dangerous Goods Training and Consulting available?
New Zealand Couriers are not legally licenced to consult or train on Dangerous Goods consigning. We cannot elaborate on the corrective action taken by DGM (as mentioned previously, DGM become the ‘legal consignor’).
However, you can take the copy of your incorrect paperwork that we provide to you, and your business can engage with a licensed ‘Dangerous Goods Trainer/Specialist’ for advice (DGM or an equivalent expert). This is likely to come at a cost for your business.
If you wish to contact DGM, you can use this email address: operations@DGM.co.nz.
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