Surface Ops Track: Site Work, Heavy Equipment and Hauling · Module 3 of 5 · about 20 min
Moving loads legally
The skill this builds. Hiring managers ask: "How would you secure this machine on a trailer, and how do you know it is enough?" They want the math, the checks and the habit of rechecking.
Hauling is where site work runs into road rules. In the U.S., the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets cargo securement rules in 49 CFR 393. Cargo has to be contained, immobilized or secured so it cannot leak, spill, blow off, fall off or shift enough to upset the truck.
Tiedowns are rated by working load limit (WLL). Add up the WLL of every tiedown on a load, and the total has to be at least half the cargo weight. That is the first check. The second is count. An article 5 feet long or less and 1,100 pounds or less needs at least one tiedown. Longer or heavier articles up to 10 feet need two. Past 10 feet, add one more for each extra 10 feet or part of it.
Machinery has its own rules in the same subpart. Heavy equipment of 10,000 pounds or more needs at least four tiedowns, each with its own attachment point, and buckets, blades and booms are lowered and secured so they cannot swing or drop on the road.
A Class A commercial driver's license covers combinations with a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 pounds or more where the towed unit is over 10,000 pounds. That is the usual tractor and lowboy. CDL drivers are also covered by FMCSA drug and alcohol testing rules in 49 CFR Part 382, which include pre-employment and random tests.
Loads settle and straps loosen in the first few miles, so drivers stop early to check them, then keep checking at regular intervals. Know the weight of what you carry and the rating of everything carrying it, from the trailer deck to the shackles.
Sources
- FMCSA: Cargo securement rules
- eCFR 49 CFR 393 Subpart I: Protection against shifting and falling cargo
- FMCSA: Commercial driver's license
- eCFR 49 CFR Part 382: Controlled substances and alcohol use and testing
Module quiz
5 questions, 4 correct to pass. You'll see what you missed and why, and you can retake it.
Secure a load on paper
Supervisors trust people who can show their math. Work this load the way you would before pulling out of the yard.
Situation
- Load: a bundle of steel pipe, 16 feet long, 6,000 pounds, on a flatbed.
- Available: four ratchet straps, each tagged 3,335 pounds WLL. One tag is missing on a fifth strap.
- Second item: a 2,200-pound pallet of fittings, 4 feet long.
- Trip: 45 miles, about 10 of them on gravel.
Your task. Show how many tiedowns each item needs and why, check total WLL against the half-weight rule, say what you would do with the untagged strap, and describe your en-route checks. 120 to 250 words.
0 words. Feedback is practice only and doesn't affect passing.