The validity areas for dangerous goods data records are defined according to the applicable dangerous goods regulation. To carry out dangerous goods checks and generate dangerous goods papers, you must ensure that the validity areas for the dangerous goods master records do not overlap.

The system checks that the dangerous goods data records do not overlap if you create dangerous goods data records because you cannot change material number and dangerous goods regulation in dangerous goods master maintenance. If the system checks for overlapping (five-levels concept) and ascertains that one dangerous goods data record contains a geographical overlap, the system automatically refuses to create the dangerous goods master data record.

The system uses the five-levels concept to check the validity areas.

The following example explains the five-levels concept:

This five-levels concept enables you to maintain specific data for each of the validity areas. This ensures that you can maintain dangerous goods data valid in Great Britain in the data record Great Britain, and data valid under the ADR (including Great Britain) in the data record ADR. If you ascertain that there is a special national regulation for a material in the ADR country France, for example, you can create a separate dangerous goods master data record for France, without changing or splitting the validity area ADR.

You use the copy function to copy data recorded in the ADR dangerous goods data record, and complete the data required for France.

The non-overlap concept (five-levels concept) for dangerous goods master data means that dangerous goods data records are selected for dangerous goods checks and dangerous goods papers on a hierarchical basis.

As a result of this check schema, the dangerous goods master data record with validity area ADR is selected. If the fourth step were also answered with ‘no’, the dangerous goods master record would be selected with validity area REG_WORLD.