Caught a loose load line on a job site in Portland last month because I checked the sheave before the morning lift

The night crew had left a kinked cable sitting in the groove and I spotted it during my walk-around, saved a 4-ton beam from dropping 60 feet, has anyone else found damage during a routine inspection that could have turned into a disaster?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarah1981d ago

I had a similar thing with a crane out in Seattle back in 2019... I found a frayed core on a pendant line during my pre shift. The fray was hidden under a thick layer of grease and if I hadn't wiped it clean, that line would've snapped with a 12 ton load. I always carry a rag now and wipe down every inch of cable before I trust it.

the_jason1d ago

Man you are not kidding @sarah198. I used to be one of those guys who thought a quick visual glance was good enough for cable inspections. Just a quick walk around and a pass with my hand, figured that was fine. Then a buddy of mine had a cable let go on a 15 ton pick last year, nothing major happened but it shook me up pretty bad. That incident made me realize how easy it is to miss hidden damage under all that grease and grime. Now I wipe down every single pendant line with a rag before my shift starts too, just like you said. It adds ten minutes to my morning but beats the heck out of watching a load hit the deck.