What are the various costs associated with ODC?

What are the various costs associated with ODC?

In the last article, we talked in brief about what ODC means. In this article, we want to give an overview of the various costs and difficulties related to transportation of ODC and OWC.

  1. Permission: Every Over dimensional cargo requires a permission from the state authorities before plying on the road. The permission takes 3-4 days to obtain. In the case of Hydraulic Axles, the permissions for GVW of up to 169 MT can be obtained instantly using the website of MORTH . This permission is valid for plying over national highways only. The costs for the permission for transporting via Hydraulic Axles is Rs. 1000 per 50 km up to HT3 and Rs. 2000 per 50 km for all configurations above HT3.
  2. Fine: If a vehicle is caught carrying ODC without permission, a fine is imposed. The fine depends on the state policy. Typically fines are defined for over dimension in each dimension individually ie if the cargo is over dimension in width and height, 2 fines will be imposed. In case of Hydraulic Axles, 
  3. Detours: In case there are Obstructions like overhead bridges, electric lines, railway crossings etc, the transportation may have to be done via a longer route.
  4. En-Route Obstructions: Various Obstructions faced by an over dimensional cargo are
    • Railway Crossings: In the case of electric railway lines, the height of electric lines is about 15 feet in height. This is different for all crossings depending on slack in cable, height of the road etc. If the height of the cargo from the road is greater than the height of the cables, a shutdown is required to be taken. The fee of the same depends on the height of the cargo. If the cargo can be passed by just lifting the cables, then the fee is lower compared to if the cables need to be dismantled. The fee is in the range of 1 lakhs for cargo height of up to 16 feet and about 1.8 if the height is greater.
    • Overhead Bridges: Overhead bridges include flyovers, foot over bridges, railway bridges etc. It is important to study the route to locate the overhead bridges en route. Detour is the only option if the height of a bridge is lower than cargo height.

      Nimbus Logistics transporting a 100 tons 6.3m diameter package. We carry route surveys before transportation and have professional supervisors to ensure safe transportation. Here you can see our supervisor assisting in clearing a Pipeline bridge. MAN Puller + Hydraulic Axles

      Nimbus Logistics transporting a 100 tons 6.3m diameter package. We carry route surveys before transportation and have professional supervisors to ensure safe transportation. Here you can see our supervisor assisting in clearing a Pipeline bridge. (Vehicle: MAN 430 + 10 Rows Hydraulic Axles)

    • Electric Lines: Electric lines are shut after paying electric board the charges for outage depending on the duration of the shutdown. After shutdown, depending on the slack and weight of the cable and height of the cargo, the cables can be lifted or can be dismantled.
    • Information and Advertising Boards: These need to be dismantled for the passage of ODC. Many times rigid structures are constructed at the entrance of cities leaving diversion as an only option.
    • Toll Gates: Many toll gates have the last lanes for passage of ODC. In some cases, the toll gates for the oncoming traffic is located at a distance. In these cases, the vehicle can be passed by taking the wrong way for bypassing the toll. If none of the above solutions are possible, constructing diversion and detours are only possible solutions.
      At 5.9m height, the above photo shows a Super Over Dimension Cargo being transported by Nimbus Logistics (Neelu Roadways is our sister concern). The photo shows clearing a toll gateway structure which required extending the road on the last lane by constructing a temporary extension using sand bags and bricks. The cargo was cleared with a few millimeters to spare. Volvo Puller with Hydraulic axles

      At 5.9m height, the above photo shows a Super Over-Dimension Cargo being transported by Nimbus Logistics (Neelu Roadways is our sister concern). The photo shows clearing a toll gateway structure which required extending the road on the last lane by constructing a temporary extension using sandbags and bricks. The cargo was cleared with a few millimeters to spare. (Vehicle: Volvo 400 + 10 Rows Hydraulic Axles)

       

  5. Construction of bridges, causeways, and roads: Many river bridges are designed to support weights of up to 200 tons. Carrying heavier cargo requires the construction of causeways and bridges. The below photo shows a bridge constructed over a river using sandbags for crossing a 350 tons package. Similarly, roads need to be constructed in areas having poor road conditions.
  6. We at Nimbus Logistics have immense experience handling all the imaginable issues faced while transporting an over-dimension cargo and over-weight cargo. This experience is what enables us to provide a thoroughly calculated rate and avoid any en-route surprises, hence minimising our’s and our client’s risks.

 

Nimbus Logistics is an ODC and Heavy transport specialist with more than 4 decades of experience transporting Super Heavy and Super ODC cargo. We believe in ethical logistics and transparency. These articles are one of our initiatives to bring more transparency to the much chaotic Indian Transportation Industry. Please support us by sharing our articles and like our facebook page to be the first one to read all our future articles. 

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What is “Over Dimensional Cargo” or “ODC”?

What is “Over Dimensional Cargo” or “ODC”?

Before we understand the technical definition to qualify a cargo as ODC, we need to understand that the need for defining ODC is to ensure the safety of the road users. By qualifying a cargo as ODC and imposing regulations over carriage of ODC, government’s aim is to avoid any unsafe practices and accidents. Whether the government has made the correct decisions and imposed correct regulations remains a topic for another day.

  • In simplest terms, ODC or Over Dimensional Cargo is a cargo that protrudes outside the loading deck of the vehicle transporting the cargo. If a truck with loading platform length of 20 feet is loaded with cargo like TMT bars of length 22 feet, then the TMT bars qualifies as Over-Dimension Cargo. If the same TMT bars were loaded on a vehicle with platform length of 22+ feet, it would have been classified as Normal Cargo rather than ODC. This definition of ODC is to resist industry from transporting Normal Cargo unnecessarily as ODC for small economic benefits compromising road user’s safety. As discussed in our other article, “What are the costs associated with ODC?”, the government imposes fine on the carriage of ODC, hence incentivizing the industry to refrain from taking unnecessary risks and using larger vehicles to transport these loads.

Open Truck carrying ODC - Nimbus Logistics

The above cargo qualifies as ODC as it protruding from the rear of the Open Truck. If the same cargo was transported on a trailer having a deck size of 40′ Trailer, it would have qualified as Normal Cargo.

 

  • This definition is valid for length and width but what about the height? A cargo being higher than the body of the vehicle doesn’t make it dangerous. Hence for height we need to define the limits for defining ODC. In CMVR (Section 93, Sub Section 2, Page No 68), Indian government defines the height limit for all mechanical trucks and trailers at 3.8 meters (12.46 feet) from the surface. This means that if you load a cargo of height 8 feet on a vehicle having a platform height of 5 feet, the cargo will qualify as ODC.

 

  • In case of length and width too, the government has provided upper limits which are 12 meters length for Rigid Trucks, 16 meters length for articulated vehicles (also called Trailers) and 2.6 meters width for all vehicles (Refer CMVR Section 93, Page No 68). The length limits are for the overall vehicle, hence the loading deck will be of lesser length. Considering this upper bound, if your cargo is wider than 2.6 meters, it is qualified as ODC even if the loading deck exceeds the cargo width.

 

  • The three cases defined above cover all the aspects of ODC definition.
MAN prime mover attached to a low bed trailer of height 3 feet. Load dimensions of 14m x 4.9m x 4.9m - 26 Tons.

MAN prime mover attached to a low bed trailer of height 3 feet. Load dimensions of 14m x 4.9m x 4.9m – 26 Tons. Neelu Roadways is a sister concern of Nimbus Logistics.

The above is an example of an over dimensional cargo in all three dimensions ie length, width and height. Even if the loading deck was larger to match the length and width of the cargo, the cargo still would have classified as ODC being over the upper bounds defined in CMVR.

 

  • There are two more definitions used in Project logistics related to ODC. These definitions though not defined by government, are regularly used in the industry to classify over dimensional cargo.
    • Critical Over Dimension Cargo: Length less than 40m x Width less than 6m x Height less than 5m – Weight less than 90 tons
      The above photo shows a critical over dimension cargo admeasuring 4.8m height being transported by Nimbus Logistics (Neelu Roadways is our sister concern) in 1989. In 90s, there were a lot of low hanging electric wires which had to be lifted and lack of proper roads meant we had to built many temporary roads to reach the destination.

      The above photo shows a critical over dimension cargo ad-measuring 4.8 meter in height being transported by Nimbus Logistics (Neelu Roadways is our sister concern) in 1989. In 90’s, there were a lot of low hanging electric wires which had to be lifted and lack of proper roads meant we had to built many temporary roads to reach the destination.

       

       

    • Super Over Dimension Cargo: Length less than 40m x Width less than 6m x Height less than 6m – Weight above 90 tons
      The above photo shows a 102 tons package of height 6.3m being transported over 10 row axles and a MAN puller. The above job was transported for one of our prestigious clients “Phils Heavy Engineering”. This photo is one of the testaments of our capability at transporting super over dimension cargo.

      The above photo shows a 102 tons package of height 6.3 meters being transported over 10 rows Hydraulic Axles and a MAN puller by Nimbus Logistics. The above job was transported for one of our prestigious clients “Phils Heavy Engineering”. This photo is one of the testaments of our capability at transporting super over dimension cargo.

       

  • Since the industry has seen many newcomers with little to no experience in the industry, there has been high rise in the accidents occurring en-route. The most common reason is the lack of basic safety precautions, poor knowledge of en-route obstacles and lack of workforce training. Nimbus Logistics has an extensive experience of over 4 decades in the ODC industry. In all these years we have developed an extensive database of en-route obstacles. Our workforce has a minimum experience of 15 years in transporting ODC. These strengths has helped us conquer all the areas of Project logistics, from ODC to Critical ODC to Super ODC with 100% error free record.

 

  • To know more about us, download our Company Intro and Profile. To learn more about Project Logistics, read our next article: What is “Overweight Cargo” aka “OWC”?

 

Nimbus Logistics is an ODC and Heavy transport specialist with more than 4 decades of experience transporting Super Heavy and Super ODC cargo. We believe in ethical logistics and transparency. These articles are one of our initiatives to bring more transparency to the much chaotic Indian Transportation Industry. Please support us by sharing our articles and like our facebook page to be the first one to read all our future articles. 

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