FEATURE | SAFETY
maintenance.’ ‘Maintenance’ is a requirement under PUWER and involves such things as lubrication, checking and replacing worn or damaged parts and time-expired components, topping up fluid levels, and making routine adjustments. It avoids risks associated with wear or deterioration. ‘Thorough examination’ may indicate
areas of poor maintenance but is not intended to replace it. You should not wait for the results of a thorough examination before carrying out maintenance on your lifting equipment. In the US, OSHA has established
comprehensive inspection requirements to ensure that cranes operate safely and efficiently. 29 CFR 1910.179 is the standard that pertains to overhead and gantry cranes used in general industry settings. It includes requirements for crane design, inspection, testing, maintenance, and operation. The standard outlines inspection frequencies and procedures to ensure that cranes are safe for operation. 29 CFR 1910.184 is the standard for slings, which may also be relevant if they are used with your overhead cranes, and 29 CFR 1926.251 applies also to shackles. Training, as we have seen, is paramount
to safety. Communication is also vital, as the case in the box so sadly shows. One more factor needs to be mentioned. It is common sense. Most safety precautions are fairly
obvious. Do not stand underneath a hanging load. Make sure that your crane is in good condition. Do not use a frayed rope or slings. Do not lift a load that exceeds the capacity of your hoist. Make sure your load is securely attached. Make sure that you can see where the load is at all times and that the load path is clear. All of these are common sense. These are all covered in the regulations. The regulations, though, are an addition to common sense. They are not a substitute for it. Every lift is unique, and regulations cannot cover every eventuality. The best way to avoid accidents is to follow the regulations – and to use common sense. Training is essential to safety. This is as true for small, manually-operated rachet lever hoists as for the largest of equipment. Employers have a legal requirement to ensure that their employees are suitably trained for any equipment they may be required to use. In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires all employers to
38 | October 2024 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
CHAIN DROP AT ONSHORE FARM
A team were on site carrying out a service on an on-shore wind turbine. Prior to commencing work at height, a Demarcated Area was established at the base. Technician 1 climbed to the nacelle and lowered the chain hoist to lift the tool bag up.
Technician 2, at the base of the tower, hooked on the bag and started climbing. Technician 1 began hoisting up the tool bag. At about 20m up, the chain hoist stopped. In the nacelle, both technicians inspected the chain hoist and could see nothing wrong.
They tried to select ‘up’ om the hoist but nothing happened. They selected ‘down’. The chain broke in the chain hoist and the tool bag and approximately 30 meters of chain fell to the ground from a height of 20 meters. Nobody was hurt because nobody was in the area: the exclusion zone had done its job. As immediate steps, the chain hoists were straight away taken out of service via the issue of
from the chain hoist – the chain is fed from the chain hoist to the bucket (and vice-versa) via an angled tube. The lubrication on the chain had over the years accumulated and become slightly sticky: the turbines were approximately 14 years old. The chain eventually backed up all the way into the chain hoist and jammed it. When the technician selected “down” the chain was therefore bunched up inside the chain hoist and was not being fed correctly onto the chain hoist mechanism. The chain came sideways onto the pully wheel and a link was cut between the pully wheel and the link guide. The cut chain, and the load, dropped to the ground. Recommended actions were that all chains and tubes were cleaned, inspected and a functional check completed by a competent person before returning the chain hoists to service. Inspection and cleaning of residual grease has been added to the annual service. Demarcated Areas are established PRIOR to any work at height that could give rise to a falling or dropped object.
provide suitable and relevant training to ensure that employees are able to work safely at all times. Many specialist training organisations exist to provide such training and the certification that different jurisdictions and industry bodies may require. As an example, Plant and Safety, headquartered in Staffordshire with a base also in Dumbarton in Scotland, are industry experts in inspection, testing, certification and training. They have over 50 training courses available including, among others, Health and Safety, Working at Height, Lifting Equipment and Lifting Operations. The courses can be provided at the client’s premises if required. Their ‘LOLER Inspection and Thorough
Examination Training Course: Portable Lifting Equipment and Accessories’ has as its objective ‘to teach delegates how to carry out a LOLER Thorough Examination and LOLER Inspection on a range of the most common portable lifting equipment and accessories in accordance with LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998. The lifting equipment and accessories covered within the LOLER Inspection training course includes, but is not limited to; Wire Ropes,
Chain Slings, Webbing Slings, Eyebolts, Shackles, Hooks, Chain Blocks, and Lever Hoists etc. This LOLER inspection training course is designed for both new/novice and experienced personnel.’ SpeedyHire is a Merseyside equipment
hire and sales company that also offers training courses. Their ‘Safe Use of Hoist’ course is designed for anyone who will be lifting loads using a hoist, with the aim of teaching operators to safely sling loads and to use chain hoists. The course lasts one day, with a maximum of six students, with certified accreditation. It is classroom based, with practical exercises and group participation; on completion participants will know their statutory duties under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974; the correct procedure for using hand and electrically operated hoists; safe methods of slinging; the importance of weight and centre of gravity in relation to the safe working load of the lift tackle. Some hoist manufacturers also offer
training courses on their equipment, intended for users or for inspectors or for technicians required to maintain the equipment, or for inspectors. As an
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