DGIS III in Deerfield Beach, FL was another great success. Despite the gloomy economic picture, over 120 dangerous goods instructors from across North and South America and some from Europe participated enthusiastically in a full program of technical updates, skills development workshops and networking seminars.

This year's event saw the emergence of the new Dangerous Goods Trainers Association dedicated to bringing quality and consistency to the dangerous goods training profession. DGIS looks forward to working closely with this group in future years.

High on the agenda for DGIS this year were workshops exploring ways and means of implementing the DGAC/PHMSA guidelines on which DGIS II the previous year had focused. The DGIS community’s work was central to making those guidelines a practical working document.

It was a great pleasure to inaugurate the Dangerous Goods Trainer "Keystone" award with our presentation to Ross McLachlan of the UK CAA of a handsome crystal stylized keystone. In the future Labelmaster and HCB (Hazardous Cargo Bulletin) will present this award to individuals and organizations who have "made a difference" in the advancement of dangerous goods safety through training initiatives. The A.I.R. Shipper website will include more information on this important initiative early in 2009.

This year's work can be found on this website, including pictures of some of the highlights of the event. Labelmaster would like to thank all who participated, particularly the workshop leaders, presenters and others who gave willingly of their valuable time. Without them, DGIS would not be possible. To their credit, they made DGIS III, in the words of not a few participants, "the best conference ever!"

Planning is already underway for DGIS IV. We understand the need to have the dates if not the location of the next Symposium as soon as possible. However, economic realities may delay the decision, please bear with us. We will keep you posted.

In the meantime, please email me any feedback you have on the symposium and we’ll do our best to adjust DGIS IV accordingly.

Sincerely,

Neil McCulloch
neilm@alc-net.com

2008 DGIS Information: