WorkflowFreight Forwarding

Dangerous Goods Declaration Check

A dangerous goods declaration check that reads each booking against its packing list and the shipper's safety data sheets, holds it the moment a line is not as booked, and leaves the signatures to trained people.

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See one held booking declared and signed ↓

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The problem

Touch-up paint and battery packs booked as pump spare parts

An NVOCC that books a container is the shipper in the carrier's eyes. The booking coordinator copies the commodity line from the shipper's email, and the packing list is read against the safety data sheets only when the shipper writes the word dangerous. A kit of touch-up paint, or a controller with a lithium pack inside, travels as spare parts.

The carrier's own screening may catch it at the cut-off, with a refusal, a rebooking and a per-container charge, or nobody catches it and the box sails undeclared. The checks that would have found it are flash point against packing group, the limited quantity limits, the battery provisions and the stow. They are done from memory, with a desk copy of the Code, when there is time.

Built forDG documentation specialistsCompliance officersBooking coordinatorsOperations managers

The Problem Today

Bookings copy the shipper's commodity line, and nobody reads the packing list against the data sheets.

Read only when declared

Bookings
Pack lists
Data sheets
Batteries

Refused at the cut-offA refusal, a rebooking and a per-box charge
Sailing undeclaredNothing on the ship's list for that box

The Solution

Each package placed in the boxPacking list lines matched to data sheets; a line not as booked is held
Class and packing group checkedFlash point against packing group, limited quantity and battery rules
The carrier's desk reads it firstWhat the carrier would refuse, set apart from what the forwarder settles
Two signatures before tenderThe DG specialist signs; the compliance officer opens it and signs second

Built-in controls

A hold applies at once; a release needs two people
Shipper comments are read by staff and alter no field
Only people with current hazmat training sign

What You Get

The forwarder tenders each box declared as it is packed, signed by two trained people before the dangerous goods cut-off.

Same kit found on other bookingsA second booking held before it sails
Each way to ship pricedRe-declare, pull the goods, or ship as booked
Past rulings at the checkA rejected limited quantity claim shown again

Features

Dangerous goods declaration check features, from booking to two signatures

DG-trained documentation specialists and compliance officers at NVOCC forwarders use them on each ocean export. Shown here: a 20-foot box of pump parts that held paint and batteries.

demoThe forwarder, shipper, carrier, people, bookings and figures shown are sample data.

01Booking held
Undeclared dangerous goods found on a booking marked not hazardous
- Packing list matched to the data sheet library. Part numbers on each line are looked up against the shipper's data sheets, so a kit or a spare with a UN number shows up.
- Booking held once a line is not as booked. Nothing is tendered on that booking until two people release it, however close the cut-off.
- The shipper's other bookings checked on request. A booking whose packing list arrived after its first screen is read again and held if it carries the same kit.
02Box section
Container drawn as packed, each package classed from its data sheet
- Each packing list line as a block. Cartons and kilograms sit where they will be loaded, with the class and UN number on the regulated ones.
- Agents' initials on what they read. The specialist sees which agent read which package, so a classification can be traced to its data sheet.
- Stow and segregation checked on the drawing. Heavy cartons on tins of liquid are moved in the plan the shipper loads from, under a stow rule the compliance officer approved, with the reason written down.
03Carrier's desk
Dangerous goods declaration read as the carrier's acceptance desk would
- What the carrier would refuse, and why. Undeclared class, packing group, an unproven limited quantity and batteries not described are raised in the carrier's own terms.
- What only the forwarder can settle. The packing certificate, the viscous-substance provision and the stow are listed apart, because a carrier never sees them.
- The draft's own errors caught. A packing group copied faithfully from a self-contradicting data sheet is flagged before anyone signs it.
04Data sheet
Safety data sheet opened at section 14 beside its declaration line
- Sections 9 and 14 read together. A flash point that points to one packing group and a transport section that states another are caught on the same screen.
- Declaration field and its source side by side. The specialist checks the field against the passage it came from instead of retyping it.
- Old data sheets flagged by age. A sheet past the age the forwarder sets goes to a person and a newer revision is asked for.
05Shipper request
Missing facts asked of the shipper in fixed fields, each with its rule
- Each question with why it matters. The shipper's shipping supervisor sees which rule needs the litres per tin or the carton weight, and answers only that.
- Files attached in place of descriptions. A newer data sheet revision is chosen from the shipper's own documents, so the evidence travels with the answer.
- Who packs and signs the certificate. The packer is named in the answer, and signs the container packing certificate at loading.
06Shipper answer
A newer data sheet settles the packing group from the shipper's answer
- Answers read only from fields and files. The declaration changes through the revision the shipper attached and the values it entered, nothing typed freely.
- Revision compared with the one on file. The specialist sees what changed between the two data sheets before relying on the new one.
- Notes from the shipper kept out of fields. Free text goes to the specialist, and signing waits until it has been read.
07What-if
Re-declare, pull the paint or ship as booked, each played to the sailing
- Each option walked to the vessel. Fees, labor and days late are laid against the dangerous goods cut-off and the sailing, so the choice is made on cost and timing.
- Sample rates the forwarder edits. Carrier fees, labor rates and surcharges are inputs, labeled as assumptions until someone confirms them.
- Shipping as booked shown as not allowed. The carrier's charge appears only as what happens if the box is found, never as a saving.
08Decision
Limited quantity and lithium battery special provision confirmed by a person
- The specialist chooses how the box ships. Re-declaring, pulling the goods or holding is a person's call, recorded with its coded reason and what signing it means.
- Battery provision confirmed after the test summary. The confirmation stays closed until the specialist has opened the UN 38.3 test summary for the battery packs.
- Viscous provision ruled on the evidence. With no test result from the shipper, the specialist rules the exemption not claimed and the paint stays declared.
09Second person
Compliance officer opens the declaration before signing as second person
- The form as it will be signed. The compliance officer reads the multimodal dangerous goods form itself, with the limited quantity wording and marks.
- Signature only after opening it. The second signature stays closed until the declaration has been opened, and nobody signs their own draft.
- Amendment sent only after both signatures. The booking amendment reaches the carrier once the specialist and the compliance officer have both signed.

Who runs a dangerous goods compliance check at an NVOCC

Two trained people sign; the booking desk can hold but never release.

DG documentation specialists

Classify, decide how each box ships, draft and sign declarations as maker

Packages placed in the container drawing
The carrier desk's refusals before tender
Shipper answers in fields, not paragraphs

Compliance officers

Second signature on declarations and hold releases; rule and setting approvals

The declaration opened before their signature
Training checked for each signer
Rules from rulings applied only after approval

Booking coordinators

Create bookings from shipper emails and place holds

Each booking screened against the packing list
A hold they can place but not release
Why a booking stopped, in plain words

Operations managers

Rebooking and cost decisions, and who pays the carrier's charges

Each option's cost and delay to the sailing
Costs above the threshold routed to them
Sample rates they can change

Five people sign or answer before the box is tendered

Each sees a different part of the record before putting a name to it.

Shipper's shipping supervisor

Sees: The fixed-field request and the rule behind each question
Signs: The answers, and the container packing certificate at loading

DG documentation specialist

Sees: The data sheet sections, the desk's points and the shipper's answers
Signs: How the box ships, and the declaration as maker

Compliance officer

Sees: The declaration as it will be signed
Signs: The declaration as second person, and any hold release

Operations manager

Sees: Each option's cost and days to the sailing
Signs: Costs above the approval threshold and who pays them

Booking coordinator

Sees: The screening queue and why a booking is held
Signs: Holds only; release and declarations need current training

More screens

The screening queue, the data sheets and who may sign

Where the DG desk starts the day and what the compliance officer checks.

Box section after both signatures: limited quantity marks on the container, the declaration signed by two people, and the amendment sent to the carrier — **Signed by two, sent to the carrier**The container marked for limited quantity on both sides and ends, the declaration signed by two people, and the amendment waiting for the carrier's code.

Screening queue: bookings with shipper, lane, what they were booked as, what the agents found, data sheet date, status and cut-off — **Screening queue**Bookings screened against their packing lists and data sheets: five need a person, three are held, four were not as booked this month.

Data sheets for the booking with their ages, the paint's sheet rendered by section, and the changes from revision 3 to revision 4 — **Data sheets for this booking**Each sheet with its age against the setting, and what changed between revision 3 and revision 4 of the paint.

Shipment papers grouped as from the shipper, from the carrier and drafted here, with rule notes and a past ruling — **Every paper in one folder**What came from the shipper, what came from the carrier, and what was drafted here, each opened as itself.

People who sign: each role, what they may do, hazmat training date, recurrent due date, code update training and whether they sign declarations — **People who sign**Hazmat training and recurrent due dates for each person. A coordinator whose training lapsed cannot sign a declaration.

Rules the agents keep: two in force with approvals and use counts, and three proposed rules waiting for approval with the ruling each came from — **Rules the agents keep**Rules in force with their approvals, and three proposed from this week's rulings waiting for the compliance officer.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Paint, batteries, a copied packing group and a stack on the tins

Four findings on one booking that a copied commodity line would have sailed with.

Paint booked as spare parts

24 cartons of twelve 1 L tins, 288 L in all, on a booking described as pump spare parts, not hazardous.

The draft's own packing group

Packing group II copied from section 14 while section 9's 32 °C flash point means III. The shipper's revision 4 confirmed III.

Batteries inside the controllers

24 lithium-ion packs of 74.0 Wh in 6 cartons. Special provision 188 fits, and with 6 cartons each one carries the battery mark.

Impellers stacked on the paint

The load plan put 18 impeller cartons of 22 kg on the tins. The paint moved to the door end, at floor level, nothing on top.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

What compliance officers ask about a dangerous goods declaration check

What is a dangerous goods declaration?

A dangerous goods declaration is the transport document that tells the carrier what regulated goods are in a box: UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group, quantity and packaging, signed by the shipper. Here it is drafted field by field from its sources and signed by two trained people.

Why should an NVOCC check the shipper's packing list?

Because the NVOCC is the shipper on the carrier's booking. If a box holds dangerous goods the booking does not mention, the forwarder takes the refusal, the carrier's charge and the risk of the box sailing undeclared.

How are lithium batteries inside equipment handled?

The agents read the battery data sheet and the UN test summary and check the watt-hours against the special provision. A person confirms it after opening the test summary, and the batteries are described on the booking with the marks the provision requires.

Can paint ship as limited quantity?

When the inner tins and the carton weight are within the limits for its packing group. The agents test it from the packing list and the shipper's answers, and the specialist decides.

Who signs the declaration and releases a hold?

The DG documentation specialist signs as maker and the compliance officer opens the declaration and signs second. A hold is released only by the maker, a second person and the carrier's acceptance.

Does it say the shipper misdeclared on purpose?

No. The agents report what the documents show and never judge intent. Legal questions and any report to an authority go to named people with a second person.

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