Securing Your Tote Containers During Transport: Three Things to Keep in Mind

ibc container closeup
 

If your business uses tote containers, they likely contain materials that are essential to the operation of your company. These containers are frequently used for the important job of safely holding hazardous materials. They could also be utilized to contain the ingredients for an important new pharmaceutical product or the pigment you use to create a paint color that no other company offers. Food products can be confined in IBCs as well.

Whatever they contain, knowing how to properly secure them during transport is a crucial step in ensuring that their contents reach their destination safely. Here are a few important things to keep in mind for properly securing your totes during transport.

Cargo Securement Rules


You’ve decided to buy tote containers to store and ship your products. Now what? For starters, when you use them to transport goods, there are cargo securement rules that you must obey. Established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Cargo Securement Rules dictate how carriers must use cargo securement devices to prevent shipments from shifting within or on commercial vehicles and from falling off of them.

Generally speaking, all cargo must be secured or firmly immobilized on or in a transport vehicle using structures of sufficient strength, shoring bars, tiedowns, dunnage, dunnage bags or a combination of such items. Articles may be placed either in direct contact with each other or secured so they do not shift toward each other while in transit.

isolated dunnage bag

Cargo securement devices and systems must meet minimum work load requirements. The aggregate load limit for any securement device or system used to prevent an article or a group of products from moving must be at least one-half the weight of the article or articles. You can determine the aggregate working load limit by taking one-half the working load limit of each tiedown that extends from an anchor point on the transport vehicle to a point on the cargo and adding it to the working load limit of any tiedown that extends from an anchor point over, through or around the cargo and attaches to another anchor point on the vehicle.

Tiedowns must be used to keep articles from moving during transport, and there are requirements for the number of tiedowns that must be used. There must be one tiedown for each item that is 5 feet or less in length and weighs 1,100 pounds or less. If an item is more than 5 feet long and weighs more than 1,100 pounds, two tiedowns must be used. Two tiedowns are also required when an item is greater than 5 feet but less than 10 feet in length, regardless of weight. If an item is longer than 10 feet, an additional tiedown must be used for each additional 10 feet or fraction thereof.

Seals and Gaskets


When preparing totes for shipping, make sure that all seals and gaskets are intact and in good condition. When transporting any type of chemical, the seal and gasket materials must be compatible with the solvent. Because corrosive chemicals can degrade gaskets overtime, leaks and product contamination can occur if incompatible materials are used and if they are not replaced as needed.

When replacing the lids on your containers, all openings — including vents and filling holes — must be closed tightly, per 49 CFR. These closures must remain secure when transporting dangerous goods to ensure that both liquids and chemical vapors remain contained.

Filling Tote Containers


When filling tote containers for transport, be careful to avoid overfilling. While you may want to dump in as much product as possible, you need to leave room to allow the contents to disperse. It is also crucial to leave room for liquids to expand. Failure to do so could result in a bulging container or, worse, a rupture.

white ibc containers stacked

Once you have filled your containers, stack them carefully. Use common sense and don’t stack them too high. Generally speaking, filled containers should not be stacked any more than three high to ensure safety.

A Safe Shipment


When shipping tote containers, it is extremely important to properly secure them. These containers can be used to transport a wide variety of goods and materials, but if they are not secured correctly, they can be damaged. Improper securement could also result in leaks. In addition to wasting product, leaks could be devastating if hazardous materials are involved. If you need to ship tote containers, take some time to further familiarize yourself with the regulations to ensure that you are able to do so correctly.

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