This is an edited post that I made on the FastTech forum but I've copied it across as I'd be interested in the thoughts of those who never frequent the place...everyone is a bit more normal here.
(And by 'normal' I am ignoring the proclivity to sexually molest farmyard creatures and other such popular pastimes beloved of POTV folk)
WARNING: BORING POST ALERT!
I've done a bit of research into the shipping of Lithium batteries which have caused mayhem in the Hong Kong and Singapore airports, causing deliveries to be stuck or returned to vendors en masse. It was quite easy to find clear instructions for merchants wanting to ship Lithium batteries on commercial or non-commercial flights. So easy in fact it makes me wonder if anyone in China even bothered looking.
The instructions can be found on the International Air Transport Association's website. They are downloadable in pdf format in both English and Chinese. To start off with the general directions for all batteries being shipped is that they should all meet the following criteria:
So, they must come from a traceable source, be of recognised quality, not be reclaimed stock and be sensibly packaged. I'm not seeing anything here that should present a problem to an ISO9000 registered company.
Therefore which or how many of these conditions are FastTech and other Far Eastern providers failing to meet? There's part of me that suspects a number of branded batteries are nothing more than recycled from computers and the cheap ones are manufactured without QA procedures in place.
The report goes on to list out the clear packaging instructions for shipping. I'll not list them all as different graduations of packaging are required depending on the energy contained within the cells...and this information is not available on the FT website although it ought to be available to the likes of FastTech/Chinabuye et al from the manufacturers...if they are legit.
It cites things such as:
It breaks that down into sections with directions but one which is most easily demonstrated by using the UPS flowchart for shippers:
1. Lithium Ion batteries
2. Lithium Metal batteries
Which just leaves the question of labelling: All shipping packages containing lithium batteries have to be labelled appropriately as follows...
There's no two ways about it, I'm a massive fan of the service FastTech provides but I don't understand what isn't straight-forward in all of this and so I don't understand the problem. I do know that current packaging by FastTech fails to meet these criteria and as someone who likes to fly on a plane without the risk of it bursting into flames I would urge the company to conform to international regulations.
Yes, there is going to be a knock on to cost but they should be industry-wide and even reflected in locally sourced pricing too. What it does mean is that if FT adopt the responsible position of shipping batteries correctly entire shipments (containing packages without batteries) would not be rejected at the airports...delivery times would go back to normal...and everyone would be altogether happier.
I believe that customers of Far Eastern websites ought to be demanding these packaging criteria are adhered to as well. Companies will always try to cut costs and corners wherever they can unless we demand higher standards from them.
All of us who buy from China felt the recent impacts of companies flouting the rules. I reckon we should make our voices heard. I'd say that posting a thread or a post about your concerns on the company website forum, whichever one it is, might be a step forward.
Thoughts?
(And by 'normal' I am ignoring the proclivity to sexually molest farmyard creatures and other such popular pastimes beloved of POTV folk)
WARNING: BORING POST ALERT!
I've done a bit of research into the shipping of Lithium batteries which have caused mayhem in the Hong Kong and Singapore airports, causing deliveries to be stuck or returned to vendors en masse. It was quite easy to find clear instructions for merchants wanting to ship Lithium batteries on commercial or non-commercial flights. So easy in fact it makes me wonder if anyone in China even bothered looking.
The instructions can be found on the International Air Transport Association's website. They are downloadable in pdf format in both English and Chinese. To start off with the general directions for all batteries being shipped is that they should all meet the following criteria:
So, they must come from a traceable source, be of recognised quality, not be reclaimed stock and be sensibly packaged. I'm not seeing anything here that should present a problem to an ISO9000 registered company.
Therefore which or how many of these conditions are FastTech and other Far Eastern providers failing to meet? There's part of me that suspects a number of branded batteries are nothing more than recycled from computers and the cheap ones are manufactured without QA procedures in place.
The report goes on to list out the clear packaging instructions for shipping. I'll not list them all as different graduations of packaging are required depending on the energy contained within the cells...and this information is not available on the FT website although it ought to be available to the likes of FastTech/Chinabuye et al from the manufacturers...if they are legit.
It cites things such as:
It breaks that down into sections with directions but one which is most easily demonstrated by using the UPS flowchart for shippers:
1. Lithium Ion batteries
2. Lithium Metal batteries
Which just leaves the question of labelling: All shipping packages containing lithium batteries have to be labelled appropriately as follows...
There's no two ways about it, I'm a massive fan of the service FastTech provides but I don't understand what isn't straight-forward in all of this and so I don't understand the problem. I do know that current packaging by FastTech fails to meet these criteria and as someone who likes to fly on a plane without the risk of it bursting into flames I would urge the company to conform to international regulations.
Yes, there is going to be a knock on to cost but they should be industry-wide and even reflected in locally sourced pricing too. What it does mean is that if FT adopt the responsible position of shipping batteries correctly entire shipments (containing packages without batteries) would not be rejected at the airports...delivery times would go back to normal...and everyone would be altogether happier.
I believe that customers of Far Eastern websites ought to be demanding these packaging criteria are adhered to as well. Companies will always try to cut costs and corners wherever they can unless we demand higher standards from them.
All of us who buy from China felt the recent impacts of companies flouting the rules. I reckon we should make our voices heard. I'd say that posting a thread or a post about your concerns on the company website forum, whichever one it is, might be a step forward.
Thoughts?
