Back

Lifting Equipment

Dec. 1 2022 Safety By Pattison Agriculture

Share


Lifting equipment means any work equipment for lifting or lowering loads and includes its attachments used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it. Lifting equipment and its accessories are widely used throughout the workplace and indeed in the home. Lifting equipment is used for a diverse range of tasks and equipment has developed accordingly over the years to perform the simplest of tasks through to extremely complex ones. Examples of Lifting Equipment 

Examples of lifting 

Equipment include; forklift truck, cherry picker (mobile elevated work platform), mobile crane, gantry crane, etc. Lifting accessories include; man-riding cage, web or wire slings, eye bolts or shackles, etc. As lifting equipment is used intermittently it can easily be neglected. However careful checking and maintenance is vital since failure of the equipment could be extremely dangerous. Certain items are subject to statutory controls as set out in the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations. All work equipment (including lifting gear) used anywhere comes under the Provision and Use or Work Equipment Regulations. 


Key Points to Consider Are; 

  • Every item of lifting equipment must be properly made and strong enough for the work intended. If doubt exists – don’t use it. 
  • It is illegal to use homemade or improvised gear, which has not been examined and tested. 
  • All lifting gear must be regularly inspected by a competent person (Engineer) and the results recorded in a properly organized system. 
  • The properly organized system should include any maintenance or repair procedures laid down by the manufacturers. 
  • Pulley blocks or gin wheels must be properly secured to the pole or beam, not just hooked on. The pole or beam must be strong enough for the load and not itself able to move under the load. 
  • Slings, wire ropes and chains should be treated with care and never knotted or hammered. Careful handling (wearing industrial gloves) will prevent kinks developing. 
  • Fibre ropes should only be knotted with recognized knots which do not slip or jam so that undoing is impossible. Remember a knot may reduce the strength by 50 per cent. 
  • Use rags or trimmer slats over sharp edges to prevent chafing of ropes and slings. 
  • All hooks must either have a safety catch or by “moused” to prevent the load coming off. Special “C” hooks and “Liverpool” hooks are designed to not need “mousing