Inspection guidelines for wire rope

Inspection Guidelines

Recently bought a shiny new piece of wire-rope and want to know the best practice and recommendations for inspecting it? You’ll find all of the information that you need listed below in our inspection guidelines.

Why does wire-rope need inspecting?

Wire-rope has been designed to be one of the most reliable and sturdy pieces of lifting equipment on the market. It’s been designed in such a way so as to result in a higher level of strength, efficiency and capability. It features strong wires woven together to form strands, which are then woven around an even stronger inner core in a helix fashion. This creates a piece of equipment where the strength and weight lifting ability is shared across the wires, rather than relying on one piece. However, this doesn’t mean that wire-rope is invincible. All equipment, regardless of its composition and manufacture and regardless of the industry that it is used in, won’t last forever. You need to ensure that you carry out proper inspections of your equipment And, generally, the more often you use your wire rope and the more pressure that it is put under, the lower its service life is going to be. It’s crucial that you inspect it so that you know with full certainty it’s okay for the lifting operation at hand, and to check for any problems. If you do notice any problems, please stop using the equipment immediately, and get in contact with one of our team straight away on 01384 78004. To explain more about the problems to look out for, please read on below.

How should you inspect your equipment?

Any recommendations for the inspection guidelines come from the government’s Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER). Under these guidelines, we recommend that you inspect your equipment at least every six months. However, it is best practice to inspect all lifting equipment before you conduct each lifting operation, so that you know for certain there are no problems involved. The lifting equipment is designed to have a long and reliable service life, but you still must be prepared for any eventuality. It’s important to carry out thorough inspections, as it could have both internal and external problems with the wiring. It will obviously take a little more time to inspect its internal workings. Be sure to check it thoroughly from top to bottom, and look for any signs of damage, abrasion, corrosion, rust, snapping, or anything else that could be a danger to your lifting operation.

Getting the right certifications

While you can carry out pre-use checks of lifting equipment yourself (as long as it’s a competent person doing so), you’ll need to have your equipment inspected by the experts at least every six months. This is so that you can be provided with certifications stating that the equipment is safe to use. For more help on getting inspections from the experts, please get in contact with us here.    

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