SAFETY | TECHNOLOGY REPORT
be intuitively controlled by radio, which is also very efficient; the safety control system combined with radio control can ensure gentle handling and precise positioning and set-down of loads – which also increases safety. Note that two of the OSHA-reported fatalities at the start of this article occurred when an operator tried to adjust the set-down position of the load; in
at least one of these cases it would seem he was attempting to do this by hand. Anti-load-sway technology is a similar
digital control technology, designed to improve efficiency and make operating a hoist easier for all but the most skilled of operatives, but which delivers safety gains as well. Similarly, vertical lifting control, otherwise known as off-centre pick
LOWERING IS SAFER
All work at height involves serious risks for both workers and their employers. You can give some protection by using safety harnesses and the like. Or you can avoid the risk altogether by not having people working at height at all. You don’t need to employ robots or remote- control to do it, just a little lateral thinking: instead of raising the operative to the object they are working on, you lower the object to the ground and let them work on it there. work platform such as a scissor lift. A lighting lift is a self-contained winch that instead lowers and raises chandeliers and other types of luminaire or sculptures to give ground-level access for cleaning and maintenance. Rather than incorporating a general-use winch system, lighting lifts
are specially designed to completely hide the winch mechanism, installations are commonly in historic or architecturally-important building such as theatres and cathedrals. As well as safety, other height training – and savings in job and disruption time: large areas of long periods while the task is undertaken. Most light lifts are tailored to the individual chandelier and the building infrastructure. Contact Suspension Units safely lock the chandelier to the ceiling when raised. At this point, the electrical connection is automatically made, and a ‘mechanical lock’ is formed are operated by a remote, hand operated, or motorised winch; a series of pulleys carry the wire cable along designated rope runs. Once a light lift is installed, a single employee is able to easily lower the chandelier in minutes. building at the heart of Leeds City Centre, originally built in 1858 and now used as a concert, dance and dinner venue. It has seven ornate chandeliers, each weighing builders had installed a hand-
prevention, automatically prevents a hoist from lifting a load from the ground at an angle. It will not let lifting start unless the hook is directly over the load, preventing dragging and subsequent swinging as the load leaves the floor. A heavy load swinging wildly at the end of a chain is clearly not something that is advisable, especially at head height on a potentially
cranked lowering system for them; each was operated by three men from precarious wooden walkways in the roof void. “It could take a week to lower them all, another week to clean them, and then yet another week to raise them all back into place,” says Simon Stockton, Not only did it pose a safety threat to the team carrying out the
work, but there was no protection in place for the chandelier itself, meaning they could hit the ground at speed through human error. essential to have an automatic stop system to prevent damage. As an historic building, it was also crucial to keep the installation neat without obscuring the ornate décor. winch system. One man can lower the chandeliers in minutes, using a hand-help remote control. Automatic stop mechanisms on the for the venues to be used,” says Stockton.
44 | October 2022 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
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