External dangerous goods officer
As a company, you may be legally required to appoint a dangerous goods officer in accordance with the German Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor Ordinance (GbV) under certain conditions. If you lack in-house specialists or would like to benefit from decades of hands-on experience across a wide range of industries and requirements, you can appoint one of our qualified DGSAs for this role.
As your external dangerous goods officer, we take on all tasks and responsibilities stipulated in Section 8 of the GbV and provide comprehensive advice on the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail, sea, and inland waterways.
With us at your side, you are always on the safe side.
How you benefit from our expertise
"Small improvements can make a big difference! With our many years of experience, we know which adjustments deserve special attention in practice. What else do our customers appreciate about us? Good communication and thinking outside the box - be it thematically in the direction of HSE or globally in the Asian region and North America."
Willi Weßelowscky | dangerous goods expert
This is also confirmed by our customers
"EUROGATE Intermodal (EGIM) offers reliable and competitive intermodal transport by rail, road and barge for seaport pre-carriage and onward carriage. With decades of experience, we focus on innovative, sustainable solutions and maintain close, long-term cooperation with our customers and service providers.
For over 25 years, UMCO has been at our side as an external dangerous goods officer with expertise, practical solutions and clear communication. The support in complying with legal requirements and in the course of the digital transformation is particularly valuable to us and noticeably relieves our day-to-day business. With UMCO, we have a reliable partner at our side who fully fulfils our high standards."
Andre Gernhardt, Head of Operations Rail | EUROGATE Intermodal GmbH
Questions & answers about the external dangerous goods officer
Dangerous goods are objects or substances that are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. This danger can be caused by the chemical, physical or biological properties of the dangerous goods.
Dangerous goods are defined as such if they fulfil the criteria of one or more of nine hazard classes and, where applicable, can be assigned to one of three packaging groups. The classes of dangerous goods refer to the type of hazard, while the packing group refers to the corresponding degree of hazard within the class.
The nine classes of dangerous goods are as follows:
- Class 1: Explosive substances and articles containing explosives (e.g. explosives, fireworks)
- Class 2: Gases (e.g. propane gas, oxygen in pressurised cylinders)
- Class 3: Flammable liquids (e.g. petrol, alcohol)
- Class 4: Flammable solids; spontaneously flammable substances; substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases (e.g. matches, sulphur)
- Class 5: Flammable (oxidising) substances and organic peroxides (e.g. hydrogen peroxide)
- Class 6: Toxic substances and infectious substances (e.g. pesticides, hospital waste)
- Class 7: Radioactive substances (e.g. medical isotopes)
- Class 8: Corrosive substances (e.g. sulphuric acid, caustic soda)
- Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles, including environmentally hazardous substances (e.g. lithium batteries, asbestos)
The transport of dangerous goods is regulated by national and international regulations. These include regulations on classification, packaging, labelling, documentation and transport as such. The regulations are intended to minimise the risks posed by dangerous goods during handling and transport.
National regulations include, for example, the Dangerous Goods Ordinance for Road, Rail and Inland Waterways (GGSEB) and the Dangerous Goods Exemption Ordinance (GGAV). International regulations are, for example, the ADR, the regulation for road transport, the RID, the regulation for rail transport or the IMDG Code, the regulation for sea transport.
As soon as a company is involved in the transport of dangerous goods and is assigned duties as a participant in accordance with the national dangerous goods regulations for road, rail, inland waterway or sea, it must appoint at least one dangerous goods safety adviser in writing.
The company can also fulfil the function of the dangerous goods safety adviser itself. Furthermore, the function of the dangerous goods safety adviser can be performed by the head of the company, by a person with other duties in the company or by a person not belonging to the company (external dangerous goods safety adviser).
The dangerous goods safety adviser must hold a valid training certificate for the mode of transport concerned.
The central regulation for dangerous goods safety advisors in Germany is the Ordinance on the Appointment of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors (GbV). It applies to any company whose activities involve the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail, navigable inland waterways and sea-going vessels. It does not apply to air transport. The Dangerous Goods Officer Ordinance comprises a total of 13 paragraphs and regulates the exemptions from the GbV, the appointment, training, responsibilities and duties of the dangerous goods officer. It also regulates the responsibilities of companies and lists the offences of administrative offences.
The international transport regulations for the carriage of dangerous goods by road (ADR), rail (RID) and inland waterways (ADN) also require a dangerous goods safety adviser. The regulations define the exceptions for the appointment of a dangerous goods safety adviser, the tasks and activities, as well as the requirements for the training and testing of the dangerous goods safety adviser.
There is no corresponding regulation for dangerous goods safety advisors in international maritime transport based on the IMDG Code. Only the national regulations of the GbV apply here.
The Dangerous Goods Officer must fulfil the following tasks, among others. He monitors compliance with the regulations for the transport of dangerous goods and advises the company on activities relating to the transport of dangerous goods. He checks that sufficient training of employees has been carried out and documented.
Furthermore, he is obliged to keep records in text form of his monitoring activities, stating the time of the monitoring, the names of the persons monitored and the business transactions monitored. He shall ensure that an accident report is prepared. Furthermore, he must prepare an annual report on the company's activities in relation to the transport of dangerous goods.
