FEATURE | SAFETY


At 2:30 in the afternoon of June 29, 2023, an employee, a grinder and plasma cutter, was operating a 10-ton overhead gantry crane to hoist a large rectangular piece of sheet metal, measuring 101-inch by 1/4-inch by 73-inch and weighing 614 lbs (280 kg) to nearby metal sawhorses. Once the employee positioned the vertically suspended sheet metal above the stationary sawhorses, the sheet metal unexpectedly fell from the vertical clamp. The sheet metal momentarily landed vertically on the sawhorses before falling flat in the direction of the employee who was standing on the ground between the two sawhorses. As the sheet metal fell, it struck the employee and slammed him onto the concrete floor with enough force to fracture his upper right femur. The employee died four days later due to peritonitis brought on by a perforated duodenal ulcer due to the fracture.


can reduce those dangers. Regulations and regulatory bodies, such as ASME and OSHA in the United States provide guidance.


The definitive source documents


for hoist safety in the US are ANSI/ ASME standards B30.16 and B30.21, and publications available from the Hoist Manufacturers Institute (HMI). [To obtain copies contact ASME at 800-843-2763 or visit www.asme.org. HMI is at 704-676- 1190 or at www.mhia.org.] In the UK, the equivalent body is the


Health and Safety Executive [HSE] and PUWER [Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998,] and LOLER [Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Industry bodies such as the HMI


(Hoist Manufacturers Institute) also offer guidance in the form of publications, webinars, pre-inspection checklists, and online resources – see for example MHI’S ‘Hoist Safety Guidelines to protect your Operation’. Manufacturers also offer guidance. The instruction manuals that accompany new equipment are of course essential reading for any user; but as Harrington Hoists so


At 3:00 p.m. on May 2, 2023, an employee was moving a steel coil using an overhead crane and a C-hook when the coil struck a large piece of machinery and fell off the hook. The coil struck the employee, killing him.


34 | October 2024 | www.hoistmagazine.com


accurately point out, the operation of a hoist involves more than activating its controls. ‘As stated in the ANSI/ASME B30 standards, the use of a hoist is subject to certain hazards that cannot be mitigated by engineered features, but only by the exercise of: intelligence, care, common sense and experience in anticipating the effects and results of activating the hoist’s controls’ they say. Notably, that warning accompanies the Harrington’s web page that deals with manual lever-operated ratchet hoists – small and relatively simple pieces of kit when compared to overhead gantry cranes of hundred-tonne capacity or more; but even small lifts can be dangerous if mishandled. All of these bodies emphasise one factor: training. Bob Burkey is a senior engineering


advisor at Columbus McKinnon and a participant in a recent HMI webinar exploring safety best practice.


‘Not only does HMI strongly recommend comprehensive operator training in the safe use of a hoist, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) do too’, he said. “Proper training includes a review of the hoist’s manual, HMI’s recommended operating practices, and hands-on use of the hoist. No training is complete until the operator has demonstrated the ability to operate the hoist in the actual application.” Technology has transformed the risks


involved in lifting – and by ‘transformed the risks’ we mean ‘reduced them greatly.’ This is especially true of digital technology, and it has done so in a remarkably short space of time, in the space of barely a decade. Lifts by overhead crane, as we all know, should be performed vertically, to avoid the load initially dragging on the floor and subsequently swaying. (Note that non-vertical positioning was a factor in the third of the fatalities cited above.) It used to be that operators needed their hard- earned skills and judgement to position the trolley and hook directly over the load. Hook position sensors now do this automatically – and can set the load down in exactly the required position as well. Once lifted, a swaying load is


dangerous; moving the load without it swaying was again a considerable accomplishment of the skilled and experienced operator. Anti-sway technology is now bog-standard. When it is installed, the newest recruit can achieve a non-swaying rope and load movement without effort; the technology has taken over the job. Anti-collision technology is also standard. No manufacturing plant


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