Sonoco ThermoSafe, a unit of Sonoco and a global provider of temperature assurance packaging, has launched the industry’s first academic offering to train and certify cold chain packaging professionals globally. The certification program was developed by Sonoco ThermoSafe’s ISCLabs in partnership with The Packaging School; Dr. R. Andrew Hurley, assistant professor of packaging science at Clemson University; and an advisory panel of pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesalers, logistics providers and industry experts.
Founded in 1989, ISCLabs was the first temperature controlled packaging design and testing laboratory. Today, ISCLabs marks another milestone with launch of the industry’s first temperature assurance packaging (TAP) certification program.
“The TAP program shares decades worth of ISCLabs’ collective knowledge and expertise in design, development and qualification of temperature controlled packaging,” said Vishal Khushalani, director of global marketing and business development, Sonoco ThermoSafe. “The course goes further to cover topics including temperature monitoring, global regulations and distribution considerations of temperature sensitive products.”
Based on customer feedback, two levels of certification courses were created. The first level, called the “Fundamentals Course,” is a self-paced, online course that offers training participants a systematic approach to developing a foundational understanding of temperature assurance packaging. The second level, called the “Professional Course,” is a one-day, live training conducted by university professors, laboratory engineers and industry experts that provides hands-on instruction and interactive activities. To learn more, visit www.thermosafe.com/TAPCertification.
“We are excited to debut the Professional Course in September 2016 at the 14thCold Chain GDP & Temperature Management Logistics Global Forum in Boston, Mass.,” said Khushalani.
“We are honored to have Sonoco ThermoSafe as our inaugural corporate partner for The Packaging School’s customizable learning platform,” said Dr. R. Andrew Hurley, who is also chief learning officer at The Packaging School. “The decision to create the first level of the TAP certification as an online course enables Sonoco ThermoSafe to reach a global community of cold chain professionals. I am looking forward to receiving one-on-one feedback from many of our students at the Professional Course offering in September.”
IQPC’s cold chain divisional director, Claudia Rubino, emphasized the value of the TAP certification program. “We’re very excited to launch this new training with Sonoco ThermoSafe as part of a mutual commitment to our attendees’ professional growth. The goal is for both this session and the conference at large to provide detailed, holistic education that our audience can use to impact their organizations in a tangible way. Through years of running the largest gathering of cold chain professionals in the world, we’ve seen that thermal packaging continues to be a major focus, both for the challenges and opportunities it presents. We’re looking forward to the turnout at this year’s conference and the value this session will provide.”
