Signs of the Times - September 2017 - 59

OME years ago, I was working in a
shop that housed old, but functioning
sheet-metal equipment, including an
8-ft. wide, hydraulic-driven sheetmetal shear, aka a guillotine. The
rhino-sized shear was equipped with a
Plexiglas® safety shield that protected
the operator's fingers from the cutting blade. Trouble was,
the Plexi was old, yellowed and spider-webbed, which
made it difficult to see scored cut lines on the sheet metal.
The machine operator often beefed that he couldn't see
the cut lines and one day, saying he was sick of the damn
plastic shield, he grabbed a Phillips-head screwdriver
and removed it. "Damned nuisance anyway," he said and
promptly sliced off a finger.
Because geniuses abound, there is more - there is always
more. Like, yesterday, on Interstate 75, a silver Nissan
Frontier pickup truck passed me. It was carrying a Sears
professional power washer in the bed. What brought my
attention to the pickup wasn't the bright red power washer,
but the large black-and-white vinyl sign on the pickup
tailgate. In 5-in.-high Helvetica letters, the sign said
"DUMP O.S.H.A."
It was then I noticed the power washer wasn't tied down.

sign directly to the truck or trailer bed, which limits excess
vibration and flexing, but such methods should also include
tie-down straps.
Shock cord (bungee-cord-type material) is sold in rope-like
lengths and the maximum ½ in.-diameter shock cord is
advertised with a tensile strength of 450 lbs., which is good
- for securing your tent in a Colorado chinook. But bungee
cords aren't tie downs, not for signs anyway. Besides, you'll
look silly in court, defending your shop's use of bungee cords.
Also, I believe tie downs should be slightly stronger than
required for the maximum effort job, just as an additional
safety factor. Truck tie-down assemblies (strap and hardware) can rate up to 15,000 lbs., but be sure the attached
hardware matches the strap or rigging tensile strength.
Of course, citizen pickup truck drivers aren't required to
comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) cargo securement policies, but is your shop
required to comply? And, even if not required, what is
your shop and personal liability insurance coverage in an
accident where the cargo itself causes the damage? Your
vehicle insurance may not - probably does not - cover
cargo, i.e., the sign you're transporting and, even if it does,
does your policy have liability coverage for cargo-caused
damage?

Is a "tie down" considered sign installation gear? You bet.
Because, in a broad view, the principal sign installation
tool is the truck that carries the sign to the site, or the
crane truck that lifts the sign into place. Often one
truck does both jobs. However, the least possible sphere of
human attention is the tie down, the rigging that provides
on-the-road cargo security inside the vehicle, its bed or its
trailer. Thus, after trucks, tie downs are a critical installation
component because they keep everything safely attached
to the vehicle. I say inside and outside because a seat-side
Walmart cooler filled with ice and Gatorade can easily
weigh 25 lbs. and, during an accident, such hard-sided
plastic globules easily transmogrify into a winged mass
that can inflict considerable damage and intense pain.
Obviously, vehicle load items - cargo, or here, signs
en route to installation - can be damaged in an accident
and that's a real liability, but cargo can also tear loose and
become a launched cannonball - like the 75-lb., untethered
power washer cited above. Imagine a crane truck welder
becoming airborne during a high-speed crash. Now, imagine
it hurtling across two lanes and into someone's windshield.
Tie downs comprise ratchet straps, winch straps and
belt straps in various widths and featuring metal hardware
attachments. Other securing methods include bolting the

Local hardware store rigging straps are acceptable for
lighter loads, but to buy large-load, heavy-duty straps
(or chains), contact such businesses as US Cargo
Control in Urbana, IA (uscargocontrol.com).

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.COM

http://www.uscargocontrol.com http://www.SIGNSOFTHETIMES.COM

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