02
LOAD & STRAP A MACHINE
NOVA SKILL MODULE M-02
Read: 6 min
Full rules: NU-FLT-310
Loose steel in a panic stop comes through the back of the cab. Four straps, every machine, every time — a rule with an exception in it is a rule that gets skipped.
Do it in this order — every time
- Trailer hooked and chocked before anything drives on. Never load an unhooked trailer — the tongue lifts.
- Ramps down and pinned, on solid ground — not soft shoulder, not mud.
- Nobody beside or behind the ramps. Spotter out front, where the operator can see him, outside the crush path.
- Center it. Heavy end just ahead of the axles — about 60% of the weight in front of the axle centerline.
- Bucket, blade, boom, thumb — all the way down on the deck.
- Machine off, parking brake / travel lock set, key out. Keys never stay in a machine on a trailer.
- FOUR straps or chains. Every machine. Every time. One as close to each corner as you can get.
- Attachments get their own tiedown. They do not count as one of the four.
- Pad every sharp edge. A strap cut halfway through holds like a strap cut all the way through.
- Every loose thing gets tied — rod box, reels, tooling, fuel cans, mats.
READING A TAG: the WLL is stamped on the tag or the link. No tag, no WLL — out of service. Not “probably fine.” The rating of a chain assembly is its weakest part, usually the binder or the hook.
NEVER — THESE FOUR END IT
- Never rope, bungees, or hardware-store ratchet straps on a machine.
- Never put a bad strap back in the box — cut it. The next guy will use it.
- Never a cheater bar on a lever binder.
- Never fewer than four. “It's a light one” is not a reason.
Signed off when he can do all three — watched, not talked about
| Loads and straps a machine unassisted, four points, attachments tied separate. | |
| Finds the WLL tag on a strap and a chain and reads the number out loud. | |
| Picks the bad strap out of three laid on the ground and says why. | |
Trainee name / date
FIELD SUPERVISOR initials / date — only he signs