It’s quite unnerving to be passed on the highway by a transport vehicle with its cargo hanging, bouncing or otherwise improperly secured.  Surely no one from your company would carry cargo this way!  You can improve transportation safety by ensuring that vehicle operators in your organization are trained to comply with cargo securement regulations.

Commonly known as the North American Cargo Securement Standard, NSC Standard 10¹ has been adopted throughout Canada.  It specifies measures to be followed to ensure that cargo remains on the vehicle and does not shift to adversely affect the vehicle’s maneuverability.  NSC Standard 10 applies to vehicles with registered gross weight over 4,500 kg that transport cargo on a highway.  In Alberta, the standard has been adopted in the Cargo Securement Regulation².

How is Cargo to be Secured?
There are a number of basic requirements in the Standard to ensure adequate securement of cargo.

·       “Cargo Securement System”:  Cargo is properly fastened through the use of a cargo securement system – the combination of the vehicle structure, securing devices, and stabilizing materials.  Securing devices include tiedowns such as synthetic webbing, chain, rope, grab hooks, binders, clamps and latches.  They must be secured to part of the vehicle structure: the deck, walls, headboard, anchor points or stakes.  Finally, stabilizing materials are to be used to complete the system – for example, friction mats to prevent slipping, or bracing to prevent tipping of cargo.  The bulkhead or vehicle headboard should be used, if possible, to prevent forward movement of the cargo.

·       Performance Criteria: The cargo securement system must be able to withstand the following forces:

• A forward force of 0.8 g (80% of cargo weight)
• A rearward force of 0.5 g (50% of cargo weight)
• Sideways forces of 0.5 g (50% of cargo weight)
• An upward force of 0.2 g (20% of cargo weight.).

·       Minimum Strength of the Cargo Securement System:  Each tiedown (securing device) should be marked by the manufacturer with a “Working Load Limit” (WLL) to indicate the maximum load it can withstand.  Tiedowns that are not marked with a WLL are assigned “default WLLs”, which are listed in the Standard.  By adding together the WLLs of all tiedowns used to secure the cargo, the “Aggregate Working Load Limit” can be calculated.  To comply with the Standard, the Aggregate WLL must be at least 50% of the weight of the article being secured.

·       Minimum Number of Tiedowns: The Standard also specifies the minimum number of tiedowns to be used.  This number varies according to the length and weight of the cargo, and whether or not the bulkhead is used to immobilize cargo.

·       Specific Securement Requirements by Cargo Type:  The basic securement principles in the Standard can be used for most types of cargo.  There are, however, specific rules for:

• logs
• dressed lumber
• metal coils
• paper rolls
• concrete pipe
• intermodal containers
• vehicles as cargo
• roll-on / roll-off and hook lift containers, and
• boulders.

Inspections Required
In addition to setting rules for securing cargo, NSC Standard 10 also requires that the driver inspect the vehicle and cargo securement systems.  Inspections must be carried out before driving the vehicle and within the first 80 kilometres of the trip.  The driver must re-inspect on a regular basis and adjust the cargo or cargo securement systems as necessary: every 3 hours or 240 kilometres (whichever is less) and when the duty status of the driver changes.

Both the public and your workforce will be protected when these cargo securement practices are followed. 

Useful References:

1. National Safety Code (NSC) Standard 10: Cargo Securement, Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), Ottawa, Ontario, 2004.
2. Alberta Regulation 1/2005, Traffic Safety Act, Cargo Securement Regulation.
3. Driver’s Handbook: North American Cargo Securement Standard, Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA), www.amta.ca

This article is provided as introductory information only.  Cited references, and other literature, should be consulted for complete details.    Copyright 2007 Escalade Services Group Inc.