IO 102 · Cargo handling and custody

Publication and delivery

This course is published for study. Publication does not confirm an available class, appointed instructor or completed practical validation. Before booking, obtain a session brief naming the organiser, instructor and assessor, equipment access and any independent review arrangements.

Before live assessment, the organiser must record the current LIVE build, validation date, ship and equipment used, tasks checked and any known limitations. If a required mechanic is unavailable, defer the affected assessment rather than certify an unobserved outcome. A material game update calls for a check of affected tasks, not cancellation of earlier academic achievements.

Your brief

For cargo handlers and receiving staff preparing for cargo and supply work.

The School of Applied Industry extends Case IO–4: a receiver signs for what was checked, not what the departure office hoped would arrive.

The receiver refuses the sixth signature

Practice case · IO 102 · 2956 teaching edition

The departure manifest lists C1–C6, one training crate each.
The receiver counts C1–C5. The location of C6 needs checking.
One short handling window remains; no replacement crate is authorized.

Before you begin: entry and equipment

Complete these courses

Bring or arrange

A cargo-capable vessel, a small training load and tested handling tools.

The organizer must confirm equipment access before booking. No ship purchase, pledge tier or donation is required.

Technical knowledge and game skills

Practical instruction revision 1 · 9 October 2026

Tractor handling, cargo grids and freight transfer

Select and test the handling tool

Equip the tractor attachment or dedicated tool appropriate to the container’s mass and the local gravity. Lock a small test load, move it a short distance, rotate it clear of obstructions and set it down. An unsuccessful lock may reflect range, mass, access or local restrictions; moving closer is not the answer to every limit. Keep people out of the load’s travel path.

Fit boxes rather than totals

Read container size and choose a grid position with room for rotation and release. Bring the load in slowly, align it with the grid and confirm attachment rather than dropping it across a doorway. Leave room to retrieve the nearest consignment without disturbing others. A ship rated for the total SCU may still reject the chosen container geometry.

Use the freight interface deliberately

At a supported freight elevator, select the intended items in the terminal, move the platform only when the area is clear, and verify which location now holds the cargo. For a hauling contract follow its specific delivery flow and confirm the objective updates. Lowering a crate into storage, selling a commodity and completing a contract are different operations.

Practical drill

Move differently sized containers from a freight platform to a compatible cargo grid and back. Preserve a clear exit, verify the count and demonstrate one contract or receiving update without mixing consignments.

Observed-skill checks

The handler controls translation and rotation without striking a person or blocking an exit.
Every loaded box fits and its grid state is checked.
Physical location and terminal or contract acceptance agree.

Use these checks to document the technical evidence supporting the course outcomes in your agreed role. Record what you personally performed, what assistance you needed and what remains unobserved. A discussion or simulated action does not certify live equipment handling; Crew Support evidence does not confer Pilot qualification.

Game references and build-sensitive details

The linked pages were read for this revision. Community references mix release eras; each source note identifies what is used and what is excluded. Technical explanations below are an Academy synthesis, and drills and performance checks are Academy-designed. Before practice, compare the named actions with the installed LIVE build and actual equipment. Bind actions by name rather than copying old default keys. Research is not an in-game validation.

Star Citizen Wiki — Cargo
SCU, container geometry, grids and ownership. The page also contains obsolete automatic-loading descriptions and future design intentions; these are not instructions for the present cargo interface.
Star Citizen Wiki — Salvage
Component recovery, hull scraping, fracture, disintegration and material processing. Validate the selected vessel’s processing chain and capacity before use.

Check the official LIVE release notes and record the session build, equipment and observed limitations before practical sign-off.

Learn the method

1. Create the departure record

List item identifiers, quantities, the current custodian and the intended receiver before handling begins. Use the same units throughout. This gives the next crew a starting point for checking a shortage rather than only a disputed final total.

A manifest is a chain of custody, not a shopping list. Record the unit used for each quantity and the location from which it was counted. Where packaging differs, preserve both container count and the relevant cargo measure rather than converting from appearance. Record the receiver’s acceptance as a new event, not an overwrite of dispatch.

Practise: Prepare the departure manifest for a small load.
Ready when: Every item has an identifier, quantity and responsible custodian.

2. Check the handling task before moving

Confirm space, access and the tools available for this vessel and location. Rehearse the relevant controls with the instructor. Stop if a tool or access point does not work; do not turn an equipment failure into an improvised, unobserved handling method.

Inspect the whole handling path: origin, loading access, cargo area, unloading access and receiving point. Nominal vessel capacity does not guarantee that a particular container can pass through an opening or be placed as intended. Establish a clear handling area and pause conflicting movement while the operator controls the load.

Practise: Load and unload the checked training consignment.
Ready when: Your handling stays within the tools, capacity and access conditions checked for the session.

3. Record acceptance item by item

Count what the receiver can access and accept. Note an inaccessible item separately from an item that cannot be located. Keep responsibility assigned until the discrepancy is resolved; arrival of the carrier alone does not transfer custody.

Resolve discrepancies in order: identifier, location, access, quantity and acceptance. A crate at the destination but inaccessible calls for a different action from one confirmed at origin. Do not purchase a replacement or declare a loss merely to close the ledger; first establish what the current evidence supports.

Practise: Compare the departure and receipt lists.
Ready when: The receiving count is supported by observation and each discrepancy has a next check.

A worked decision

Six crates leave dispatch. Receiving accepts five and cannot access the sixth. The manifest keeps the sixth with the carrier pending a location and access check.

Keep the six-item departure list unchanged and enter the five confirmed receipts against their identifiers.
Ask the dispatch custodian to check origin and the carrier to check the load. Do not label C6 lost before those checks.
Name who retains C6’s follow-up and what happens if the handling window closes. The receiving signature covers five, with the exception attached.

Try it yourself

Handle a small agreed load and reconcile the mismatched lists. Produce the next check and custody assignment for C6.

What changes during the exercise

One container is inaccessible at the receiving point.

Keep this record

Item identifier / departure quantity / custodian
Received quantity / check performed / receiving acceptance
Difference / last known location / next check and owner

Download IO 102 worksheet

Plain-text worksheet with this case, your working fields and the assessment criteria. Fill it in privately; downloading does not submit work or record completion.

Check your reasoning

Should you reduce the departure total to match the five crates received?

Compare your reasoning

No. Preserve the six dispatched and five received. The difference is useful evidence; record what is known about the sixth and who will check it.

Answer first, then compare. In a later session, explain the decision using a changed case without referring to this answer.

How completion is judged

Departure and receipt manifests, observed handling and a discrepancy note.

The assessor checks your own work against all three “Ready when” criteria above. Use the observed-skill checks in the technical chapter to establish the applicable game-handling evidence in your agreed role. A successful team result does not replace an action they did not observe.

Findings, another attempt and review

Demonstrated: Your observed work meets the criterion in the agreed role.
Further practice required: The assessor identifies the observed gap and the specific practice needed.
Interrupted: Equipment, staffing or personal circumstances prevented a valid assessment. This is not a failure.
Not assessed: There is not yet enough evidence for this outcome.

A fresh attempt

Confirm C6 at origin and require a second-movement decision. Keep the original count visible.

Reassess the missing outcome, plus any linked skill that needs new evidence. For prior learning, compare existing work with the same criteria and observe any missing practical action.

Ask for the reasons behind a finding. Reviews must be handled by someone independent of the original decision; defer the review if that person is not available.

Read the Academy Ordinance and review rules

For instructors

Session setup and coaching

Prepare the session

A cargo-capable vessel, a small training load and tested handling tools.

Assign crew stations and tell each learner what they will practise. The instructor must be able to hear the calls and see the action being assessed. Brief the callsigns, channel, route and expected duration. Replace the example locations with the places you will actually use.

Ask the learner to explain the relevant earlier procedure without notes; correct any gap before the practical.
Teach and demonstrate the technical chapter using the actual game indications. Run its drill with feedback before connecting those skills to the three methods and worked decision. Use the observed-skill checks to identify missing handling evidence.
Let the learner complete the normal procedure first, then introduce the change described in the exercise. Give them time to respond without coaching. Keep unrelated failures out of this attempt.
Record the learner's action against each criterion. Give one specific next step for any gap and transfer unfinished operational work before closing.

What to watch for in IO 102

Ask the learner to point to the observation behind each quantity. “It should be aboard” is a lead, not a receipt.

If another attempt is needed

Confirm C6 at origin and require a second-movement decision. Keep the original count visible.

Running the exercise

Before the crew assembles, try the exercise in the ship you intend to use. Check station access, equipment and the route. Brief the crew on any faults that affect the task. If a bug prevents someone completing it, repeat that part once it works; do not record a failure for a broken mechanic.

Brief the command “Stop exercise” before starting. On that call, cease the drill and tell the instructor what needs attention. For weapons practice, identify the participating ships and crew; anyone else entering the area is a reason to hold fire.

Session administration: use player handles in your notes. Ask before recording voice or video, and agree when the recording will be deleted. Academy rules and review procedure.

Sources and edition

Lex Astra · School of Applied Industry
Course IO 102 · edition 2956.3 · 2956 teaching edition · revised course text.

Case IO–4: the incomplete delivery

Applied Industry case issued by CDR Tobias Wren in 2956, drawing on the 1968 Neuhaus freight record. The older waybill belongs to the family freight business, not to Lex Astra; the course quantities are new teaching examples.

Professional references and instructional revision

Instruction revised 9 October 2026. Lex Astra cases supply the teaching situations. Professional references inform communication, decision-making and instructional design; they do not confer external qualifications. LIVE capabilities remain subject to the recorded session check.

Editorial context and teaching basis

The lessons are current Academy teaching, not newly discovered historical records. Lex Astra opened in 2891. Historical sources keep their original issuer and date; all case callsigns, quantities, times and conditions are supplied for practice.

Your session brief names the instructor, the crew assignments and the equipment provided. Contact the teaching office above to arrange a place.

Course-text revision: 8 October 2026. Educational references were reviewed for the framework on 8 October 2026; they inform the teaching approach, not external accreditation or current game-capability claims.

Teaching research and its limits

Where this leads

Industrial Operations requirements

Courses that use this work

Course records retain the edition and role assessed. New teaching text does not erase earlier achievements.