22 EVHazards Preparing an EV Battery for Shipping By Micah O’Shaughnessy, CSP, ASP, KPA With the number of electric vehicles coming through the service department growing day by day, dealers need to make sure their technicians are working with EV batteries safely. And they need to do this in a variety of locations, whether it’s inside or outside of a vehicle, or when a battery needs to be packaged and shipped offsite. Once a service technician removes an EV battery and is packaging it for shipping, they’ll need to assess its’ risk protocol before packaging it. Follow the steps we’ve outlined below to assess whether the battery you’re preparing to ship is a critical risk, a high risk, or an average risk. And, of course, follow your dealership’s standard operating protocols for handling critical-risk and high-risk EV batteries. How to Assess Risk When Preparing an EV Battery for Shipping Critical Risk Confirm that there is no critical risk to the battery before performing a more detailed assessment. 1. Is the battery emitting smoke or flames? 2. Are there visible sparks or arcing coming from the battery or other components? 3. Are you able to get a voltage reading from nonenergized parts of the vehicle? The answer to all of those questions should be a definitive, “No.” Any “yes” answer is an indicator that the battery is a critical risk. If it is not, move on to the assessment of thermal codes, loss of isolation, and physical damage to determine if the battery is high risk or average risk. Physical Damage The casing for high-voltage batteries is designed to protect the fragile and volatile internal components, but it’s not foolproof. It’s best to conduct a visual assessment. 1. Is there evidence of prior fire? 2. Is there evidence of rupture, puncture, or high impact? 3. Is there evidence of incorrect disassembly or assembly?
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