Hazardous materials shipping system, method and computer program product
First Claim
1. A hazardous materials shipping system for tracking a plurality packages containing hazardous materials shipped by a shipping party, said hazardous materials shipping system comprising:
- a shipment order system configured to record shipping information and hazardous materials information submitted by the shipping party for delivery of a package, wherein the hazardous materials information describes the hazardous materials contained in the package, and said shipment order system further configured to generate a tracking number corresponding to the package;
a package tracking system including a plurality of package and facility identification devices wherein each of the identification devices is located at a respective one of a plurality of facilities encountered by the package along a delivery path and wherein the identification device is capable of recording the tracking number of the package and the respective facility at which the package is located at each encounter; and
a hazardous materials database system connected in communication with the shipment order system and the package tracking system, said hazardous materials database system configured to correlate the hazardous materials information with the delivery path of the package.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A hazardous materials shipping system for tracking a plurality of packages containing hazardous materials. The shipping system includes a shipment order system configured to record shipping and hazardous materials information, and to issue a tracking number for the package. A package tracking system tracks a path of the package through various delivery vehicles and other facilities. Information on the hazardous materials can be correlated with the delivery path of the package by a hazardous materials database system using the tracking number. Optionally, the hazardous materials database system can make the delivery path and hazardous materials information available to an emergency response team to facilitate containment and cleanup of hazardous materials along the path. As another advantage, the hazardous materials database system can compare the paths of various packages to determine if cross-contamination has occurred.
53 Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A hazardous materials shipping system for tracking a plurality packages containing hazardous materials shipped by a shipping party, said hazardous materials shipping system comprising:
-
a shipment order system configured to record shipping information and hazardous materials information submitted by the shipping party for delivery of a package, wherein the hazardous materials information describes the hazardous materials contained in the package, and said shipment order system further configured to generate a tracking number corresponding to the package;
a package tracking system including a plurality of package and facility identification devices wherein each of the identification devices is located at a respective one of a plurality of facilities encountered by the package along a delivery path and wherein the identification device is capable of recording the tracking number of the package and the respective facility at which the package is located at each encounter; and
a hazardous materials database system connected in communication with the shipment order system and the package tracking system, said hazardous materials database system configured to correlate the hazardous materials information with the delivery path of the package. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method of providing information on hazardous materials contained in a package to emergency personnel, said method comprising:
-
recording shipping information pertaining to the package and hazardous materials information describing the hazardous materials in the package;
generating a tracking number corresponding to the package;
tracking a delivery path of the package by recording the tracking number at encounters of the package with shipping facilities; and
correlating the hazardous materials information of the package with the delivery path of the package using the tracking number. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A computer program software product for providing information on hazardous materials contained in a package to emergency personnel, comprising:
-
a first executable portion configured to record shipping information pertaining to the package and hazardous materials information describing the hazardous materials in the package;
a second executable portion configured to generate a tracking number corresponding to the package;
a third executable portion configured to track a delivery path of the package by recording the tracking number at encounters of the package with shipping facilities; and
a fourth executable portion configured to correlate the hazardous materials information of the package with the delivery path of the package using the tracking number. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
-
Specification