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 WIRE ROPE IS A MACHINE. Understand and respect it. Like any machine,
it needs proper care and maintenance for optimal safety
and long service life. For a better understanding of
wire rope we highly recommend the Wire Rope Users Manual
by the Wire Rope Technical Board. Excerpts of that manual
have been reprinted in the wire rope section of this
catalog.
Rated Capacity. 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.
Attachments must have at least the same Working Load
Limit as the wire rope used. Clips, sockets, thimbles, sleeves, hooks,
links, shackles, sheaves, blocks, etc. must match in
size, material and strength to provide adequate safety
protection. Proper installation is crucial for maximum
efficiency and safety.
Keep out from under a raised load. 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 shock loads. Avoid impacting, jerking or swinging of
load. Working Load limit will not apply in these circumstances
because a shock load is generally significantly greater
than the static load.
Inspect wire rope regularly.
Use inspection instructions as guidelines
only. Additional technical information on wire rope
inspection can be obtained from the sources listed on
page 198. 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.
Destroy, rather than discard, wire rope to be retired. 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.
Refer to General Information on Wire Rope for important characteristics and properties of wire rope.
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Important Warnings and Information