Clarification of the training requirements

This responds to your July 26, 2008, letter requesting clarification of the training requirements in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether employees of a computer software development firm that has been retained to develop a computer program to generate shipping papers must be trained in accordance with Subpart H of Part 172 of the HMR.

If the computer programmers employed by the software development firm merely input data concerning the hazardous materials to be shipped (e.g., proper shipping names, classification, authorized packagings) provided to them by a trained hazmat employee of the client company, then the computer programmers are not considered hazmat employees, and the training requirements in Subpart H of Part 172 do not apply. However, if the computer programmers make determinations concerning regulatory requirements applicable to the hazardous materials to be shipped as part of the development of the shipping paper software, then the computer programmers are considered to be hazmat employees and must be trained.