Cargo & Freight · Driver Training VideoFlatbed Securement — Advanced

Start with the math underneath every tiedown. The aggregate working load limit of all your tiedowns has to equal at least half the weight of the cargo. Half. Not the breaking strength, the working load limit stamped or tagged on the strap, chain, or binder.

Next, how many tiedowns an article actually needs. Five feet or less and eleven hundred pounds or less, one tiedown if the front is blocked so it cannot shift forward, otherwise two. Over five feet, minimum two, no matter how light it is.

Edge protection is not optional on steel, pipe, coils, or anything with a sharp corner. Webbing cuts through in one hard brake if it is riding bare against an edge. Corner protectors go on before the strap goes tight, not after you notice fraying.

Blocking and bracing still matters even when your straps check out.

Inspect every tiedown before it goes on the load. Cuts, fraying, broken wires, weld damage, corrosion, any of that pulls a strap or chain out of service, a damaged tiedown does not get a pass because it is the only one on the truck.

Then recheck the whole load

Stop within the first fifty miles and look at every strap and every point of contact. After that, recheck again at least every hundred fifty miles or every three hours, whichever comes first. Straps relax, loads settle, and the check you skip is the one that would have caught it.

Your company standard: aggregate WLL at fifty percent minimum, correct tiedown count for the length, edge protection on every sharp point, and the fifty mile and hundred fifty mile rechecks logged every time.

A load that is secured on paper and loose on the highway is still a loose load.