Loading is done, the driver is in the cab and the lid will not close. A few minutes' wait costs far less than a lid that opens on the road and a damaged load.
Three checks
- Top row: a box edge, a label or a piece of stretch film may be caught in the lid path.
- Gasket: follow it by hand; if it has come out of its groove, press it back with a finger and note any fold or damage.
- Latches: try them one by one; if one will not hold, the problem is the lock, not the load.
A lid pressed shut crushes the gasket and strains the hinge. The damage does not show on that run, but on the next one the lid no longer closes fully at all.
If the lid will not close because the load is too tall, one box comes out and moves to the next run or another vehicle; half-closing the lid to carry everything pays for itself in no calculation. If a latch will not hold, the container is swapped, and one closed with a strap or tape does not go on the road. A ready spare container in the loading area settles this in a few minutes.
The person closing the lid has the authority to stop the vehicle, and it waits even if the driver has started the engine; that authority is settled at shift start. Write the reason for the delay with container ID, time and symptom: if it repeats on the same container, the container is questioned, and if it repeats at the same hour, the loading plan is.
