Road managers
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Loading guides provide tips and tricks to help industry better understand the principles of good load restraint.
The guides have been designed for parties in the CoR to print out and display in their workplace to increase awareness, or to be placed in loading manuals as a quick reference.
More information on the principles covered by these guides can be found in the Load Restraint Guide.
| Title | Topic |
|---|---|
| Blocking | Blocking is where the vehicle body structure or another rated attachment is used to prevent a load from moving forward, reward or sideways. |
| Containment | Containment is a form of direct restraint that uses a structure to stop a load from moving. The structure must be strong enough to resist the forces generated during transport. |
| Covering Loads | A load cover is a protective covering used to secure and protect freight during transport. |
| Direct Restraint | Direct restraint controls movement of the load in the forward, backward and sideways directions by using the vehicles body structure, such as bulkheads and walls, or restraint equipment such as chains, straps or twist locks. |
| Dunnage | Dunnage is the packing placed under and between parts of the load. |
| Engineered Solutions | Engineered solutions may be used when standard load restraint methods are not suitable, practical or sufficient for a particular transport task. |
| Friction | Friction is the force that makes it difficult for one object to slide along the surface of another. |
| Hay | Poorly loaded or inadequately restrained loads can cause hay bales to dislodge or fall, posing a significant safety risk to workers and other road users. |
| Headboards | A headboard is a barrier between the back of the cabin and the cargo area; or fitted to the front of a trailer. |
| Intermediate Bulk Containers | Intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) are industrial grade reusable containers engineered for the mass handling, transport, and storage of liquids, semi-solids, pastes, or solids. |
| Key elements of a load restraint system | There is no one-size-fits-all approach to load restraint. The appropriate restraint system will depend on both the nature of the goods being transported and the type of vehicle being used. |
| Lashing Angle | Lashing angle is the angle between the lashing and the vehicle’s loading deck. |
| Live Loads | Live loads that can move during transport pose additional loading and restraint challenges that must be considered to ensure safety. |
| Load Blocking | Key considerations for effectively restraining a load that is not blocked by a structure, such as a rated headboard, bulkhead or direct restraint lashings. |
| Load Distribution | The position of a load has a significant impact on the safety of a heavy vehicle as it impacts the vehicle’s stability, steering dynamics, braking and weight distribution. |
| Loading Plans | Loading plans describe how loads are packed, where loads should be placed on the vehicle and the minimum requirements to safely restrain the load for transport by road. |
| Load-Rated Side Curtains | Load-rated side curtains are designed to provide sideways restraint when used within their approved load-rating. |
| Performance Standards | Loading performance standards are the forces that the load restraint system must be able to withstand in each direction. |
| Pre-tension | Pre-tension is the force in the lashing provided by a mechanical tensioner. |
| Shipping Containers | A shipping container (known as an intermodal container) is a strong steel box used in Australia and internationally to move freight by road, rail, and sea. |
| Shoring Bars | Shoring bars are high-strength bars that help reduce load movement during transport. They may also be called blocking bars, beams, or pogo sticks. |
| Side Curtains | Side curtains are flexible sheets of material, usually made of durable vinyl, fitted to the sides of a truck or trailer. |
| Side Gates | Side gates are permanent or removable vertical frames used at the sides of a vehicle's loading deck to contain its load. |
| Stretch and Shrink Wrapping | Stretch and shrink wrapping is a stretchable plastic film that is wrapped around small items to unitise and hold loads together. It is generally used for light and small items. |
| Tie-down Restraint | A tie‑down restraint secures a load by tying it down to the vehicle deck. |
| Tie-down Restraint Tables | The tie-down restraint tables in the Load Restraint Guide provide a structured method for determining restraint requirements where the load, vehicle and restraint conditions are known. |
| Toppling Risks | Toppling is something that can occur when a load becomes unstable because it is too tall compared to how wide or long it is. |
| Unitising Loads | Unitising a load means to group or bundle smaller items into a single, larger pack. This creates a more secure, stable and consolidated load that can be easily restrained. |