What You Need to Know If You Are Expanding Into Heavy Haulage

You may be ready to expand your business, and this expansion may include the need for significant transportation across the country. You could be entering the world of heavy haulage. What should you bear in mind as you're considering all your options and preparing for your future growth?

Planning

Heavy haulage is in use across a range of different industries. In particular, it is used to move construction equipment, heavy infrastructure parts for commercial projects, pressurised content or dangerous goods. No matter what type of material or equipment you're transporting, you have to start off with proper planning.

One of the first things to consider is the route you will be taking and the time of day for your shipment. You may need to get special permission from the local authorities, due to the size or nature of your load and this will typically take a long time to set up, with a number of different phone calls. Invariably, you have to bring in different authorities from the police to local planners and they will want to see that you have the skill and capability to pull it off, together with the right type of documentation.

Equipment

What type of equipment do you need to haul your specific load? In many cases, the typical road haulage trailer will not do, especially if your materials are going to be particularly heavy or long. Extendable trailers are available, but this will affect the type of towing vehicle that you choose, as well.

Staffing

You might have to bring in new people to your team, as well. While you may have drivers on staff now, do they have the right training and skill to be able to pilot an oversize load? Ongoing training is important, to ensure that your people are always on the ball.

Protection

You will quickly find that this type of operation requires a lot of documentation relating to the cargo that you are moving. With dangerous or pressurised content, you need to be able to log the exact dimensions and be very clear about the type of chemical and its potential risk to others.

Safety and Security

If you want your load to arrive at your destination safely and securely, somebody has to be responsible for making sure it is properly enclosed before departure. Again, this can be a specialised area as you have to find the right type of restraints for the goods in question and have somebody who knows what they are doing to put it all together.

Expert Advice

It's one thing to be aware of all your responsibilities and the process that needs to be followed, but it's another thing to put it all in place. I's a good idea to get in touch with heavy haulage companies with experience of moving your product to make sure that it goes well and without a hitch.


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