Wire Rope Safety

Rated capacity is the load which a new wire rope may handle under given operating conditions and at assumed design factor. A design factor of 5 is chosen most frequently for wire rope. (Operating loads not to exceed 20% of catalog Breaking Strength.) Operating loads may have “to be reduced when life, limb or valuable property are at risk or other than new rope is” used. A design factor of 10 is usually chosen when wire rope is used to carry personnel. (Operating loads not to exceed 10% of catalog Breaking Strength.) Responsibility for choosing a design factor rests with the user.

Clips, sockets, thimbles, sleeves, hooks, links, shackles, sheaves, blocks, etc. must match size, material and strength to provide adequate safety protection. Proper installation is crucial for maximum efficiency and safety.

Do not operate load over people. Do not ride on load. Conduct all lifting operations in such a manner that if equipment were to fail or break, no personnel would be injured. This means KEEP OUT FROM UNDER A RAISED LOAD, DO NOT OPERATE LOADS OVER PEOPLE AND KEEP OUT OF THE LINE OF FORCE OF ANY LOAD.

Avoid impacting, jerking or swinging of load. Working Load Limit will not apply in these circumstances because a shock load is generally s ignificantly greater than the static load.

Two of the most important prerequisites for inspecting wire rope are technical knowledge and experience. Check the general condition of the wire rope. Also, look for localized damage and wear, especially at wire rope attachments. Inspect all parts that come in contact with the wire rope. Poor performance of wire rope can often be traced back to worn or wrong-sized sheaves, drums, rollers, etc. Look for kinks, broken wires, abrasions, lack of lubrication, rust damage, crushing, reduction of diameter, stretch or other obvious damage. If any of these conditions exists or if there is any other apparent damage to the wire rope, retire the wire rope according to the instructions below. When in doubt about the extent of the damage, retire the wire rope in question immediately. Without laboratory analysis, it is impossible to determine the strength of damaged or used wire. Thus, you will not be able to tell whether wire rope with any amount of damage is safe to use. Retire the wire rope that is damaged. For specific inspection procedures, check various OSHA and ANSI publications.

Wire rope that is not destroyed might be used again by someone not aware of the hazard associated with that use. Destroying wire rope is best done by cutting it up into short pieces.