Abstract

According to the Highway Safety Code, suitably sized tarpaulins must be used to hold bulk loads in place in trailers. Tarping in trucks transporting wood chips requires climbing up trailers to heights frequently exceeding 3 metres. Workers must thus maintain their balance at some height from the ground and are at significant risk of falls. Currently available preventive measures are little used as they are considered too inconvenient. The four tarping systems most commonly used by wood-chip haulers, all of which allow tarping to be performed while remaining on the ground, were field-tested and their characteristics, advantages and disadvantages summarised. Two of the systems were recommended, and selection criteria provided.