Guides
Which pieces of a Load Plan need lashing or blocking for the transport legs it travels, how to choose the legs, and what the check does not cover.
A load can fit and balance and still shift on the road. Braking pushes cargo forward, and a ship in open sea rolls it sideways. Friction holds only part of that force. Cargo Marshal checks the finished arrangement against the transport legs you choose and lists the pieces that need lashing or blocking.
Advisory, not a legal determination
The securing check is an advisory. It never moves cargo or blocks a save. It is not a compliance determination under EN 12195-1 or any other rule, and it does not size the lashing. Check every load the way your securing rules require.
Each advisory names a Unit, a direction, and the pieces, with their piece numbers, for example "Pallet 3, 7, 12; Crate 1". Past six pieces of one Cargo Line it shows a count instead. Show in the viewer highlights the pieces. The advisories also appear in the Loading Report.
securing-unblocked). Friction alone does not hold these pieces in that direction, and nothing blocks them there. A piece is blocked when it stands against a wall that blocks, or when blocked pieces it touches cover the centre of its face. The list names only the first piece of each row toward that side. Once you secure it, the pieces behind it lean on it.securing-tipping). These pieces, alone or with what is stacked on them, would tip over in that direction, and nothing holds them upright there. The check judges each piece together with everything stacked on it, so a column of pieces that each stand alone can still tip as a whole. A top piece that overhangs its base pulls the stack toward the overhang. When a stack tips, the list names every piece in it. A wall, or blocked cargo that reaches at least half the piece's height, holds a piece upright. A stack is held only when every piece in it is held. This list includes pieces behind the first of a row, because securing one piece against sliding does not stop the pieces behind it tipping.The directions are forward (toward the front wall, as under braking), rearward (toward the door), and sideways.
Open the Load Plan, select Select equipment, and find Load securing check. Select Road and Rail if the cargo travels them. Choose at most one sea area for the sea leg. The table shows what each leg checks:
| Leg | Forward | Rearward | Sideways |
|---|---|---|---|
| Road | 0.8 g | 0.5 g | 0.5 g |
| Rail | 1.0 g | 1.0 g | 0.5 g |
| Sea area A | 0.3 g | 0.3 g | 0.5 g |
| Sea area B | 0.3 g | 0.3 g | 0.7 g |
| Sea area C | 0.4 g | 0.4 g | 0.8 g |
The table shows the sliding accelerations from EN 12195-1. A piece is listed when any of its legs flags it. Friction alone holds a piece when its friction factor μ is at least the sliding acceleration, so the friction setting below decides which pieces are listed for sliding.
Sea has one choice because the accelerations only grow from area A to B to C, so a plan that lists several areas is checked the same as its most severe one. A plan stored with more than one sea area shows that most severe area. Choosing an area replaces them.
EN 12195-1 and the CTU Code map waters to these areas. Use A or B only when your route stays inside them. Choose C when the route is unknown. You are responsible for the choice, and the check does not verify it.
Clear Road and Rail and choose No sea leg, or select No securing check, to turn the check off.
A new Load Plan copies the legs of the Project's most recently changed plan. Without one, the Project's Mode decides:
| Mode | Legs |
|---|---|
| Road | Road |
| Sea | Road and Sea area C |
| No Mode | No securing check |
Sea includes Road because a container rides a truck at both ends. Sea area C is the unrestricted area, the safe choice while the route is unknown. A plan without legs in a Project with a Mode offers that default in one click, for example Use the Sea default (Road, Sea area C).
Friction depends on what the cargo stands on. Without a setting, the check takes μ 0.30, a careful value for dry, clean surfaces. You can set it in two places:
The surfaces and their friction factors come from EN 12195-1:2010 Annex B Table B.1:
| Friction surface | What it stands on | μ |
|---|---|---|
| Wood on wood | Sawn wood or a wooden pallet on plywood or wood | 0.45 |
| Planed wood on wood | Planed wood on plywood or wood | 0.30 |
| Wood on steel | Sawn wood on steel sheet | 0.30 |
| Plastic pallet on wood | Plastic pallet on plywood | 0.20 |
| Plastic pallet on metal | Plastic pallet on grooved aluminium or steel sheet | 0.15 |
| Steel on wood | Steel crate on plywood | 0.45 |
| Steel on steel | Steel crate on steel sheet | 0.20 |
| Rubber anti-slip mat | Any cargo on a rubber anti-slip mat | 0.60 |
The figures hold for clean surfaces, free of oil, ice and grease. A rubber mat counts only when its friction is certified. Several surfaces share a value, so the Load Plan setting names all of them, for example Wood on wood, Steel on wood (μ 0.45).
Each piece uses the friction of its own Cargo Line, also when it stands on another piece rather than on the floor. On road, sideways is 0.5 g, so a piece on a rubber mat (μ 0.60) is no longer listed for sliding sideways, while a piece at μ 0.30 still is. Forward is 0.8 g, more than any surface holds, so road forward lists both.
In the import and in a paste, the Friction surface column takes the English or German label or the id, such as rubber_mat, in any case. An empty cell, or Plan default, means the plan default. The cargo export writes the id.
The check never moves cargo. When you change the legs or the plan's default friction surface of a calculated plan, Cargo Marshal checks the current arrangement again, including Locked and hand-moved pieces, and shows the new advisories. You do not need to Calculate again, and the plan does not become Out of date.
A Cargo Line's friction surface is part of the cargo. Changing it marks a calculated plan Out of date, like any other cargo change. Calculate again to see the new advisories.