The Underwriters Laboratory Standards and Engagement team are deeply concerned about the lack of thermal runaway management in aircraft. They believe a lack of coordination and commitment is behind the steadily rising number of incidents on cargo aircraft.
Underwriters Laboratory Thermal Runaway Strategy
Enforce Responsible Management Across Supply Chain
Underwriters Laboratory would like to see clear, enforceable responsibility throughout the supply chain. It wants all stakeholders to appreciate what their own role is in documentation, safety and general compliance.
The logic behind this is that accountability is the best way to reduce risks, and the tendency to shift blame. Responsibility is clearly defined, and accepted in their model, that closes gaps in thermal runaway management in aircraft.
Explain Battery Risks in Aircraft to Role Players
The Standards and Engagement team note a compelling need to strengthen role-player education throughout the global industry. Shippers especially – including medium to small ones – require more guidance than airlines appreciate.
The authors of the report discovered that these key players are not always accessing critical information effectively. This includes advice provided by regulators, cargo carriers, and e-commerce platforms.
There is a significant need, the authors continue, to enhance coordination, education, and data sharing. The industry needs to reduce this confusion, because it is no longer sufficient to rely on trust alone.
Safety, Cost, and Thermal Runaway
Safety and cost ought not to be conflicting priorities, the Underwriters Laboratory Standards and Engagement team insists. Instead, the two priorities should be aligned, and both feature in management priorities.
This is since failing to prioritize both issues, increases long-term financial, operational, and reputational risk. For this idea to be practical though, global regulators need to ensure a consistent approach throughout.
We hope these measures have buy-in everywhere, and that they succeed in meeting the overall goal. That objective is to ensure that all batteries shipped, meet safety standards that promote thermal runaway management in aircraft.
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