The Technical Aspects of Heavy Haulage
Heavy haulage companies help you transport oversized loads that standard road trains, B-doubles and prime movers. A lot goes into planning and executing any heavy haulage trip. This extract details the technical aspects of moving an oversized load in Australia.
Once a haulage company receives a haulage request from a customer, it conducts an initial assessment to establish if it has the equipment and technical expertise to move the oversized load from its current location to its destination. For instance, the company examines the load's dimensions and weights to determine whether their trailers can haul the load. Then, the company assesses whether its human resource department can move the load. For example, when moving a house, the company could need builders, plumbers, and electricians to detach the house from its current foundation, disassemble it if necessary, and uninstall and install amenities at the new location. Once the haulage company is confident that it can execute the move, it commences the most challenging aspect of moving oversized loads, preparation.
During preparation, the haulage company;
- Gathers a team of competent professionals to execute haulage. They include truck and pilot vehicle drivers, a recon team, an emergency crew, engineers and mechanics.
- Determines the vehicles to use when transporting the oversized load. These vehicles are serviced in readiness for transport.
- Inspects the proposed route for risks such as sharp inclines or narrow roads. The haulage crew then develops strategies to counter these risks.
- Assesses government regulations to establish the required permits and the conduct of drivers when moving the oversized load. For example, some oversized loads must be transported at night. On the other hand, drivers must observe specified speed limits.
- Prepares a haulage plan detailing the contacts and responsibilities of every member of the haulage crew, the proposed route, the stops the haulage convoy will make, and when it will arrive at the destination.
Adequate preparation helps ease the execution phase of the haulage process. All the haulage team has to do is observe safety and follow the haulage plan to the letter. Typically, the haulage truck is escorted by several pilot vehicles from the pick-up location to the destination. However, the haulage company deploys the reconnaissance team to identify any sudden changes that could affect the initial plan. For instance, an accident along the way or ongoing road construction work could cause a traffic snarl-up if the oversized truck is present. In this case, the convoy could stop and await traffic to clear up or decide to use an alternative route. The haulage crew also keeps the customer up to date as they move the load. This way, the client makes adequate preparations as they await their load.
Contact a service provider to learn more about heavy haulage.
Share