A Ticking Time Bomb?
by Jim Park
Here’s something that might keep you awake at night: the marked rating on your cargo straps may be nothing more than a number. How would you feel if the 5,400-lb strap you’d bought came apart at considerably less than that in a pull test? If you’re like most people – including most Ministry and DOT inspectors – you’re inclined to believe what you read on a label. The problem is, the standards pertaining to the labeling of webbed cargo straps are toothless. Strap makers are more or less free to make a tiedown assembly in any fashion they choose, and then affix any label they want to the strap, making it look like a legitimate and proper cargo strap. You – and the inspectors – may never know the difference until the unthinkable happens. By then, of course, it’ll be too late.
This is a delicate issue because in writing about it, we call into question the integrity of strap and cargo tie down device manufacturers. As is the case just about everywhere these days, there are good strap makers, bad strap makers, strap makers who try their best, and probably some who just don’t care. We’re not about passing judgment here. We just want to alert you to a potentially serious problem. You can decide if there’s a need for action.
A story appeared in the Dec/Jan 2005 issue of the Australian trucking trade publication, Trailer/Body Builder Journal that reported the results of testing the magazine had commissioned to determine if various brands of cargo strapping available in that country lived up to the markings on the strap. The tests were done to the applicable and published pull-test standards, and of 13 brands tested – purchased randomly over the counter – five failed, some by a significant margin.
So, the question is, how would North American synthetic webbed strapping perform in similar tests?
We don’t know because we haven’t tested any strapping material ourselves, but according to leading North American cargo strap manufacturers, Kinedyne and Ancra International, North American testing results wouldn’t be any different.
Ralph Abato, director of sales and marketing at Ancra International says he sees product everyday that’s vastly overrated. “The biggest issue is the influx of importers and local sellers of strap assemblies that don’t meet any standards at all,” Abato says. “They either don’t understand the standards or don’t care. They don’t do any testing, and they put out vastly inferior product that’s basically mislabeled.”
Larry Harrison, General Manager of Kinedyne Canada Ltd. has a similar view. “We’re seeing a lot of off-shore product being sold on Canadian shelves, and frankly, some of that material just isn’t up to standard. I think if some of that product was tested by the manufacturers, they’d be embarrassed by their own results.”
Here’s where it gets gray and murky. The Web Sling and Tie Down Association (WSTDA), a non-profit organization made up of producers and distributors of tie down products, has published recommendations for the manufacture, testing, and labeling of tiedown materials. But there is little if any enforcement of the standards.
The WSTDA recommendations for webbed strapping have been adopted by resolution into the NSC and FMCSA rules, so technically, all strap makers are required to test and rate their strap products in accordance with WSTDA methods, but few of them do, Abato and Harrison say. On top of that, when it comes to enforcing the Cargo Securement rules, inspectors tend to take the rating labels and tags at face value. They’re looking for compliance with the total number and working load limit (WLL) of the tie down devices. They don’t stop to question the integrity of the rating.
“The crux of the problem is that there’s no regulatory body for our industry,” says Abato. “We have an association – the Web Sling and Tie Down Association – that sets recommended standards for the manufacture and design of tiedowns. The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) is very explicit in telling truckers how many tiedowns [to use] and how they should be used in securing loads, but nobody monitors or regulates the actual manufacture of the equipment. There are no standards and no organization to monitor tiedowns – strapping, chains, winches, etc. Basically, it’s an honour system that you’re making them the way they’re supposed to be made.”
Kinedyne, like Ancra, does a lot of testing of their product, and of competitor’s product, too. Harrison finds most of it wanting. “We see huge variations in the sewing patterns, even the type of thread used,” Harrison says. “And the quality of the webbing is all over the map, too. We’ve seen elongation [stretching of the strap under load] of as much as 30 percent.”
Our sidebar, “Can You Decide?” illustrates the problem. The ratings on the two straps are similar, yet the construction of the strap and sewing pattern are quite different. Do the different sewing patterns suggest nearly equal strength? Abato said the strap on the right “looks a little light.”
“It might be a 5,000-lb strap, but only a test could determine for sure. There are several sew patterns and thread combinations that can achieve the desired load ratings,” he says. “Equipment, thread, webbing, hardware, sewing technique, even the sewing machine itself and operator all contribute to good or bad sew patterns.”
When asked if his staff had ever reported any discrepancies between what the label indicated and the structural appearance of the strap, Ron Covello, vehicle standards engineer with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Carrier Safety Policy Office, told highwaySTAR that he has never had any such reports from enforcement staff.
Shopping For Strapping
So, if you can’t trust the label, how do you make an informed buying decision? Ask to see test results. The vendor should have a “Certificate of Confirmation” for the strap. Abato and Harrison both stress that’s the only way to be sure of the integrity of the product. Some of the independent manufacturers or resewers product could well be compliant, but test data is the only way you can be certain.
“Liability stops at the water’s edge,” says Harrison. “When you buy off-shore product, it’s very difficult to maintain that chain of responsibility. But if you have a proper label and a certificate, you’ve got something to fall back on.”
As a member of the board of directors at WSTDA, Abato says he has been pushing for a higher-level accountability when it comes to labeling. “Right now, any member can buy a label and affix it to their strap, without doing any independent testing,” he says. “Test data is required by the cargo securement rules to be retained by the manufacturer, but that’s hardly ever the case. Clearly, I’d like to see that changed, but there’s not a great willingness to do anything about it.”
Here’s What to Look For
n Sew patterns are not universal, and there are no recognized standards for sew patterns. Compare a recognized and tested strap with some of the knock-offs and you’ll see the difference. Is one better than the others? Only a pull-to-break test will prove it conclusively.
n Hardware should be new, though is it acceptable to reuse good hardware that is free of corrosion and pitting, and not previously damaged and then repaired. The hardware must also meet the rating listed on the strap. A 4,700-lb WLL chain and grab hook will not qualify for a 5,000-lb WLL rating.
n Lined strapping provides an indication of the strength of the webbing. Look for a thread of contrasting colour woven into the strap. Single Line Webbing represents 5,000 lb/in. break-strength capabilities. Double Line Webbing represents 6,000 lb/in. break-strength capabilities.
n Rating tags are required on all webbed strapping material, or legible markings on the strap indicating its working load limit and the name and/or trademark of the manufacturer. But don’t settle for the face value of the label: ask for test data.
It’s Up To You
Is this a stop-the-presses issue? Probably not. There have been few reported incidents of catastrophic strap failure. And even so, it would be difficult to prove the strapping material was at fault. If the strap failed and caused a release of the cargo, the load on the strap at the moment of the incident would be very difficult to ascertain. Load weight, friction, vehicle speed, and G-force at the moment would all need to be factored into the investigation, and the strap would likely have been destroyed in the process, making it impossible to test, especially if it was the stitching that broke.
MTO’s Covello says typically the police would conduct that type of investigation, and he says he’s unaware of any strap testing done in that context.
“This would possibly be a civil liability issue,” he says, adding, “operators [drivers] are responsible for the security of their loads.”
That puts the onus on you to ensure you’re using (or are provided with) the right equipment for the job. “Just because we don’t have data doesn’t mean we should accept inferior equipment used in such a safety and liability loaded application,” says Abato.
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