B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Human Factors
I was contact by the ZZZ warehouse to reopen the DSTG (departure staging guide) for the flight; I advised the warehouse the current policy prohibits the Load Planner from re-opening the DSTG. The only exception is to have the flight departure time adjusted by 2 hours to allow for a DSTG re-open. I sent an email to the Cargo Leadership to call the Operations Manager to discuss delaying the flight in order to reopen per policy. The flight was re-quoted with a 2 hour delay to allow for the DSTG to be reopened. Once cargo [operations] completed their transactions; the flight was re-planned by the Load Planner and a new DSTG sent to the Airport Operations. The Operations Manager then restored the original departure time. This action circumvented the Safety Policy put in place. In talking to the Load Planners; there seems to be a pattern with Cargo and/or Operations Managers when it comes to reopening the DSTG. There is a belief that this policy does not make business sense. This 'game' could lead to a significant weight error or catastrophic event. Since I was the Shift Manager on duty and I gave permission to open the DSTG.
Air carrier ground manager reported potentially hazardous practice of circumventing load planning established company procedures.