"V" or approved packaging for you: how to choose
The "V" package,
the choice of a more flexible approval
The "V" packaging, or universal packaging for hazardous materials, allows you to package and transport all hazardous materials except those from classes 6.2 and 7. It can be purchased from packaging manufacturers or retailers and is ready to use immediately upon receipt.
In order to be marketed and used, it must have met the requirements 6.1.5.3 and 6.1.5.6 (dropping and stacking respectively) of the ADR. Despite a flexible approval allowing the user to adapt his packaging to different dangerous products, many conditions must be respected.
While this freedom makes V-packaging a very practical alternative, the implementation of the packaging is more demanding. In order to comply with the regulations, certain prerequisites must be met for transport: respecting the distance between products, padding empty spaces, adapting the padding if the product is liquid, installing a sealing solution if the product is liquid, etc.
You own approved packaging
the choice of a simpler logistic
If you decide to have your own packaging approved, you close the use of this packaging to the transport of different products. An approval certificate for a specific product and its container gives you an approval that is only valid for the tested configuration (product, container, cushioning, etc.).
Although the use of this packaging is strictly reserved for the configuration given during the approval test, you are approving a custom-made packaging. This method allows you to approve the configuration you need, according to precise dimensions, and thus reduce your logistic problems.
But then,
how to choose ?
When choosing between these two solutions, there is one main thing to consider: practicality.
For companies that send a large number of boxes each year, having your packaging approved may be a more practical option!
Because 4GV implementation is scrupulous and more complex, having your own approval and configuration is a major advantage for companies that send a lot of boxes! Between the steps of wedging, padding and distancing the products, the maneuver can be long.
Despite these considerations, we must not forget that choosing a packaging depends on a whole context within a company. This is why every company makes different choices in the type of packaging to be favored and the choice you make must obviously correspond to the issues you face.