Pipe loads more than 10 feet high, how to safely unload?

Call United/RSC and rent a rough terrain scissor lift and get adequate training for your staff that will operate the lift. Make sure they wear a fall protection harness.

Nice to see someone that actually cares and is concerned about their potential liability.

 

If it is really unsafe, refuse to go up on the load. I would not climb the load if there was a chance that it could break loose.

 

A rough terrain boom lift would be better. The scissor lift only goes up but the boom lift can go over the load and operator might not even have to step on the load to release it.

I remember growing up I had a friend who was a local fire fighter and his job was to ventilate the roof of burning buildings. Several times he watched the roof under him collapse as he was cutting. Fortunately he was wearing a full harness and was tethered to the snorkel. He said it was a weard feeling to be hanging in mid air after the roof collapsed.

 

Sooooooo........how did the chains get there in the first place? What provisions are in place at the loading site? Might shed some light on what is needed on the other end of the haul........most big pipe that I have hauled sits on scalloped harwood dunnage or dunnage with fitted chock blocks. You said the pipe is 40'; which leaves plenty of room for a ladder up on a 48' trailer. IF you are using proper dunnage so the pipe can't roll.....get your knappy ### up there and unbuckle the darned things. IF not; then you may need to re-think the whole operation!

 

simplest solution is to stop placing the chain bucks or rachet binders on top of the load. simply put the chain binders on the side of the load, and if necessary use one on each side.

as someone said they get on top when loading, get the stupidness to stop there and your problem will be solved.

how about just tell the shipper you wont unload anymore pipe with chain binders on top of the load, stop it at the source.

 

Portable scaffolding set up that the driver can back next to and a rope plus safety harness attached to the scaffolding. Driver gets up onto the truck using a ladder or the scaffolding and is now secure from a falling injury. The scaffolding can be moved to different locations as needed and takes only minutes to set up in the new place

 

Your suggestion of sending the requirement of having the binders on the side of the load to the shipper itself sounds like the best one so far. I have always liked them on the top to keep excess chain out of the way but when hauling oversize gas casing frequently have put them on the side, wrapped the chain around them and secured with a bungey cord.

 

How is a chain binder going to work against a round pipe?

Where I'm from climbing around/on a load is part of the job.

But you need a bigger fork truck. I hate having loose pipe up there and the chance of a fork operator bungling and pipe falling down and hitting my trailer or truck. That'll cost ya too.


Overhead crane would be the best. Have a dedicated unloading area and use fork trucks for inter-plant relocation.

 

same as any other load, the binder simply tightens the chain. there had to be boards or some type chocks with this pipe stacked 2 high. with a binder on each side its tightens perfectly.

but i wonder if it is smooth pipe if straps wouldnt also work.

 

I have done this,
A ladder to get up is good but not to work from.
For the same reason load binders on the side are a no no.
If you are on the side and the load breaks loose it lands on top of you.
Better to be on top and fall on top of the load that falls off.

At a lot of sites we deliver to we need safety lines on our trucks.
These are specific to the job and can be made up in different ways.
This is only practical to dedicated trucks doing repetitive deliveries of the same product.
If these are ad-hoc deliveries with different trucking companies then you as the site owners need to supply some sort of sky hook the driver can hook his harness to.
This sky hook could be an extension boom on a small forklift.