When involved in dangerous goods movements by airfreight, a top priority is always to minimise risks. This is to protect supply chain personnel as much as the public. That is why authorities have developed many different regulations to keep the industry and its surroundings safe.
In order to make sense of the multitude of regulations over the airfreighting of dangerous goods, DGOffice BV has created its DGOffice software package.
The software house has offices located in the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, while sales and support offices can be found throughout the world.
DGOffice is an online software solution, which can be accessed via any device with internet access, but it is mainly designed for and most practical to use on a PC.
According to DGOffice BV marketing and communication manager Vivian Labrecque, dangerous goods can be transported via different transport modalities, of which each has its own regulation.
She says: “These regulations are updated continuously and are strictly enforced by authorities. Exact details of dangerous goods rules must be looked up in books manually, which is also applicable for the creation of correct shipping documents and labels. It can be extremely challenging and time-consuming to continuously comply with such standards, especially when different modes of transport are involved. No one is keen on risking a decline in acceptance, a fine because of incorrect labeling, the risks of accidentally combining non-compatible goods together in a shipment, or not to mention putting the corporate reputation at stake.”
In the management of dangerous goods and hazardous materials, the online software solution DGOffice offers a complete set of tools to support shippers, ground handlers and forwarders. Compliance is ensured, at any point along the logistics chain where dangerous goods are involved, as well as at any place in the world at any moment.
Most shipments can be considered to be multimodal, meaning that at least two types of transport are involved in one shipment. For a shipment by air, the products must get to the airport first, which most likely by road.
Specifically, multimodal shipments can be complicated, as there are several regulations involved in each mode.
Dangerous goods shipments must be packed and labeled correctly, accompanied by accurate and compliant documentation. DGOffice supports this; one continuously updated system that makes it easy to adapt regulations, languages and much more.
She says: “According to research, it is very common to enter the exact same data several times at different places. Meanwhile, the online software DGOffice automatically reproduces this information and completes it at all relevant places in a document or label, which makes it a true time-saver and simultaneously prevents potential errors.”
“Data copying for each party in a transportation chain can be part of the past. However, information must be shared with other parties that are involved in the shipping process as well. Exchange of hard-copy paperwork is not necessary anymore, as regulators allowed digital transferring of information.”
She adds: “This led to new developments in the industry. One of such developments is focused on streamlining data sharing in such a way that is convenient and beneficial for all parties involved in a shipment. A system that supports the exchange of information without the need for any party to re-copy data. This can be found in the DGOffice dangerous goods data sharing standard (DGXML) as well as in the E-Freight solution which was published in July this year.”
DGOffice BV develops and maintains the online software DGOffice, web services and databases. The products are marketed via resellers, whom are located across the globe. They are all active in the dangerous goods market and provide different complimentary services or products, such as DG training, packing, consulting, or labels.
The software is licensed on an annual base. It has a modular design, which means that only the software modules required are used. Each module has its own set of functions. Next to the core component that covers all basic tools, any other module can be added. When needs change, adjustments can be made at the click of a button.
