For the past couple of days, incidents related to trucks have caught my eyes. All accidents involving trucks had two things in common. It has something to do with either the load carried by the vehicle or Drowsiness at the wheels. Pondering over both the causes, it seems one can be easily addressed but the other cannot.
Or Can It ?
Case Study 01: A lorry driver in China had a lucky escape when seven massive concrete pipes slammed through the back of his cab when he performed an emergency stop. The truck's cargo - weighing several tons - left the driver trapped in horrifically mangled wreckage.
Case Study 02: Steel coil crushes truck cabin in southern Vietnam. An improperly attached steel coil being transported on a tractor-trailer rolled over and crushed the truck's cabin in Dong Nai Province when the vehicle stopped suddenly. Amazingly, no one was hurt in the accident, including the truck driver.
Direct Cause:
· Crushing of the cabin by the loaded material.
Root Cause:
· In-adequate securing of the Loaded Materials.
· Sudden and harsh braking.
· Lack of protective devices like Head Board.
· Damaged Rigging tools and tackles.
Top Contributing Factor Analysis
When a load is incorrectly secured, this can have disastrous consequences, such as, but not limited to:
1. Cargo can break through the front wall of a truck, causing severe or fatal injury to the driver
2. Load can fall from the vehicle, causing severe or fatal injury to other road users
3. Load can fall from the vehicle, causing environmental problems
4. Load shift can result in damage to cargo and cargo of others sharing the vehicle
Corrective and preventive actions:
Proper securing of the load with tested slings and ratchets
Ensure that the load does not shift by providing dunnage bags, anti-slip mats ( friction co-eff > 0.6) and sufficient restraints.
Ensure that the cabin of the truck is protected by head board of sufficient strength.
Choosing the correct anchor points for securing the load & uniformly distribute load on the truck bed .
Provide training in defensive driving techniques to avoid sudden breaking.
Following these thumb rules are expected to lower the incidents to a great effect.
But still I am not satisfied with the simple CAPA, may be I have to go though some more literature and a few more interviews and we will update this as we go !