It is one of our flagship courses: the 2-year Dangerous Goods Professional (DGP) course. In 2020, Special Cargo College began this very broad training around hazardous materials. Key word within this course: safety. Working with hazardous materials must, always and everywhere, be done safely, we believe. Hence our decision to create a comprehensive safety training program in addition to all the specialized training we offer.
Very broad target group
The first batch of participants completed the training before the summer of 2022, and the second group of participants began in September of that year. Course leader and instructor Cor Schaatsbergen: “Companies often don’t realize this, but this course is really suitable for a very broad target group. Basically anyone who wants to study the safety of hazardous materials within their company. So, for example, HSE managers, safety experts and safety consultants. Or people who want to become one.”
“The topics covered are also very broad,” adds fellow course leader and instructor Jannie van Vliet. “IMDG, ADR, IATA, BHV, first aid, cargo securing, gas measurement, applied chemistry and PGS 15: everything related to hazardous materials and safety will be covered.”
Bridge beating
Those who have completed the training can therefore call themselves all-round “Dangerous Goods Professional” (DGP). You can bridge the gap between the shop floor and management and sit at the table as a discussion partner with government, business market and competent authority. “That’s right,” says Ilse Hendriksen, who is a participant in this second edition. “I benefit from it daily, in my work as a consultant. The professors have tremendous knowledge and are always there to advise and help you.” Course participant Martijn van der Veer is also very happy with all the knowledge he is gaining: “It is very useful that the DGP training is so broad. In my work I do hazardous materials inspections in all kinds of different places, from ships to storage sheds. This way I am always well prepared wherever I go.”
Kijfhoek
The DGP training was created at the request of the industry at the time and is now being designed in cooperation with it. Some organizations involved: the Ministry of Defense, the DCMR, police, shipping companies, the RSA and other companies. Participants also make company visits to companies, to highlight the topics from a practical perspective, Cor says. “For example, we went to shunting yard Kijfhoek, where ProRail talks about incident response in rail transport. We also visited a shipyard to see how a barge carrying hazardous materials is put together. These kinds of visits add a lot of value to all the topics covered in class.”
Wouter van Duin, Dangerous Goods Professional: “If you want to advance as a professional in this field, I definitely recommend the DGP.”
Portfolio
After evaluating the first edition of the course, it was decided to drop one component: the thesis. “This caused too much stress for some participants. Therefore, we have replaced this with building a portfolio: a collection of practical assignments that you can use to show all that you have done and learned during the course. Very useful and fun to work on,” Jannie explained.
Close club
The course group will have classes every Monday for two years in Spijkenisse or on location. So the trainees spend two years together and become a close-knit club. “This way they also learn from each other, and not just from the teachers and guest lecturers. Right now we have participants from the consulting world, from the police, defense, warehousing and logistics companies. A nice mix,” says Jannie. Wouter van Duin, who now holds the title Dangerous Goods Professional, agrees: “Because of the diverse backgrounds of the course participants and the versatility of the course material, you learn about all facets of transporting, handling and storing dangerous goods. In short, if you want to advance as a professional in this field, I definitely recommend the DGP.”
