ANAC DOV Module 2 common mistakes
ANAC DOV Module 2 · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Treating the Dangerous Goods List entry as the whole rule and ignoring the special provisions column, so a shipment is prepared to the base packing instruction without applying the conditions attached to that UN number.
Candidates memorise the columns in order (UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group, packing instruction) and stop reading at the packing instruction, because special provisions sit in a narrow column and read like codes rather than obligations; under time pressure they are skipped entirely.
What to do instead
Practise reading each list row as a sentence: class and packing group set the baseline, then every special provision code must be looked up and satisfied or explicitly ruled out. Build a personal checklist that forces a special-provision lookup before selecting packing.
Assigning packing group by the class of the substance rather than by the classification criteria for that class, for example giving every flammable liquid PG II or treating all Class 9 entries as PG III.
Class and packing group appear side by side in the list, so candidates assume a fixed pairing; they do not revisit the criteria for flash point, boiling point, toxicity or corrosivity that actually drive the group.
What to do instead
For each class, write out the decision table from memory (flash point and initial boiling point bands for flammable liquids, oral dermal inhalation thresholds for toxic substances, corrosion rates and exposure times for corrosives) and apply it to worked examples before checking the list answer.
Using the generic proper shipping name or a trade or brand name on the air waybill and Shipper's Declaration instead of the listed proper shipping name with the required technical name in parentheses.
Shippers in real life use commercial names, and candidates transfer that habit; they also forget that some entries require the chemical or technical name to be added when a generic or n.o.s. entry is used.
What to do instead
When practising documentation, always copy the proper shipping name exactly as printed, in upper case where shown, and then ask whether the entry is generic; if it is, add the technical name in parentheses and check the additional information requirements.
Completing the Shipper's Declaration with the dangerous goods entries but leaving the certification statement unsigned, undated, or signed by someone without the required training, and accepting such a document at the counter.
Candidates focus on the substance data and treat the declaration as a data-entry exercise; the signature block looks like a formality, and acceptance checks are often practised only on obviously wrong entries.
What to do instead
Treat the certification as a mandatory field in every practice scenario: verify name and signature of the signer, date, and evidence of training before anything else in acceptance. Rehearse rejecting a declaration that is otherwise perfect but unsigned.
Applying the passenger aircraft quantity limits to a cargo aircraft shipment, or forgetting that a package may be forbidden or restricted on one type of aircraft and permitted on the other.
The list presents passenger and cargo limits in adjacent columns and the difference is a single number or the word forbidden; candidates read the first column they see and do not anchor on the aircraft type of the intended flight.
What to do instead
Before any quantity check, state the aircraft type out loud and confirm the operator's approval covers it. Practise a set of entries where the passenger limit is forbidden but cargo is permitted, and where the two limits differ, until the column choice becomes automatic.
Marking and labelling a package with the hazard label of the primary class only, or placing labels on the wrong face, while missing the orientation arrows, the overpack marking, or the requirement to remove old labels.
The primary hazard dominates attention and the secondary risk label feels redundant; candidates also work from memory of a labelled drum rather than from the marking and labelling requirements, and forget that obsolete markings must be removed or obscured.
What to do instead
Use a fixed sequence for every package: UN number and proper shipping name, UN specification mark, orientation arrows where liquid, then all hazard labels including subsidiary ones, then overpack and net quantity marks. Check each item against the requirement rather than against the previous package.
Assuming that packing together in one outer packaging is allowed because both goods are in the same class, without checking the packing instruction's mixed packing provision and the segregation rules for the combination.
Candidates reason from class similarity, but permission to pack together depends on the specific packing instruction and on compatibility provisions, not on sharing a class; the same class can contain incompatible entries.
What to do instead
For any combination, identify the packing instruction for each good, read its mixed packing allowance, then check segregation requirements. Keep a short list of combinations that are commonly confused and test each against the provisions rather than against intuition.
Loading packages so that heavier items sit on top of lighter or liquid-filled ones, or stowing goods where they can be damaged by other cargo, while confirming only that segregation distances are met.
Segregation is the topic candidates revise, so they treat the load as solved once incompatible classes are separated; the handling and stowage requirements about protection from damage and about orientation are treated as common sense rather than as rules.
What to do instead
Add a physical-loading check to every scenario after segregation: orientation arrows respected, nothing stacked on top of packages that must stay upright, restraint provided, and access for inspection and emergency response maintained.
Filing the training record as a single attendance sheet with a date, without recording what the employee was trained and assessed on, or letting records lapse past the recurrent training interval.
Training is seen as a one-off event to be completed rather than a competence to be maintained and evidenced; the record is kept for administrative convenience rather than for the purpose of showing who is competent for which function.
What to do instead
Keep per-person records showing the functions covered, the assessment result, the date and the due date for recurrent training, and review them on a schedule. Practise answering 'who is allowed to sign this declaration today' from a sample record set.
Describing the emergency response as calling the fire service, without stating the immediate actions for the specific substance: isolating the area, protecting people, preventing the substance from reaching drains, and using the correct extinguishing or spillage guidance.
Candidates learn emergency procedures generically and default to the emergency services as the whole answer; they do not connect the substance's class and hazards to the first actions that must be taken before help arrives.
What to do instead
For each class, rehearse a short first-response sequence tied to the hazard: what to do first, what to avoid, what to contain, who to notify and what information to pass on. Include the reporting obligation for dangerous goods incidents and the need to preserve evidence.