David Hopkins: Tell us how ATBD can help an organization ensure compliance and safety issues associated with aircraft parts.

Chuck Marcotte: Sure. An area of supply chain management that sometimes isn't thought about by many people or is taken for granted is the control of dangerous goods used every day in maintaining or operating an aircraft. Much of the responsibility for dangerous goods falls on the stores department that may be staffed with entry-level personnel that requires special oversight by management personnel is critical. I've been with an organization where there wasn't a solid program in place and over the course of a year it ended up costing the company a quarter of a million dollars in violations. A company could easily have two to three hundred dangerous goods in the form of consumables or components that have potential to move through the inventory.

It's incumbent upon multiple levels of management to know what items are dangerous, where they're stored and when they’re leaving the storage facility. A failure to document and declare dangerous goods can expose the public to eventually extreme danger and violations of shipping regulations, like I say carrying heavy fines. Exposing the public to these dangers is bad enough, the impact of a costly fine to a bottom line profit, you can see the problem.

A careless error in handling or documenting dangerous goods can have devastating cost results. Organizations need someone in management close to the operations level that's highly versed in dangerous goods and can provide the oversight necessary. The staff at ATBD is experienced in developing controls and stands ready to help any company looking for assistance in developing or validating their hazardous material program.