Transport operations and goods handling
This domain covers the commercial side: the paperwork that must match the load, planning mass across the combination, and securing the goods to a measurable standard.
Paperwork
Domestic transport uses a consignment note; international transport uses CMR. The note must match what is loaded: description, number of packages, gross weight, and for dangerous goods the UN number and class. Overloading is checked at weighbridges and control points; fines, prohibition and licence risk follow.
Planning the load
Distribute mass so that no axle or bogie exceeds its limit, keep heavy items low and near the drive axle, and brace the load against movement.
Securing arithmetic
Norwegian rules require securing against 0.8 g forward and 0.5 g rearward and sideways. A 20 t load on a steel deck (friction coefficient about 0.3) gives 0.3 x 20 = 6 t of friction. Forward requirement: 0.8 x 20 = 16 t. The lashings must therefore supply about 10 t of securing force, and a strap with lashing capacity 4,000 daN does not deliver 4 t of effect in a top-over pattern; use the manufacturer's k-factor.
Handling
Use wheel chocks at ramps, keep clear of a tail lift crush zone, and never stand under a raised load. Dangerous goods add placarding and tunnel restrictions.
Worked example
Your load plan gives 32 t gross. On the weighbridge the bogie reads 20.5 t against a 19 t limit. You move two 500 kg pallets forward before leaving the terminal; the correction takes minutes at the ramp and costs a prohibition plus a fine at the first check.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing total weight is the only limit that matters.
- Using straps whose labels are unreadable; an unmarked strap is treated as unrated.