B737-800
Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200; Flight Crew Type 15500
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Dissipated; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; General Maintenance Action
Human Factors
During flight preparation I was provided two NOTAC forms. First form was for 1 package of Radio Pharma and was marked as Bin C; but the bin designation appeared to have been changed. Second NOTAC was for 2 shipments with 5 packages also of Radio Pharma. These were both marked for Bin A.With this being my first experience with a Radio Pharma shipment and seeing the loading information note regarding the requirement for the commodity to be loaded on the bin floor and not stacked; I went to the ramp to inspect the loading and confirm it was proper. When I asked the Ramp Agent he seemed somewhat irritated that I was 'checking up on him'. The shipment in one bin was easy to see but the others were more difficult to see. I was able to confirm that they were loaded flat on the bin floor and not stacked; however; there were other bags stacked on top of them.In order to ensure that this was proper I reviewed the operations manual regarding loading this type of commodity and discovered under operations manual XXXX that while there was no prohibition regarding baggage on top of the shipments that there were specific guidelines regarding which bins could be used for Radio Pharma shipments. The operations manual states in part 'If Radio-Pharma is loaded in the forward hold; only one bin (A; B; or C) may be used'.  This indicated that the current loading of the commodities was not correct. I brought this to the attention of the Ops Agent and asked for her to call a Ramp Supervisor.When I met the Supervisor on the ramp he confirmed that the loading was improper. He asked the Ramp Agent if he had split the shipment and he replied 'I just load it the way I'm told'. An additional Supervisor arrived; who I took to be a Cargo Supervisor; and he was also asked if he 'split the shipment'. He said he didn't know that was not acceptable and the first Supervisor advised that Radio-Pharma shipments could not be split in the forward bin. I asked if they could move the single package shipment to Bin D. Instead they chose to move the 5 packages and rearrange the entire front bin loading.
B737-800 Captain reported a Hazmat shipment was incorrectly loaded during pre-flight. Hazmat loading error was corrected to comply with guidelines prior to departure.