We’re now ADR Certified, but what does that mean?
In short, ADR means “European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road“. An internally recognised certification and set of practices for moving dangerous goods by road, sea, air and rail. Those goods can be anything from explosive to flammable or infectious to radioactive. The most common hazardous goods that people will recognise are fuel tankers. The large orange warning sign on the rear and sides, UN1203 (petrol), the hazard placard, in this case flammable liquid and a code for emergency services in the event of an accident of spillage.
Hazardous goods full under 9 categories depending on the substance. Each substance is given a unique UN code to quickly identify it. There are several thousand codes. This gives you an idea just how broad the scope is of transporting these dangerous goods. Depending which category the goods fall into, specific procedures, protection, equipment and techniques may be required to legally ship the items. As such ADR drivers have to complete specialised training and their companies (the carrier) must appoint personnel and infrastructure to become accredited.
That’s exactly what we’ve done. Having won several new contracts that required us to gear up to ADR as quickly as possible we were able to put trusted certified sub contractors in place whilst our own drivers underwent accelerated training, the office put in place the required infrastructure and we adding bespoke vehicles to the fleet.
What does this mean for our customers?
We can now offer the transport of dangerous goods anywhere in the UK in limited quantities or full ADR. Either via our own drivers and fleet or via out nationwide, vetted, sub contractor network. All backed up with our award winning service.
What did HSP have to put in place to achieve this?
In the office we have dedicated personnel who make sure every aspect of ADR operations is done correctly and legally. They liaise with drivers, customers, authorities and, if ever required, emergency services to ensure the safety of not only drivers but the public and environment.
The drivers have undergone specialised training and exams to ensure they know how to handle and transport dangerous goods. Unlike many ADR drivers ours are certified in every category except category 1 (explosives) and category 7 (radioactive). These categories are typically reserved for military and highly specialised operatives. As part of the training our drivers are proficient in first aid and CPR, advanced awareness techniques and more.
Our vehicles, we chose to use Luton vans for maximum flexibility, are fitted with all legally required hardware and equipment plus more. They also boast 24h GPS tracking and video recording systems.
We’re excited to be taking on this new challenge and expanding our service portfolio to better suit an ever changing market.
