Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/91910
EQUIPMENT: LOAD SECUREMENT Cargo securement soon will be part of the Vehicle Maintenance BASIC. Be ready. A BY JACK ROBERTS freshly-minted driver who recently had graduated from a CDL school came by to chat with his instructors and let them know how things were going. He'd just gotten hired by a big fleet, and the instructor asked him how he liked his job so far. "I love it," the driver replied. "I only work about 15 minutes a day, tying down my load. The rest of the time, I just drive." The driver's attitude was instructive. Cargo securement demands repetitive attention to detail, patience and consistency – traits that are rare among all humans, but for truck drivers, extremely critical to safety. Properly securing a load always has been vital for a successful fleet operation – and in today's Com- pliance Safety Accountability environment, even more so. Dan Doran, president of Cincinnati-based Ace Doran Haul- ing and Rigging, says that while his fleet hasn't seen an increase in inspections or violations since CSA was implemented, his shop and drivers did prepare beforehand to limit their exposure. "We educated our contractors as to the importance of inspecting their tools when it comes to chains and straps and blocking components," Doran says. "It used to be that if it was a strong chain with hooks on both ends, it was good enough to go. Now straps are being looked at as the inspector goes by them on the road or as they go through a scale to see if they can find a reason to pull them over and go over the truck more closely. " IN DECEMBER, FMCSA WILL MOVE CARGO/ LOAD SECUREMENT VIOLATIONS INTO CSA'S VEHICLE MAINTENANCE BASIC. Good load securement is critical, and not only because law enforcement is keeping a closer watch. Customers entrust a fleet to transport its products safely and have them arrive in good condition. Add potential litigation resulting from property dam- age or injury into the mix, and the stakes are raised even higher. And since proper load securement takes time, it also affects a fleet's bottom line – even before the load is under way. "Tarping a secured load can take up to two hours for a driver and sometimes more, depending upon the weather, Lockard, operations manager with UltraTarp. Often, drivers don't get paid additional money for tarping secured loads for shippers and receivers, Lockard says. CSA's microscope Under CSA, violations for improperly secured cargo negatively impact both a fleet and a driver. If a citation is issued, it now "Load securement is more important than ever because everyone – fleets and drivers – is focused on their CSA scores." – DEAN NEWELL, VICE PRESIDENT OF SAFETY, MAVERICK TRANSPORTATION COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2012 57 " says Roland