Month: January 2018

Q. I am a DRC member, what happens when I have a dispute with a company that is not a DRC member?

A: DRC members are expected to abide by certain rules and responsibilities and when a dispute occurs between members, we are here to help. Unless your trading partner is a DRC member, we may be limited in the assistance we can provide. Should a dispute occur between a DRC member and a non-member, we may be able to assist if the non-member signs a voluntary arbitration agreement that will bind them to a final decision by an arbitrator if necessary.

If the non-member signs the voluntary agreement, one of two steps needs to occur. The non-member needs to join DRC or, alternatively, pay a set fee. Once one of the two steps is completed, it is treated as if both parties are DRC members and the dispute process should move forward as normal.

In the absence of a signed voluntary arbitration agreement, because one party is not a DRC member, the option of litigation is a strong possibility. We would like to remind all DRC members to encourage trading partners to join DRC.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]

We were contacted recently by one of our members asking about DRC’s point of view regarding differences between a temperature recorder and a real time temperature recorder.  Real time temperature recorders are those which are GPS enabled and can be monitored remotely.  This technology has been available in our industry for a few years now and in our experience, a real time temperature recorder brings additional advantages over a regular temperature recorder. To mentioned a few:

• If a temperature recorder is lost, no data is available. For a real time temperature recorder, data is always available even when real time recorder is lost.
• Location of the load in transit.
• Alert system to indicate temperatures during transit have passed the set temperature range.
• Can avoid temperature impact on product while in transit.
• Anyone can have access to the data as long as certain information such as the serial number is provided.

Simultaneously, a real time temperature recorder also brings additional responsibilities to those who have access to the real time data. The real time data from these devices is considered evidence of the temperatures in transit, just like a tape or digital readout from a traditional temperature recorder. The main difference is, if you become aware of a temperature problem in transit and nothing is done about it, all those who had access could  take on liability for not taking steps to limit or stop  potential deterioration to the product.

For more information please call or email the DRC Help Desk at:

DRC Help Desk | 613-234-0982 | [email protected]