Load securement training built on NSC Standard 10

Why load securement is not optional

A driver can inspect a truck perfectly, drive it smoothly, and still put people at risk if the cargo behind them is not secured properly. A load that shifts under braking or comes loose on the highway is a moving hazard for everyone around it, and it is one of the easiest problems to prevent — if you were actually taught how.

Cargo securement rules for commercial vehicles in Canada are set out in the North American Cargo Securement Standard, published as National Safety Code (NSC) Standard 10, and BC’s cargo securement guidance points to it. It covers how cargo has to be secured, how much holding force a load needs, and how many tiedowns an article needs. It is not a suggestion — securement is something enforcement officers can check at the roadside. Read the official standard and BC page for the current requirements; what follows on this page is general information, not legal advice.

Using ratchet and winch straps

Webbing straps are the tiedown most drivers use every day, and most securement failures come from small mistakes in how they are fitted, not from the strap itself.

Ratchet strap, step by step

1. Check the strap first. Read the working load limit tag, and check the webbing and stitching for cuts, fraying, chemical damage or burns. A strap with a missing or unreadable WLL tag doesn't get used — you no longer know what it's rated for.
2. Position it over or around the load and hook each end to an anchor point — a rail, D-ring or stake pocket — that is itself rated for the load. An anchor point is only as good as its own rating, not just the strap's.
3. Feed the loose end through the ratchet mandrel and pull out the slack by hand before you touch the handle.
4. Crank the ratchet until the strap is snug and firm against the load — tight enough to stop movement, not so tight that it crushes or deforms the cargo.
5. Close the ratchet handle fully and make sure it locks. A handle left half-open can bounce open on rough road.
6. Manage the excess webbing. Coil or tie off the loose tail so nothing is dragging, flapping, or able to catch in a wheel or driveline.
7. Recheck tension during the trip. Webbing can settle once the truck is moving, so straps may need re-tightening. Check when and how often against the official standard and your carrier’s procedures.

Winch strap, step by step

1. Hook or thread the strap the same way as a ratchet strap, over the load and onto a rated anchor point.
2. Feed the loose end into the winch drum slot and take up the slack by hand.
3. Use the winch bar to wind the drum until the strap is snug and firm, the same standard as a ratchet strap — not overtightened.
4. Engage the winch's locking dog or pawl so the drum cannot spin back under tension.
5. Stow the winch bar in its bracket before the truck moves. A winch bar left in the winch is a road hazard — it can be thrown off by vibration and become a projectile.

Chains and load binders

Chain is used where webbing wouldn't survive — sharp steel, machinery, heavy equipment, anything that would cut through a strap. Chain needs a load binder to tension it, and the binder is where most of the risk in this system actually sits.

• Match the binder to the chain. A load binder needs a working load limit at least equal to the chain's, and the chain's own grade and diameter set its working load limit — never assume, check the tags.
• Ratchet binders vs. lever binders. A ratchet binder tensions gradually and is easier to control. A lever binder tensions with a hard, sudden motion and stores real energy in the handle — it can snap open with enough force to cause serious injury if it isn't used correctly.
• Secure the handle after tensioning. A lever binder's handle has to be tied, wired or pinned down so vibration cannot release it in transit. A binder that pops open on the highway lets go of the load it was holding.
• Position yourself to release it safely. When you release a binder, stand clear of the handle's swing path, because a binder under load can release with force.

We put students through this physically — tensioning a lever binder, feeling how much force it actually stores, and releasing it the correct way. It is a very different lesson in person than on a page.

Working load limit and the aggregate WLL rule

Every tiedown — strap, chain, cable, binder — has a working load limit (WLL), set by its manufacturer and marked on a tag or stamped into the hardware. It is the most weight that device is rated to hold, and it is lower than the load that would actually break it — that safety margin is the whole point.

The North American Cargo Securement Standard sets a core rule for how much holding strength a load needs: the aggregate working load limit of the securement system has to be at least 50% of the cargo's weight. As an illustration only, two straps each rated at 2,500 kg give an aggregate WLL of 5,000 kg, which meets the 50% rule for cargo weighing up to 10,000 kg — but that is one requirement among several, and the tiedown minimums below still apply.

Keep tiedowns taut. Standard 10 expects tiedowns to be kept tight on the highway, not just snug at the dock, which is why we teach re-checking and re-tensioning during the trip.

Minimum number of tiedowns

Meeting the aggregate WLL rule is not enough on its own — NSC Standard 10 also sets a minimum number of tiedowns, regardless of how strong your straps are. In general:

• The minimum depends on the article's length and, for the shortest articles, its weight and how it is positioned or blocked.
• A longer article generally needs more tiedowns than a short one.
• Articles that are grouped, stacked, or made of several loose pieces have their own rules, and often need blocking as well as tiedowns.

These are general principles, not the exact counts — the break points are in the standard itself, so use the official Standard 10 document for the current numbers. We work through applying them to a load rather than from a chart alone.

Blocking and bracing

Tiedowns hold cargo down. They don't always stop it sliding forward, sideways, or into the piece next to it — that's the job of blocking and bracing.

• Blocking — timbers, chocks or purpose-built blocks fixed to the deck — stops an article sliding in a given direction, particularly forward under braking.
• Bracing — load bars, shoring, or the front bulkhead — carries the forward force of a load so the tiedowns aren't fighting braking forces on their own.
• Dunnage and airbags fill gaps between pieces so nothing has room to shift and build up momentum before it hits something.
• A load positioned tight against the headboard or another braced article gives its tiedowns less to do than one with open space in front of it.

Checking cargo before and during the trip

Securement is not a one-time job done at the loading dock. Tiedowns have to be kept taut on the highway, so good practice is to check the load again once it's actually moving. What follows is general practice — the required check timing is set out in the official standard, so confirm it there.

Before you leave

• Walk the whole load. Confirm every tiedown is tensioned, every binder handle is secured, and every strap tail and winch bar is stowed.
• Confirm doors, tailgates and headboards are properly closed and latched, not just resting shut.

Once you're moving

• Re-check the load during the trip, as the official standard and your carrier’s procedures require. Straps settle and webbing stretches slightly once the truck is actually moving and braking — this is when a tiedown that looked fine at the dock turns out to be loose.
• Re-tighten anything that has loosened. The exact check points are set out in NSC Standard 10 and the BC cargo securement page, so confirm them there.
• Retension anything that has loosened rather than deciding it's probably still fine.

Common mistakes

Read the official rules

This page is a general guide. The rules themselves are in the official documents, and they are the ones that count at a roadside inspection. Check them before you haul, especially for tiedown counts, en-route check timing and cargo with its own rules.

• NSC Standard 10: Cargo Securement (PDF) — the full standard, including the tiedown tables and the commodity-specific rules.
• BC Government: Cargo securement — BC’s own guidance for commercial vehicle drivers and carriers.

Tricon covers this in training

Load securement is covered in our Class 1 MELT program. If you're a licensed driver, a carrier, or a fleet manager who wants to go over straps, chains and binders specifically, call and tell us what you haul, and we'll tell you what we can set up. For a general refresh, see the securement section of our Class 1 Refresher.

We are open 9am to 9pm every day, including weekends and holidays, from our Surrey and Langley yards.

Load securement training — frequently asked questions