Transporting heavy loads and equipment is essential to any construction project. However, it can be a dangerous task without the proper safety protocols. To help with this, we’ve curated the 10 best load securement training courses to keep your fleet and equipment safe on the road.
This course by SC Training (formerly EdApp) is the perfect introduction to heavy equipment load securement training. It’ll teach your team the importance of proper load securement and the best ways to achieve it. The course has been made with industry experts so its content is useful and practical for daily transport operations.
The course is made up of three short yet comprehensive lessons: load securing operations, obligations when securing load, and load securing methods. Your workers will easily understand the fundamentals and importance of securing heavy loads on a vehicle. Additionally, there’s a gamified final assessment that tests your team’s understanding of the topic.
You can instantly send this training with SC Training’s Mobile Learning platform. When your team needs a refresher or a new truck is being used, you can deliver this course to their phones in a single click. If you’re going to conduct in-person training, you can use the Group Training feature. It automatically tracks your team’s attendance and course progress alongside your team’s digital training – great for just-in-time training before a shipment begins.
Created by: SC Training
Length: 5-10 minutes per lesson (self-paced)
Certificate: Available
Cost: Free (up to 10 users)
This course by Ground Force Training teaches your team the fundamentals and importance of load securement. These include how to implement a securement system, inspecting the load limits for a truck, and the requirements for stable cargo. This course is available as an online lesson, scheduled webinar, or on-site training session.
Created by: Ground Force Training
Length: Not available
Certificate: Available
Cost: 225 USD
This load securement training course is offered by OSHA Outreach Courses. It was designed to adhere to the North American Cargo Securement Standard. Your workers will learn the standard procedure and emergency protocol when they’re handling heavy equipment for transport. This course is done online and has a certificate.
Created by: OSHA Outreach Courses
Length: Not available
Certificate: Available
Cost: 29.95 USD
Safe Training Online has a load securement course to give your team the skills they need to safely transport heavy equipment. It talks about the regulations, standards, and best practices in the North American Cargo Securement Standard. Along with a final exam, your team can print additional learning resources to create a study guide.
Created by: Safe Training Online
Length: 30 minutes
Certificate: Available
Cost: 60 USD
This load securement training course is offered by Hard Hat Training. It was created to follow the safety standards of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Your team will learn everything they need to know to secure a heavy load on their trucks. Your workers must pass a final exam but there are practice questions across the course.
Created by: Hard Hat Training
Length: 1.5 to 2 hours
Certificate: Available
Cost: 79 USD
This course by BIS Safety Software is a good introduction to learning load securement. Your team will learn the best ways to secure the load to their trucks through efficiently loading and unloading the equipment, using tie-downs, and conducting pre-driving inspections. To receive this course’s printable certificate, your employees must pass the final exam with a score of 80%.
Created by: BIS Safety Software
Length: 30 minutes
Certificate: Available
Cost: 59.95 USD
J.J. Keller has a load securement course for flatbed trucks. It covers the safe loading and driving practices for using flatbed trucks for cargo transport and follows the regulations of the FMCSA. This course can be accessed anytime and is also available in Spanish.
Created by: J.J. Keller
Length: 40 minutes
Certificate: Available
Cost: 59.95 USD
For drivers that transport cargo from and to Canada, this course by Danatec is a good fit. The course follows the North American Cargo Securement Standard Regulations, which outline the cargo transport guidelines for highways in Canada and the U.S.. Your team can learn how to be compliant of the practices and rules set by this official standard. They must get a score of 80% or higher in this course’s final assessment to receive their certificate.
Created by: Danatec
Length: 1.5 hours
Certificate: Available
Cost: $39.95 CAD
If your team uses a flatbed trailer to transport cargo across Canada, Online Safety Training has a course for them. Your drivers will learn the best practices for conducting safety inspections, following load limits, and preventing faulty tie-downs. This course also requires an 80% passing grade in the final assessment. To help with this, they have additional training materials that can be accessed online.
Created by: Online Safety Training
Length: 1.5 hours
Certificate: Available
Cost: $34.95 CAD
This cargo securement training course by UL Training via Coggno covers all the fundamentals your team needs to transport heavy equipment. Using the North American Cargo Securement Standard, your drivers will learn about the different forces that affect cargo, appropriate securement systems, and how to apply tie-downs to the load. This course can be done on most devices and can bookmark any progress for a flexible learning experience.
Created by: Coggno
Length: 35 minutes
Certificate: Available
Cost: 29.95 USD per member
Materials for a construction project don’t appear out of nowhere. It takes a dedicated operation to safely deliver huge loads of steel, concrete, equipment, and more to the building site.
It can take hours or even days on the road for supplies to be delivered. Without any proper load securement, your cargo can move or fall at any time. With frequent load securement training, your transport team will be safe on the road as they haul massive amounts of construction materials.
Load securement is the process of attaching heavy equipment and materials to vehicles, like trucks or lorries, for transport. Driving on public highways may damage or drop the load, so it’s important that everything in the vehicle is fastened and fixed to the truck. Any loose cargo is a hazard that can severely harm your fleet and other drivers on the road.
According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, about 700 deaths and 17,000 injuries happen every year due to foreign objects on the road. Your company will also face fines and penalties for not complying with the current load securement regulations.
The current regulations for load securement were made into law in 2002 by the FMCSA. Its purpose is to reduce accidents related to load securement and standardize the practices followed in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. They apply to any commercial motor vehicle that
Load securement training teaches your fleet team load-securing strategies like how to safely place, contain, and remove cargo on their trucks. Your team should make sure the load is completely secure before they leave and during the trip. Along with securing the loads from falling, your fleet drivers should also prevent them from spilling or moving in the truck bed.
This is usually done through tie-downs: tools like rope and chains that can fasten loads to trucks. Some teams may also need additional training for another type of truck like a flatbed.
There is no single best method for load securement. The main goal of load securement is to immobilize the load by binding it to the transport vehicle. The specific techniques and tools you need to use depend on the size of your vehicle, the type of cargo, and the available load-securing materials you have. Here’s a short overview of the most common load securement methods:
The FMCSA requires that any cargo that’s inside or tied to a vehicle is secured and immobilized through any of these methods or a combination of them. They require that the total working load of any load securement system must be at least half the weight of their carried load.
For special materials like logs, pipes, vehicles, or bounders, refer to FMCSA for additional load securing requirements.
Load securement training is the cornerstone of a safe transport routine. With a thorough securement system and a pre-drive inspection routine, your fleet can safely transport any sort of heavy equipment or material. After all, a seamless delivery begins with how well your team can prepare their cargo.
Teach your fleet team the best load securement practices and routines with SC Training. Effective training can be simple, flexible, and cost-efficient by sending informative courses to your team’s phones. You can also track in-person training attendance automatically alongside digital training with the Group Training feature. So you can focus on teaching your team, not managing training.
Sign up now to level up your load securement training program.