La influencia de la teoría en la integración

2.1. Documents and fundamental provisions governing land military equipment securing

According to Czech Technical Standard [1], a load may be, in general, secured by completely passive connection – locking, blocking or lashing. As a rule, the first method is applied in container transportation. When blocked, the load lies against a solid structure or an attachment (blocking equipment) on a load carrier. It is often combined with lashing equipment. There are two methods of lashing – frictional and direct lashing. The frictional lashing method makes use of frictional force, originating between the load and the deck, in order to secure a load against sliding. The direct lashing method does not make use of the force the lashing assembly is capable of exerting, but the force it is capable of being safely tensioned to. The load is secured elastically up to the elasticity limit of the lashing assemblies. The direct lashing method types include slope lashing in longitudinal or transverse direction, diagonal lashing, direct lashing preventing tipping over (in combination with blocking) and spring lashing (over the edge).

In NATO, land military equipment is secured on railway goods wagons

91 in compliance with rules stipulated

in allied movement publication AMov-P-4 (A) [5], Chapter 4, Annex no. 2, or the provisions of International Union of Railways (UIC) Loading Guidelines [3], or ČD CARGO, a. s. implementing guideline [3].

AMov-P-4 (A) constitutes an integral part of NATO standardization agreement (STANAG) 2468, 2nd edition.

The document is ratified by 28 countries, and applies to the transportation speed of 90 km∙h-1. It has been implemented in the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic in its original version. For the purpose of land military equipment securing in longitudinal and transverse directions, following items are permitted: chocks with steel spikes, wooden chocks, scotches and wood hedges, lashing wires, lashing straps and wheel chocks (according to UIC Loading Guidelines, Section 7.3). The AMov-P-4 (A) publication specifies lashing capacity (LC) limit values for individual categories of transport operations (individual wagons, wagon groups and a military train). The data is processed in the form of a table for wheeled and tracked vehicles divided into weight categories.

Out of the total number of 197 members of the UIC, there are 82 active members on five continents. UIC Loading Guidelines apply to the transport speed of 120 km∙h-1. Section 7.1 deals with wheeled and tracked vehicles and machinery secured by chocks. Section 7.2 deals with wheeled and tracked vehicles and machinery secured by lashing. Section 7.3 deals with wheeled vehicles with tyres secured by wheel chocks.

Requirements of individual documents partly differ. Above all, it is a matter of lashing assembly LC values and the bearing capacity of chocks for securing in longitudinal direction, including utilised chock types. It may be said, that UIC Loading Guidelines are more stringent in terms of required values. Differences

can also be seen in the methods of securing selected equipment (trailers).

Provided that more pieces of the land military equipment are transported on one railway wagon, a different securing method may be applied to each type of the equipment, depending on the wagon design. The selection of a suitable securing assembly depends on transported land military equipment dimensional and weight parameters, (available) railway goods wagon loading area, capability of adhering to safe securing procedures and the category of transport operations. 2.2. Securing military equipment by means of lashing (lashing straps)

In compliance with sAMov-P-4 (A), the lashing means are classified as disposable and reusable lashing means, wire ropes, chains, and polyester fabric straps. The disposable means are not utilised in the CAF. The reusable lashing means are produced in a variety of types, colours, lengths, widths and strengths. The combination of lashing means is applied, where it is impossible to use a hand brake, or a lower gear cannot be engaged, or to tracked vehicles that may, due to their design, slide over chocks in longitudinal direction during haulage. Lashing straps are securing means often utilised by dispatchers on railway wagons. Safety requirements for reusable lashing straps are defined by European Standard – Czech Technical Standard [2]. Each complete lashing strap must have a label providing information including the lashing capacity – LC (daN), length (in meters), standard hand force – SHF (daN), standard tension force

– STF (daN), a warning “Not Designed for

Lifting”, the textile strap material, a producer’s name or logo, a producer traceability code, the number and section of an (applicable) European Standard, the year of production, and the textile strap elongation in % at LC. The label must be legible; otherwise, the strap use is prohibited. The label colour refers to the lashing strap material. Polyester is most

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often used; polyamide and polypropylene are less common materials. Lashing straps may be fitted with a tensioning device and connecting components (hooks, triangles) for the attachment to lashing and attachment points. The standard specifies in detail how to use and maintain the lashing straps made of synthetic fibres. Lashing straps of synthetic fibres are attached to particularly designed points, i.e. lashing points – lashing rings in the railway wagon deck, and attachment points on transported land military equipment. These points must be properly selected in order to prevent impairing the

lashing ring/lashing strap strength or functionality.

In a load is only secured by lashing, the lashing means must act both in the longitudinal and transverse direction. For land military equipment securing, 2 pairs of lashing straps symmetrically attached to the front and rear parts, are utilised. They must have proper length and must run diagonally at the angle of approx. 30°. It is the angle between the vehicle front (rear) part plane which is perpendicular to the railway wagon (its deck) and the lashing strap; refer to figure 1.

Figure 1: Diagram of land military equipment optimum securing on a railway goods wagon Source: AMov-P-4(A)

In compliance with AMovP-4(A) and UIC Loading Guideline 7.2, the lashing lines shall run from the land military equipment front part diagonally in the shape of letter “V”. When attached to the rear part, the straps are diagonally crossed. In the previous edition of AMovP-4, the lashing lines were diagonally crossed on both sides.

For the sake of surface damage prevention (safety seams, synthetic fibre rupturing) the lashing straps must not be twisted. Should a lashing strap run over a sharp edge, e.g. on the railway wagon headboard or at points of strap crossing, it shall be protected by abrasion-resistant mats. Free strap ends must be coiled along the fibres, and tied to the tensioning device. Rolling free strap ends into balls or twisting them around a tensioned strap is unacceptable. Proper closing of ratchet buckles shall

always be checked. During transport, straps must be additionally tensioned.

Provided that certain types of land military equipment are not fitted with attachment points, the equipment is secured using appropriate chocks. It must be noted that there are lashing points on the sole bar or in the deck of some low-sided railway wagons – these are lashing eyes made of rod steel (approx. 12 mm in diameter), designed for tarpaulin and web lashing, not for securing the equipment by lashing straps with carbine snap hooks.