Narrative:

Received final west/B after delay in loading. Our identification's had not yet been scanned and the dg (dangerous goods) paperwork had not arrived. All personnel vacated the area; so we called dispatch. Dispatch called the ramp agent and he showed up approximately 25 minutes later. He presented dg paperwork. That was our first indication that we had accessible dg on board. The ramp agent was unaware of any accessible dg. The dg paperwork was not signed. I went to the main cargo deck and observed a dg can loaded sealed with no halon attachment. I asked the ramp agent and he shrugged his shoulders. I called dispatch and asked about a dg agent to present as we were against a duty time limit and supervised line flying was in progress for a new heavy transport captain trainee. Dispatch informed us that a dg agent would come out. After another lengthy delay a hub employee arrived and seemed confused about where to sign the dg paperwork. I asked him if he was a dg agent and he said; 'yes.' I asked him to present the dg container and we went to the back. After opening the can; it was observed that a large stack of flammable liquid with orientation labels had shifted and was leaning. See pictures. I asked him if he packed the can and he didn't answer. I asked again and he began trying to shove the stack upright with no success. I left the area to notify dispatch.the duty officer called and we had a conversation about the situation and our limited duty time and compliance with SOP. We were informed that the dg can would be removed so I returned to the cockpit to prepare for a new west/B and performance brief as well as to keep our flight plan active with ATC and inquire of any flow restrictions to ZZZ due to weather. After a while; I heard noise from the main cargo area and went back to investigate. There were personnel unloading the dg can on the main cargo deck. Flammable liquid was all over the place. I inquired with the duty officer about this and I guess there was a communication issue as to how to resolve the issue with dispatch and the ramp. The crew seemed to be doing a good job of reloading the can correctly; so I assumed that we could prevent a service failure. My only concern was if the ramp personnel were in compliance with SOP as I have never witnessed this situation before as a pilot; or as my time as a handler in the hub. This concern is yet to be addressed. The re-build was complete and correct; the dg agent signed the paperwork; but had trouble attaching the halon. A ramp agent did it for him. We completed a new west/B and performance brief as well as a runway change. We agreed to extend our duty period as there were no stand by crews available. We blocked out almost 2 hours late.confusion among ramp personnel. Poor communication between all departments. Improper stacking of dg. Poor crew scheduling with no allowance for operational factors.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Heavy Transport aircraft Captain reported discovering that the dangerous goods form had not been signed and the goods had not been properly stacked and needed to be removed from the aircraft and repacked. The flight departed two hours late.

Narrative: Received final W/B after delay in loading. Our ID's had not yet been scanned and the DG (Dangerous Goods) paperwork had not arrived. All personnel vacated the area; so we called Dispatch. Dispatch called the ramp agent and he showed up approximately 25 minutes later. He presented DG paperwork. That was our first indication that we had accessible DG on board. The ramp agent was unaware of any accessible DG. The DG paperwork was not signed. I went to the main cargo deck and observed a DG can loaded sealed with no halon attachment. I asked the ramp agent and he shrugged his shoulders. I called Dispatch and asked about a DG agent to present as we were against a duty time limit and supervised line flying was in progress for a new Heavy Transport Captain trainee. Dispatch informed us that a DG agent would come out. After another lengthy delay a hub employee arrived and seemed confused about where to sign the DG paperwork. I asked him if he was a DG agent and he said; 'yes.' I asked him to present the DG container and we went to the back. After opening the can; it was observed that a large stack of flammable liquid with orientation labels had shifted and was leaning. See pictures. I asked him if he packed the can and he didn't answer. I asked again and he began trying to shove the stack upright with no success. I left the area to notify Dispatch.The Duty Officer called and we had a conversation about the situation and our limited duty time and compliance with SOP. We were informed that the DG can would be removed so I returned to the cockpit to prepare for a new W/B and performance brief as well as to keep our flight plan active with ATC and inquire of any flow restrictions to ZZZ due to weather. After a while; I heard noise from the main cargo area and went back to investigate. There were personnel unloading the DG can on the main cargo deck. Flammable liquid was all over the place. I inquired with the Duty Officer about this and I guess there was a communication issue as to how to resolve the issue with Dispatch and the ramp. The crew seemed to be doing a good job of reloading the can correctly; so I assumed that we could prevent a service failure. My only concern was if the ramp personnel were in compliance with SOP as I have never witnessed this situation before as a pilot; or as my time as a handler in the hub. This concern is yet to be addressed. The re-build was complete and correct; the DG agent signed the paperwork; but had trouble attaching the halon. A ramp agent did it for him. We completed a new W/B and performance brief as well as a runway change. We agreed to extend our duty period as there were no stand by crews available. We blocked out almost 2 hours late.Confusion among ramp personnel. Poor communication between all departments. Improper stacking of DG. Poor crew scheduling with no allowance for operational factors.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.