As we all know, there’s plenty happening all over Europe this year: the Euros in Germany, the Olympic Games in Paris and then there’s also the Tour de France. With everyone having so much to do, there’s very little time left to worry about the little things.

Figure 1  [Sebastian Kempka]

Unfortunately, we do not know the specific technical term for these concrete components. They are sometimes used to demarcate central reservations, to block off roads, to guide traffic, etc. Since Paris is currently gripped in preparations for the Olympics and, with just a week to go before the Games start, everyone has more than enough to do, time is a precious commodity.

Traffic guidance systems may have to be installed and roads sealed off quickly anywhere in the city, and sometimes these systems are simply left lying around. So the truck is ordered and off it goes. The team on the other side of the Seine that is responsible for preparing the beach volleyball court and erecting the stands suddenly needs a few of these concrete components to help guide the traffic better.

Nothing could be easier… The truck is available and so too is a driver (super) and it even has an end wall (that’s excellent because we keep on hearing about a few nutters who write a blog on load securing!). There’s also a fork-lift ready to hand, so just load the twelve concrete blocks and off we go. And it has to be done quickly!

Figure 2  [Sebastian Kempka]

No sooner said than done. The truck is loaded and we’re ready to roll… Conscientious as he is, the driver was just in the process of throwing a few belts over the blocks and wondering where he last saw the edge protectors. And then suddenly, the site coordinator, who is currently wrestling with a host of other problems, appears behind him. The work he is responsible for is twelve hours behind schedule and although he has applied for two night shifts, only one has been approved. And to cap it all, the facilities he is constructing will be needed on the very first day of the Paris Games. And precisely at this moment, the driver has to start attaching completely unnecessary lashings to the concrete blocks, which

1. Are so heavy that they will never move, and
2. In any case, only have to be transported to the other side of the river.

Heaven be praised that we don’t understand any French, but the poor driver looked as if he were confronted with a fire-breathing dragon. So he wasted no more time on thoughts about edge protectors or load securing of any type. He knew that the load distribution was catastrophic but he feared for his health if he were to bring the question up at that precise moment. And so he packed his bits and pieces together, disappeared into his cab (finally safe) muttering something about the Olympics and set off to get to the other side of the Seine as quickly as he could.

Figure 3  [Sebastian Kempka]

Securing the load:

• Load distribution: Catastrophic, as the driver had already surmised. The overall center of gravity is far too close to the front, meaning that the drive axle is overloaded, while the load on the steering axle is too low.
• Tie-down lashing: This looks good, but without edge protectors and a defined friction, it is another catastrophe.
• Tight fit: To the end wall, yes, and that is a good idea. But apart from that, not a trace. There are 20 to 30 cm of free space or even more in front of the back four blocks.
• Load securing:
  1. The load must be distributed appropriately,
  2. There must be a defined friction, and
  3. As anyone who knows us will tell you, we like to use direct lashings. Two in each direction for each set of four blocks makes twelve belts and then the journey to the other side of the Seine can start, but not a second earlier.
  

Anyone who thinks that we are trying to be mean to our beloved French neighbors is well wide of the mark! The same scenario could just as well have been found in Hamburg, Erfurt, Munich, New York, Rio, Tokyo, Madrid, Rome, Warsaw, Stockholm, Oslo, London, Athens, Vienna, etc.

Best wishes from your load securing columnists
PS: No, we weren’t on holiday! We were in Paris on business.