IATA Automates Dangerous Goods Compliance Checks

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched an innovative new solution that will enhance safety and improve efficiency in the transport of dangerous goods by air and support the industry’s goal of a fully digitized supply chain.

Dangerous Goods DG AutoCheck is a digital solution that allows the air cargo supply chain to check the compliance of the Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods (DGD) against all relevant rules and regulations contained in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. The tool enables electronic consignment data to be received directly, supporting the digitization of the cargo supply chain.

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology also transforms a paper DGD into electronic data. This data is then processed and verified automatically using the XML data version of the DGD. DG AutoCheck also facilitates a ground handler’s or airline’s decision to accept or reject a shipment during the physical inspection stage by providing a pictorial representation of the package with the marking and labeling required for air transport.

"Manually checking that each Shipper’s Declaration is compliant and the package(s) are correctly, marked, labeled, and packaged is complex and time consuming," explains David Brennan, assistant director, cargo safety and standards, IATA. "Automation with DG AutoCheck brings us a giant step forward. The cargo supply chain will benefit from greater efficiency, streamlined processes, and enhanced safety."

"The air transport industry handles more than 1.25 million dangerous goods shipments per year, and this number will rise significantly," says Nick Careen, senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security, IATA. "To ensure that air cargo is ready to benefit from this growth, the industry needs to adopt modern and harmonized standards that facilitate safe, secure, and efficient operations, particularly in relation to carriage of dangerous goods. DG AutoCheck is a significant step toward achieving this goal."