rigging in welding and for ironworkers

Other than my jib furling line, which is pretty heavily loaded when I need it most (when the wind is getting too big), I doubt anu of mine are loafed beyond

Halyards used to haul my fat butt to the top of the mast are maybe loaded 20 to

With a rope? That's 4 or 5x safety margins (for a NEW rope in NEW condition).

I'd never intentionally go beyond that.

There is a nice discussion of the advantages and drawbacks of various rope types and materials in "On Rope: North American Vertical Rope Techniques for Caving ... Rappellers" by Bruce Smith and Allen Padgett.

I use mostly Arborists rope, which is a braided rope with the strength in the braid and a core for shape only, used at less than 10% strength, kept clean and discarded when 50% of the outer strands are broken. Climbing rope, with the strength in the core and the braided jacket for core protection, is designed for low stretch over long lengths and is not well suited for short lifts IMO, but I suggest you read the book and form your own opinion.

Glen

Hi all - I'm appreciating these hints I'm getting - good stuff I didn't know - thanks - Rich Smith

now - thanks - Rich Smith

The only rigging I've ever seen (in the US) in respect to construction sites, welding and iron work was wire rope. Depending on the material/application, sometimes nylon straps are used. The only time rope was ever used was/is for tag lines.

- thanks - Rich Smith

Agreed. I can't remember ever seeing a serious load lifted or secured with anything but wire rope, chain or fabric straps.

Hello Richard,

I share your interest in ropes and knots, and enjoy using them in their proper place. I was greatly impressed when I met a man who had a knot named for him (Munter hitch).

However, IMHO there are few places where ropes are correct for any but the most basic very light material hoisting work. On most of the jobs that I work on, any use of ropes for anything but taglines will get you a free ride to the gate.

ALL rigging used for hoisting should have an identification and certification tag showing mfg, date, and SWL.

Scaffolders do use ropes for hoisting very light materials and we all use ropes for hauling up tool bags and welding cables and air and gas hoses, but none of these activities use mechanical aids or force multiplication (a single part pulley does not multiply force).

I enjoy splicing of both soft and wire rope but again it is a non certified joint and not suitable for hoisting. I prefer a simple wrap of electrical tape for preventing taglines from unravelling and have often cut fancy backsplices and knots off of tagline ends as they are prone to hanging up when passing over scaffolding or other structures when hoisting. IMHO a bowline is much more versatile and faster than an eye splice for attaching or especially removing a tagline(especially if long). I once watched an older IW rigger practicing tieing a bowline behind his back, and the boys from the Maritimes can tie them very quickly and in ways that I can barely follow.

IMHO the best and most versatile sling to use for rigging is an endless loop or grommet sling made of flat nylon webbing or of polyester or Kevlar core with loose tubular protective covering. These slings are light and strong and easy to use for chokers. They can be bent in half and double wrapped for extra capacity and security. They also last much longer than eye slings as wear is more distributed.

As the workforce is getting older and materials are getting larger and heavier we are seeing much more use of mechanical lifting equipment. Small truck mounted cranes are quick and versatile and are commonly used for light steel erection and smaller carry deck cranes used where access is tight. I have recently used a tiny Spider mini crane

I agree that there will always be a place for the traditional indoor rigging skills to move materials in confined spaces, but in this activity all requirements for using only certified rigging must be met.

It is often said that we are at more risk working at home than on the job, and small jobs are almost always significantly more dangerous and have more injury accidents than larger projects. This is usually due to lower knowledge of proper safe work practices as well as lack of proper equipment.

Thanks for the book recommendations, I have read some of the Shapiro book and would like to have a copy to read again but have had trouble finding a copy. I did a Goggle search and came up with a link to a more recently updated copy of FM-5-125.

IMHO nothing beyond a basic visual inspection is needed for soft ropes but they should never be used in situations where there would be consequences from failure. While (most) codes only require a 5x safety factor for SWL, I would submit that 10x is more appropriate.

I would also note that MOST chains are NOT rated or certified or approved for hoisting or lifting use.

Work safely and good luck,

Your question is difficult to answer. It all depends on what you're working with.

I was an Offshore Petroleum Institute certified rigger when I worked in the Gulf of Mexico oilfields.

At times, slings and ropes will work. It's just that when you add welding, you are adding an element to the equation that will cause immediate failure if it gets in the right place. i.e. you could use rope all day to hoist pieces up and down and for positioning, but when one starts welding, the slag becomes the enemy of the rope. A very lot of time would have to be dedicated to constant inspection of the ropes used to cull out the ones that have burned strands and are dangerous. In production atmospheres, there is not a lot of time that can be allotted to non-productive inspection, even though it is critical. So, in comes the steel wire rope slings, which only get inspected casually at the beginning and end of the day, but their damage is obvious with broken strands, birdcaging, smashing, etc. It can be flame cut, but the cut would be noticed by the guilty party, while a blob of slag that causes a burn in a rope may go unnoticed by the person causing it.

Ropes will do incredible things. They will lift great weights. But they do have their weak points. They are actually better than wire rope, or slings for some things, yet are frowned upon.

In a production environment, you would have two downsides. One is the constant monitoring, and the second is indifferent workers. Some people just don't care. As long as it falls on someone else.

Done right by experienced hands, it can work. Trouble is, out of the whole crew, there may only be one or two truly experienced hands, and they have to put up with all the damage and abuse caused by the indifferent ones.

There is no need to go into different ropes and sizes. The principle causes of failure are the issues, not the ropes.

MHO

Steve

visit my blog at

I was a stage rigger for 15 years. Theatre uses a lot of rope, and the rigging traditions in theatre come from the sailors who manned the early opera houses.

Nylon is now the most common line for fly systems and hand lines. Usually a duplex rope with a soft nylon braid sheath and a straight fiber core.

Polypropylene is not used for any serious work because of the rapid friction heat it develops, which can burn your hands and it's tendency to stretch under load. It is used for lashing loads down on trucks where the stretch actually helps.

The bible of stage rigging is a book on mountain climbing called "On Rope".

We also use a lot of steel cable, nicopress sleeves, and shackles.

Books I list: Cranes and Derricks - Howard Shapiro, Jay P. Shapiro, Lawrence K. Shapiro Handbook of Rigging - Joseph A. MacDonald, W. A. Rossnagel, Lindley R. Higgins TM 5-725 Rigging-1968 - Dept of the Army Technical Manual

Got these from amazon.co.uk. Took pot-luck on the Shapiro and MRH books and found them typical North American good practical stuff.

TM5-725 Rigging - the folk with whom I was lodging at the time bet I would get arrested before the end of the year what with going out into the woods and trying the various things in the manual. Joke about "the phone call" "Do you know a Richard Smith?" to which they were going to say briskly "No. No. Never heard of him!".

The "blondin" - which I think is called a "Tyler System suspension" in North American logging see University of Washington University Library digital collection

This I was told to do by someone in England

Richard Smith

What could a person expect from the aluminum crimp sleeves and U bolt clips available in hardware stores?

jsw

A nicopress sleeve, properly applied is as strong as the cable. However many people apply them incorrectly, use the wrong size sleeve, or fail to use thimble for eyes. A crimper is supposed to compress the sleeve into a cylindrical shape. To be rated for load the crimp must be checked with a Go-Nogo gauge before use. Cheap crimpers go out of calibration after a few crimps. The good crimpers are adjustable. Aluminum and copper sleeve are equally strong for static loads, but copper sleeves are better for shock loads, especially when cold. And never use aluminum sleeves on galvanized cable. The zinc will eat the aluminum. Make sure that after the crimp is applied the dead end of the cable is visible beyond the sleeve by at least a 1/2".

Wire rope clips can work fine if properly installed at the right spacing. It takes a minimum of 3 clips spaced apart, and you HAVE to use a thimble in the eye. Always make sure the forged saddle is on the live line. As they say "never saddle a dead horse".

The best clips are Crosby "Fist Grips".

When wire rope clips fail they end up being pulled towards each other, which causes a loop to form on the dead end. This is a clear indicator of an overload.

When a nicopress sleeve fails the individual strands fail at the crimp.

The terrible movie "Beverly Hills Cop III" has 2 beautifully shot close-ups of cable failures. One with a nicopress sleeve and one with wire rope clips. I took a rigging seminar years ago where the instructor used those clips for his class.

"Ernie Leimkuhler" wrote > The terrible movie "Beverly Hills Cop III" has 2 beautifully shot

I would like to research those and see them. I was a crane operator offshore for a few years, and a diver, and saw all manner of failures. However, when I got to operating cranes, all we used were factory socketed slings, and we never had a failure of a socket. We did have other problems from crushing and birdsnesting. When I started out, we used a Poor Boy to create a loop on the end of an eye with three Crosby clamps, and were cautioned that if we worked for someone like this to seek another job. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. And from the practice of twisting a long choker around itself and inserting the big hook into the end of a drill pipe stem to lift several at a time. There's hardly another quick way to do it that it won't slip. But then, we had other long chokers that we reserved for running ONLY casing that never had a twist in them. A lot of rigging is a judgement call. You can do things that you know are questionable, yet safe, and other things you know will fail, so you draw a line. No matter if it is some overeducated engineer who comes up with it. And then, sometimes, you participate intentionally in a failure to prove a point, but you protect your crane from cratering, and anyone being hurt.

Rigging is fascinating. It's almost like gambling. There, that's right. I'd bet on it. Now, let's try it ................ But then, there's times when you know that you're 5x or 10 x or 20x swl, and it's like stealing money. And other times, your pucker factor is waaaay up there. Stand Back! Let's see what she'll do!

Steve

visit my blog at

Hi Private and everyone

This part of your message touches an issue I am trying to see the answer to

The appropriate rigged solution is the lowest risk by far, so by Law you should be using it - but how do you "square" with the Regulations?

The nub of the question comes down to - in what way to you attach the tag to a new length of rope you have cut off the bale?

I've added as a post-script the situations where you would use rope. One case is to about 200kg with a long rope. All others much improve a situation of a manual lift.

Here in the UK - the Law is "The Health and Safety at Work etc Act

Government guidance on implementing HSWA74 and its derived Regulations say right there in black-and-white that any change you do in response to a health and safety issue must * reduce the >>>overall

This is one of many issues discussed in the twice recommended in this thread "On Rope - North American Vertical Rope Techniques for Caving, Search and Rescue, Firefighting, Rope Rescue, Mountaineering, Window Cleaning, River Runners, Rock Climbing, Arborists, Event Riggers, Military Operations, challenge Courses, Nautical Applications and Rapellers". (Having found my copy I can provide the complete title now.)

The book recommends a piece of clear heat shrink on the end of rope, followed by the label and another piece of clear heat shrink over the top.

About 350 pages of great rope info, less than $40, best rope investment you can make.

known its date of manufacture.

Any reason not to just write the information on the rope with a Magic Marker?

We used these to print heatshrink labels for vehicle wiring harnesses:

At home I tried Dymo LetraTag printing under Scotch tape but it fades in a few months.

jsw

Hello Richard,

IMHO,

Be aware and remember that, after an accident or an incident, there will be many sections of regulation and law available to hang you with.

I respectfully submit that 'controlled lowering' using friction braking IS a 'hoisting operation' and ALL regulations and considerations respecting 'hoisting activities' would apply.

I would further submit that the use of handrails or other handy tie off points (such as process piping) that are not SPECIFICALLY engineered, rated and certified for this usage would constitute the use of an 'uncertified device'.

I would also note that many fine equipment and techniques that are considered safe for recreational climbing are not approved or certified as required for use in the workplace. Few climbing harnesses are rated or certified for use as workplace fall protection equipment. I doubt that any jurisdiction will approve (especially after an accident or incident) the use of any of the commonly used belaying and rappelling friction devices and techniques commonly used in recreational climbing. I note that SAR teams use equipment and techniques that are much heavier than recreational and are more like industrial workplace equipment.

High angle industrial work is now more and more commonly performed by specialized high angle crews who usually have a rock climbing background. These crews use techniques that require specialized (and documented) training and use (documented and approved) 'safe work procedures' that would not be appropriate for those workers not specifically trained and experienced. Given your interest, I suspect that there may be VERY lucrative opportunities for you in this specialized area.

Work safely and Good luck,

I have the industrial version and it did a great job 6 years ago when we moved. I use it from time to time marking cables and whatever I need. I bought the plastic version from MSCdirect - that looks armored for truckers and rough service.

Mart> >> ...

True. True. And true again.

However...

What is more important is to not be involved in an accident in the first place...

That transcends anything else which goes on in your head. Departing the site in an ambulance or a hearse does not appeal. You could be dead, or more likely, injured and facing an uncertain future.

I don't know what workplaces you are familiar with. But over here in the UK, despite the pretty paperwork, I've worked in one place where someone didn't turn up the second day and was reputed to have said "I'm not returning to that death-trap!". In another place a Rumanian was visibly in a dazed state of shock sitting there at his first tea-break - he'd never seen conditions so primitive in Spain or even in his native Rumania.

The pain of situations I have confronted must be obvious from the page I mentioned

I don't know if "context" changes how you view things.

Definitely - is 100% a "lifting operation"

And to you too - thanks very much for the effort you and all others have put in with my question.

Best wishes

Richard Smith