📚 Guide by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety — The Cargo Securement is an online workplace safety course delivered by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety, Calgary’s Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider. Self-paced, mobile-friendly, same-day certificate upon exam completion. Available across Canada.
🔗 Related Safety Mom courses & guides: H2S Alive Calgary · TDG Guide · Oil Sands Safety Certs · Instructor: Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC
COURSE OVERVIEW
The National Safety Code – Standard 10 (also know as the North American Cargo Securement Standard) was created to prevent incidents caused by improper cargo securement. Therefore, this course is designed to ensure that you know how to firmly and adequately secure your cargo in a way that won’t make your vehicle unstable or result in a lost load. This course will instruct you on everything you need to know in order to follow the North American Cargo Securement Standard.
COURSE TOPICS
This Cargo Securement Basics course covers the following topics:
- The development and maintenance of the North American Cargo Securement Standard
- Different types of securement devices
- General performance criteria
- Cargo inspections
- Cargo securement requirements
- Exemptions to the standard, including optional modules for:
- Logs
- Dressed lumber
- Metal coils
- Paper rolls
- Concrete pipes
- Intermodal containers
- Vehicles as cargo
- Roll-on, roll-off, and hook lift containers
- Boulders
ONLINE COURSE DURATION
Approximately 90 minutes
PASS MARK
You must receive a mark of 80% on each chapter and the final exam in order to pass this course. Each chapter can be repeated as many times as needed in efforts to achieve the pass mark. The final exam has 3 attempts.
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
Upon successful completion of this online course, a certificate of completion will be available for download and printing. Please note that, in some jurisdictions, additional practical evaluation on equipment may be required to ensure regulatory compliance.
COURSE PREVIEW
Additional Safety Knowledge
Commercial Driver Requirements in Alberta
Alberta commercial drivers require a Class 1, 2, or 3 licence depending on the vehicle. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act govern hours-of-service, vehicle inspection, and cargo securement. Drivers of vehicles over 4,500 kg gross combined weight rating are subject to National Safety Code (NSC) standards including electronic logging device (ELD) requirements as of January 2023.
Hours of Service Rules
Federal HOS regulations for interprovincial trucking allow a maximum of:
- 13 hours driving in a 14-hour work shift
- 70 hours on-duty in any 7 consecutive days (or 120 hours in 14 days with a 24-hour reset)
- Mandatory 8 consecutive hours off-duty after each shift
- Minimum 10 hours off-duty in a 24-hour period, at least 8 of which must be consecutive
Alberta intraprovincial drivers follow provincial HOS rules with similar structure. Log falsification is a serious violation that can result in licence suspension and carrier CVOR downgrades.
Pre-Trip Inspection Requirements
Under Schedule 1 of the National Safety Code, drivers must perform and record a pre-trip inspection at the start of each shift. Critical inspection items include air brake system (drivers of air-brake vehicles need a Q endorsement), tires, wheels and fasteners, coupling devices, cargo securement, lights, and emergency equipment. Defects are classified as major (out-of-service) or minor (repair required within a set timeframe).
Cargo Securement — Defensive Driving Fundamentals
Safe commercial driving is built on the Smith System 5 keys: aim high in steering (look 15 seconds ahead), get the big picture (scan all mirrors every 5–8 seconds), keep your eyes moving, leave yourself an out (maintain 4–6 second following distance for heavy vehicles), and make sure they see you (signals, headlights, horn where appropriate). Oil & gas drivers add H2S awareness, rough-terrain skills, and load-specific hazard knowledge to the base defensive framework.
Content reviewed by Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC — lead safety instructor at Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety Calgary, an Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider.
