In this video, we'll get you up to speed to ensure your next handicap delivery is executed flawlessly.
As a labor employee at Service Sanitation, it’s important that you become adept at handling oversized units, such as Handicaps and ADA Compliant restrooms. Mastering the proper techniques of moving and transporting these units is crucial to avoid deadly accidents, injuries, or property damage. In this video, we'll get you up to speed to ensure your next handicap delivery is executed flawlessly.
Dollying an Oversized Restroom:
Dollying a larger unit can be one of the most difficult areas of working in the portable sanitation industry. Prior to moving any restroom, it’s important that you visually confirm that you have a clear path of travel.
Once your path of travel is verified, you’ll want to place your dolly on the back side of the unit, opposite of the door. Next, you’ll want to offset the dolly slightly to the right to counterbalance the weight from the toilet on the inside. If you’re attempting to move an ADA unit, you’ll need two people with two dollies on each side for additional support and balance.
With the dolly (or dollies) in position, you’ll need to locate the best place to grab the unit to help hoist on to the dollies. This varies from unit to unit, but for an older handicap unit, it’s easiest to grab on to the air vents at the top of the unit. This will only work if the unit has been pumped completely dry. For newer units, handles have been installed on the back to aid in this process.
If you come across a newer unit without a handle, we’ve found it's best to grab the vent stack. With a firm grip, you’ll need to pull the unit back onto the dolly. Note, this process can be difficult the first few times. It can be helpful to utilize the first step on the dolly frame to raise your center of balance when attempting to hoist. Using three points of contact, place one foot on the cross frame next pull back with all your body weight to hoist the unit up and onto the dolly. Always use caution when attempting this. If you’re still unable to move the unit, contact your dispatcher immediately.
While moving the restroom, you should always push the unit on the hand cart and never pull it. This will prevent the unit from potentially falling on you should you trip . Remember that your line of sight will also be blocked, so make sure you check your path of travel and move slowly.
Loading Oversized Units
Prior to loading the unit onto the vehicle, we’ll need to consider load placement and strapping options. Whenever possible, oversized units should always be loaded onto the rear of the truck and/or trailer and never in the front of the truck. Hanging them off the rear maximizes load capacity and allows the smaller units in front to act as a wind barrier while also interlocking the load in place. The restroom doors of an XL and ADA should also always be positioned with the door facing the side of the vehicle with the door hinges forward as pictured. This prevents the doors from being damaged in transport and from opening and filling up with air pressure, causing them to potentially break loose. Furthermore, you’ll notice oversize units have a small base which extends out from the walls of the unit. Once loaded on the truck, try to slide those over or under the unit in front to create some interlock. This will further prevent the unit from coming loose.
On occasion, you may have a load which would require an oversized unit to occupy more spaces than just the rear. In situations like this, it’s important that we take extra steps to properly strap and secure the unit to the vehicle.
Strapping Oversized Units
Here at Service Sanitation, we’ve always followed a two-strap policy, ensuring units are always safely secured with two straps when transported on a vehicle with the tailgate down. While this has worked for most situations, we’ve recently had issues with this approach when transporting multiple oversized units on a truck and/or trailer.
For example, if more than 3 handicaps are lined up on a trailer, the unit at the front of the vehicle can often work its way loose when traveling at high speeds or on windy days. These excessive forces can cause the front unit to fill up with air and lift up and over the trailer, causing a potentially fatal accident. Knowing this, we’re encouraging all drivers to take extra precaution when transporting more than 3 oversized units on a trailer.
For extra protection, using an extra strap in the middle of a vehicle any time there are more than 2 larger units sitting together is essential. Furthermore, if an oversized unit must sit in the front position of your truck or trailer, it must be strapped individually. This is because these units do not have skids to hold them under the front rail. Taking it one step further, running the straps through the handles of the larger units will also help them to become one with the vehicle.A
Always Play it Safe!
Remember, always ‘play it safe’ when transporting large loads. Always keep an eye on your load and if at any point a strap looks like it may have loosened up, pull over immediately, and resecure. This is usually the first sign that danger is imminent. Mastering these simple safety techniques will ensure your next handicap delivery is a success.