Cargo Securement: How to Inspect, Tie Down, and Properly Secure Cargo

By Sandra Brakstad, President of Midwest Compliance Inc.,
Sauk Rapids Minnesota
800-656-1396
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/

About a month ago I had the opportunity to visit with a Minnesota State Trooper, who shared the following story. At the end of his shift he came up on a flatbed trailer with it’s load tilting severely to the right. He pulled the driver over to get the load corrected. As it would happen, the driver was a few feet from the driveway of his destination, and pleaded with the Trooper to be allowed to make the right turn into the driveway. The Trooper was tired, and just wanted his shift to end, and in a moment of weakness he let the driver go. You guessed it, as the vehicle started it’s turn, the entire trailer tipped over, cargo scattered everywhere!

Don’t let this happen to you! Properly securing the cargo you are transporting can help you avoid many headaches, from a fine to the loss of cargo, or worse yet, causing an accident!

Securement requirements do not apply to certain commodities transported in bulk that lack structure or a fixed shape. Examples of exempt commodities include liquids, grain, sand, gravel, and aggregates when they are transported in a tank, hopper, box, or similar device that forms part of the structure of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV).

According to DOT regulations, a driver is not permitted to operate a CMV unless the cargo being transported is properly distributed, adequately secured, and the vehicle’s tailgate, tailboard, doors, tarp, spare tire, and other equipment used in its operation, and in the securement of the cargo are secured. The driver must also ensure that neither the cargo, nor any other object, obscures their view ahead or to the right and left side, and that the cargo does not interfere with the free movement of the driver’s arms, legs, or prevent ready access to accessories required for emergencies, or prevent the free and ready exit of any person from the vehicle from either the vehicle’s cab or the driver’s compartment.

A driver also has the responsibility of inspecting the cargo and the securement devices within the first 50 miles of the trip, or as soon as practicable. When you conduct the 50 Mile inspection, you are expected to add more securement devices when necessary, and ensure that the cargo cannot shift or fall from the vehicle. Following the 50-mile inspection, drivers must also perform a reexamination of the cargo and securement devices whenever the driver makes a change of duty status or after the vehicle has been driven for three hours or 150 miles, whichever comes first.

Keeping public safety in mind, drivers and motor carriers must ensure that their cargo remains on or within their vehicle under all conditions, which can be reasonably expected to occur. These conditions include inclement weather or possible detours onto secondary or unfamiliar roads.

The two key components required when securing any type of cargo for transport by a CMV, on a public road are:

1. To prevent against the loss of the load. Vehicles must be loaded and secured in a manner compliant with the FMCSA regulations to prevent the cargo from leaking, spilling, blowing, or falling from the vehicle and;
2. To prevent against the shifting of the load. Cargo must be contained, immobilized or secured in a manner compliant with the FMCSA regulations to prevent shifting upon or within the vehicle to such an extent that the vehicle’s stability or maneuverability is adversely affected.

The devices you use to secure cargo must meet minimum performance standards established by the FMCSA, which require securement devices and systems to be capable of withstanding the following three forces:

0.8 g deceleration in the forward direction;
0.5 g acceleration in the rearward direction;
0.5 g acceleration in the lateral direction.

These forces represent the forces that cargo is subject to when the commercial motor vehicle transporting it is braking in forward or reverse, accelerating and turning.

Securement devices for cargo that is not fully contained within the structure of a vehicle must meet stricter performance criteria. They must provide a downward force equivalent to at least 20 percent of the weight of the article of cargo.

When securing heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery like bobcats, bulldozers, or tractors the following rules apply:

Prepare the equipment by lowering accessory equipment, such as hydraulic shovels, etc.

• Restrain articulated vehicles in a manner that prevents articulation while in transit
• Equipment with crawler tracks or wheels must be restrained against movement in the lateral, forward, rearward, and vertical direction using a minimum of four tie downs if the equipment weighs 10,000 pounds or more.
• Each of the tie downs must be affixed as close as practicable to the front and rear of the vehicle, or mounting points on the vehicle that have been specifically designed for that purpose.

Next month we’ll talk about standards and performance for securement devices, vehicle structure standards, and how to determine number of tie downs needed. Until then, take it one load at a time!

Sandra Brakstad
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/
800-656-1396

Cargo Securement: Performance Standards for Securement Devices and Structural Standards for Vehicles

By Sandra Brakstad, President of Midwest Compliance Inc.,
Sauk Rapids Minnesota
800-656-1396
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/

To be compliant with DOT regulations, drivers and motor carriers must ensure that their vehicles and securement devices meet the required performance standards. All vehicle structures, systems, parts, and components used to secure cargo must be in proper working order. The use of damaged, weakened, cut or cracked components – or any condition that would adversely impact the performance of the securement components is prohibited.

Vehicle structures must also meet required performance criteria, (see §393.104 FMCSR). Make sure the vehicle floors, walls, decks, tiedown anchor points, header boards, bulkheads, stakes, posts and mounting pockets, and the vehicle structure itself are strong enough to support your cargo.

Tiedowns may not contain knots. If a tiedown is repaired, it must be done according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Each tiedown must be attached and secured in a manner that prevents it from becoming loose, or from unfastening, opening or releasing while the vehicle is in transit. All tiedowns and other components of a cargo securement system used to secure loads on a trailer equipped with rub rails, must be located inside of the rub rails, whenever practicable. Edge protection must be used whenever a tiedown could be subject to abrasion or cutting at the point where it touches the cargo. The edge protection itself must resist abrasion, cutting and crushing.

Cargo must be firmly immobilized or secured on or within a vehicle by structures of adequate strength, dunnage or dunnage bags, shoring bars, tiedowns or a combination of these. Articles of cargo that are likely to roll must be restrained by chocks, wedges, a cradle or other equivalent means. Make certain chocks or wedges, etc., cannot become unfastened or loose while the vehicle is moving.

The Working Load Limit (WLL) is the maximum load that may be applied to a component of a cargo securement system during normal use. For instance, the WLL of a tiedown is the lowest WLL of any of its components (including tensioner), or the WLL of the anchor points to which it is attached, whichever is less; and the WLL of tiedowns may be determined by using either the tiedown manufacturer’s markings or the standard specifications the manufacturer is required to comply with for testing.

The manufacturing standards that all tiedown assemblies must meet are available from the manufacturer, or information and copies may be obtained by writing to: Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062.

For steel strapping contact the American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428, and ask for the ASTM D3953-97 specs. If steel strapping is not marked by the manufacturer with a WLL, it will be considered to have a WLL equal to one-fourth of the breaking strength listed in ASTM D3953-97. One inch or wider steel strapping must have at least two pairs of crimps in each seal and, when an end-over-end joint is formed, must be sealed with at least two seals.

For chains, information may be obtained from the National Association of Chain Manufacturers, P.O. Box 22681, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania 18002. Welded steel chain, which is not marked shall be considered to have a WLL equal to that for grade 30 proof coil chain.

Information on Synthetic Webbing is available from the Web Sling and Tiedown Association, Inc., 5024-R Campbell Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland 21236.

Wire rope, which is not marked by the manufacturer with a WLL shall be considered to have a WLL equal to one-fourth of the minimum strength listed in the manual. Wire Rope information can be obtained from the Wire Rope Technical Committee, P.O. Box 849, Stevensville, Maryland 21666.

Manilla, polypropylene fiber, polyester fiber or, nylon rope information is available from the Cordage Institute, 350 Lincoln Street, 115, Hingham, Massachusetts 02043. Synthetic cordage, which is not marked or labeled to enable identification of its composition or WLL shall be considered to have a WLL equal to that for polypropylene fiber rope.

How many tiedowns should you use? The Feds have determined that the majority of cargo-securement related accidents involve either an inadequate number of tiedowns or the improper placement of tiedowns. The minimum number of tiedowns required to secure an article or group of articles against movement depends on the length and weight of the article(s). When cargo is not blocked or positioned to prevent forward direction movement by a header board, bulkhead, or other blocking devices, (including other cargo), it must be secured by tiedowns as follows:
One tiedown for articles five feet or less in length, and 1,100 pounds or less in weight;

Two tiedowns for articles five feet or less in length and more than 1,100 pounds; or longer than five feet, but less than or equal to ten feet in length regardless of the weight.

Two tiedowns are also required if the article is longer than ten feet. Plus, there must be one additional tiedown for every ten feet of article length, or fraction thereof, beyond the first ten feet of length.

Exceptions to the above guideline: The above tiedown requirements do not apply to vehicles transporting one or more articles of cargo such as, but not limited to, machinery or fabricated structural items such as steel or concrete beams, cranes, booms, girders, and trusses, which because of their design, size, shape, or weight, must be fastened by special methods.

If you have additional questions regarding the performance criteria for cargo securement devices and systems, refer to FMCSR §393.102, under the rules and regulations tab on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/. The WLL tables can be found in §393.108 at the same web address. Specific securement requirements by commodity type are located in §393.116 – 136.

Next month we should have details regarding Minnesota’s new guidelines for commercial drivers license disqualifications. Until then, take it one load at a time!

Sandra Brakstad
http://www.midwestcompliance.com/
800-656-1396