Rigging Safety Training (Slings, Chains and Hand Signals)
Summary
Rigging a load improperly can cause things to go very wrong, damaging the load and other property, and injuring people who are working in the area. So riggers play an important role in preventing incidents and injuries when cranes are being used.
- Every day, thousands of employees in the U.S. work with cranes.
- Because of the hazards associated with this type of work, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established “crane safety” regulations that apply to both industrial and construction work.
- These standards cover a number of areas, including:
- Design, construction and safe use of rigging equipment.
- Best practices for lifting, moving and lowering loads.
- Standard hand signals that should be used in crane operations.
.. and more.
- Everyone who works with and around cranes needs to understand these regulations and follow the specified procedures.
- Riggers play a special role in lifting and moving loads safely. They:
- Verify how much the load weighs.
- Choose and attach the appropriate slings (when required).
— Use the hitch that will best balance the load and hold it securely.
- Riggers also:
- Help control the load throughout the lifting and moving process.
- Assist in landing the load safely at its final destination.
- Disconnect it from the crane when the move is done.
- But your safety responsibilities as a rigger begin before you pick up a sling or attach a tagline, with the personal protective equipment (PPE) that you wear. Your PPE should include:
- Safety shoes with steel toes to guard against injuries from dropped loads or equipment.
- A hard hat and safety glasses to protect your head and eyes from falling or hanging objects.
- Heavy leather gloves to shield your hands from abrasions that can be caused by rope, braided wire and sharp objects.
- In many cases, slings are used to connect a load to a crane’s lifting hook.
- They support the load’s weight while holding it securely and helping to balance it.
- Different types of slings are intended to lift and carry loads of various sizes, shapes, weights, materials, and even temperatures, safely.
- Commonly used types of slings include:
- Wire rope slings… widely used for lifting loads on construction sites and other rugged environments.
- Synthetic slings… the lightest and most flexible type of sling, good at gripping a load securely without damaging it.
- Metal mesh slings… with wide, durable surfaces that provide a good grip and balance for a load.
- Chain slings… used for lifting very heavy loads or in high-temperature environments.
- Whatever type of sling you’re using, you should inspect it thoroughly for damage and defects that could reduce its strength or make it hazardous to use.
- Check wire rope slings for broken wires, crushed sections, kinks or bends.
- Inspect synthetic slings for abrasions, loose threads, cuts, tears or knots.
- Make sure chain and metal-mesh slings have not been stretched, gouged, cracked or damaged by excessive heat.
- If you find problems with the sling you’ve selected, don’t use it!
- Take it out of service and replace it.
- You should also take care to avoid damaging slings yourself:
- Never tie a knot in a sling.
- Avoid kinking and twisting them.
- Never drag them over rough surfaces.
- It’s important to make sure that the sling you’re using has the rated capacity to handle the weight of the load you’re lifting. You can find this information:
- Stamped or molded into metal chains.
- Marked on a tag attached to a web or metal mesh sling.
- Listed in the manufacturer’s manual.
- Overloading a sling can cause it to fail and drop its load.
- Sling failure can lead to serious damage, injuries, even fatalities.
- Before you make a lift, make sure that the weight capacity of all the equipment you use, shackles, hooks, even the crane itself, can handle the load you’re working with.
- Remember that the angles of the slings in relation to the loads they are carrying can significantly affect the amount of tension that is placed on them.
- The “sling angle” is the horizontal angle that is formed between the “leg” of the sling and the “top” of the load.
- For any given load weight, the smaller the sling angle the more strain that is placed on the sling.
Rigging Safety Training Resources
