Portable Sanitation Association International

Association Insight, May 26, 2021

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ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION MAY 26, 2021 Page 3 Tips on Maintaining Trailers—Part I: Safety Issues…continued from page 1 Tony Watson and Anthony Heath, both currently from United Site Services, bring a combined history of decades working with trailers for a variety of operating companies. Bill Gibson, founder of JAG Mobile Solutions, has years of experience on the manufacturer side. Here are some of the ideas they shared in the session, together with some tips from the PSAI. Because they shared so much in their information-packed session, we will spread our reporting of it over multiple articles with different themes. Focus on Safety In part I of our series, we'll focus on the number one thing our panelists emphasized: safety in the operation of trailers. Anything you can do to make trailer rental a safer experience for your team as well as the customer is a win-win. Nobody ever regrets taking the time and actions that prevent injuries and accidents. Hindsight is always 20/20 as the saying goes. Our experts focused on how to avoid those lookbacks of regret by suggesting actions on the front end to avoid them. Pre-trip Inspections Are Key Before you hook up a trailer and hit the road, there are some things that you need to check to make sure you arrive safely. The PSAI offers a complete pre-trip trailer inspection checklist in its online industry library. That list is very comprehensive, and in part II of this series we'll go deeper into preparing a trailer for service. For now, here are a few items to which you will want to pay special attention from a safety standpoint. • The tires and lug nuts. Our experts have seen all kinds of tires where bulges or belts broke inside the tire. Other times tires have come off the trailer at highway speeds because of loose lug nuts. Accidents due to blown or missing tires can be serious for everyone on the road. • Locks on doors. It may seem like a no-brainer to lock doors for transport, but not everyone remembers. Failing to do so can allow a door to blow open while you are driving down the road, hitting another vehicle or causing them to take evasive action that is dangerous for other cars. Our experts pointed out that locking the exterior doors isn't enough; the interior ones need to be locked as well. The last thing you want is the stall doors to be flopping around while you are going down the road; that can cause expensive damage inside the trailer. • Locking the stairs for transport. Anthony Heath explained, "I witnessed, or I saw a picture come across my email, of a set of stairs that blew out the side of the trailer because they weren't locked for transporting, hitting a car, and causing damage. This is something that would have taken an extra 30 seconds for the driver to verify that the stairs were locked and ready for transport safety." Instead, they had an unfortunate incident that was entirely avoidable. Tony Watson Anthony Heath Bill Gibson Continued on page 12 These stairs are properly set for use (left) and for transport (right).

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