All pipes must be secured to the lorry or railway wagon using strips during transit to prevent movement and to minimize damage to the coatings and lining. The pipes may be loaded on the vehicle in a bundle, pyramid or straight-sided formation. Pipes of DN 100 - DN 250 are supplied in bundles or as single pipes as per customer choice. Ductile Iron Pipes of DN 300 - DN 1200 are dispatched as single pipes. Bundles are the preferred means for transporting pipes as the pipe-to-pipe contact is minimized and also speeds up pipe handling and transport. The pyramid loading can be built by resting the pipe between pairs of pipes in the preceding layer with the socket in the successive layers reversed. Straight-sided loading shall only be used where vehicles have dedicated supports along the sides of the platform, where special.cradles separating the layers are used to ensure no metal-to-metal contact occurs between two rows of pipes.

Pipes are heavy objects and care should be taken to ensure that the quality of pipes is not impaired during handling. When fork lift trucks are used for unloading pipes, ensure that the fork blades do not damage the pipe or external protection. Lift the bundles one by one using slings which surround the load and not by means of their retaining straps. When cranes are used for off-loading individual pipes, slings or lifting beams, the purpose designed padded hooks should always be used. Under no circumstances should the wire ropes, chains, unpadded metal hooks or lifting hooks to be used directly in contact with the pipe. Smaller sizes up to DN 400 can be fitted with wide fabric slings.

Where a crane is not available and if the mass permits (normally up to DN 250) then individual pipes should be off-loaded by rolling them down a ramp made of timber skids extending from the vehicle side to the ground. Suitable steadying ropes should be used to prevent the pipes from rolling down at excessive speed and striking other pipes or objects on the ground.

Important - Never let the pipe fall on the floor, even if it is over tires or sand.

On arrival at the storage site, the materials should be inspected and if there is any damage done to the internal or external coating and jointing of the pipes, the surface should be repaired, preferably before stacking.

Bundled pipes are provided with base timbers and can be laid directly on good, leveled and hard standing surface. Bundles can be stacked one over the other with the axes of pipe parallel.

Non-bundled pipes should be stacked on a base of raised wooden battens at least 100 mm thick x 225 mm wide. The battens should be positioned approx. 600 mm from each end of the pipe. Large number of layers should not be formed to avoid deformation of bottom layers.