FEATURE | LOAD SECURITY
SESTAY
and, more importantly, are a huge safety risk to anyone standing or working nearby. So much is fairly elementary. Many of the procedures that are needed to keep loads secure are also obvious and elementary. Some, however, are not; and there is no substitute for training, for experience, for the right equipment and for it to be properly deployed. And not all loads come with convenient holes, suitably placed and strongly attached, in which to insert your hook. In fact, very few loads come that way. In the real world, loads are frequently large,
K
eeping the load securely fastened to the rope that is lifting is a rather obvious necessity. Falling loads cause damage
Slings made from synthetic materials
are clearly useful in such tasks. They have in many applications replaced chains and wire ropes, for reasons that are obvious: slings are much lighter, much easier to
CURE
Slings are an essential of safe lifting. They may seem simple, but technologies and performances vary. Julian Champkin reports.
heavy, awkwardly shaped, with a centre of gravity in some unknown position but with delicate surfaces that may have been newly painted for delivery to a customer and should not be scratched or damaged. How for example, would you attach a brand-new rail locomotive and its carriages from a quayside into the ship that is to take it to its destination? (And, by the same token, how would you unload it at the other end?) The answer is: with spreader beams and slings. For the exact way to do it, see the box.
handle, less prone to damaging the load where they contact it, and, given modern technology, they can now be as strong as steel chains or stronger. High Modulus Polyethylene (HMPE), for example, is a generic product, much of it made in China, that offers reliability, flexibility, and efficiency as well as high strength, which makes it a strong and increasing choice for various applications. HMPE in which the fibres are made to strict and uniform tolerances for still greater strength when woven into fabrics or ropes is manufactured in Europe under the trade name Dyneema. It is so strong, in fact, that is it used to make bullet-proof vests. It is rapidly gaining popularity for use in lifting slings. In practical terms, Dyneema can be up to 15
Trans-Web can supply slings in Slings in polyester, HMPE and Para-amide
28 | February 2025 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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