Eliminate Guesswork and Improve Safety with Crosby | Straightpoint Loadshackles

Introduction

• Today, we are going to lift this beam. How much do you think it weighs? Go on, put your best guess in the comments. So, if you were here with me on site, how would you figure out how much it weighs? If you had to make this lift safely, what would you do before you rigged it, guess? Well, yeah, probably. The thing about guessing is that it is rarely a good idea. And if there is one thing you shouldn’t be doing when you rig and lift a load, it would be guessing. So, today we’re going to see how loadshackles take the guesswork out of your lifting and rigging operations. Let’s get into it.

What is a Loadshackle?

• We’ve taken a Crosby, standard Crosby shackle, and actually made it into a load monitoring device and we call it a Loadshackle. This happens to be a radio frequency model. We can also make these in Bluetooth but with the radio frequency model, you would read that data back on this handheld and the range on this is going to be a thousand meters with relative line of sight. We do make custom load pins that are used in a multitude of applications, but we basically took that technology and applied it to our shackle. And we also are able to control this load pin by applying these anti-rotation brackets, as well as a centering bobbin in the middle to help center the load. And then, we also indicate with this yellow tag on the opposite side to indicate where the nut for the pin must go. Those are three important concepts because that helps keep the pin level and straight when you’re applying a load to it and that’s what’s going to help achieve that 1% accuracy. It’s powered by four AA batteries. We have 1200 hours of battery life which is industry leading out there in the industry. And then again, we’ve taken a Crosby shackle which is world renowned and turned that into a load cell. We have all the same attributes with a Crosby shackle. So, with that being said, we’re going to incorporate this loadshackle on the crane hook here and lift this beam and we’re going to show you how it works.

Demonstrating the Loadshackle

• So, this object that we’re lifting is approximately 3,100 pounds and then the loadshackle is picking up everything below it right now. So, it’s incorporating the 2 35-ton Crosby shackles as well as the synthetic slings here. So, a little bit of movement in the load but you can see that’s kind of stabilized, now. We’re picking up 3,336 pounds approximately. It’s fluctuating a little bit as it moves back. So, you know, this is one way that you could use a loadshackle. Again, it’s going to pick up the total weight, total load weight, whereas with our Radiolink Pluses, we had those incorporated directly in our sling legs which will give you a more accurate view of the tension in those exact sling legs versus the total load that we have here with the loadshackle.

Comparing to Wireless Load Cells

• The biggest difference between a loadshackle and our Radiolink is going to be the accuracy. So, on our Radiolink series, those are accurate at 0.1% to full capacity, whereas a loadshackle is accurate to 1% full capacity. So, I’ll quickly just break that math down. With a six and a half ton model, that’s 14,300 pounds because it’s metric tons. So with our Radiolink, 14,300 pounds 0.1% of that is going to be approximately 14.3 pounds, plus or minus. With a load shackle at 1% accuracy, it’s going to be 143 pounds accurate. You’re going to use a load shackle when you have limited headroom applications, typically. Sometimes with a rigging situation, you will not have enough space to incorporate a load cell, a shackle on the top, a shackle on the bottom into the rigging. So you could use a load shackle in that type of application where you have a low headroom situation and you just don’t have the space to put a Radiolink. I was involved in a marine application where they had a crane that was housed inside a dock area. And again, it was a low headroom situation where they just could not, based on the height of the boats coming in and the crane and on the ceiling, they just didn’t have the space to incorporate a full Radiolink load cell. So they elected to go with the loadshackles, because it helped minimize that space and it still gave them an accuracy that they could live with. You know, at Crosby we are always continuously looking at how we can better develop our products. We’re working on some technology right now where it could be a cloud-based program that could allow you to monitor any of your load cells, remotely, through a cloud-based software platform. So I mean, really with the technology out there, I mean the sky’s the limit. And you know, we’re continually looking at new ways to improve our products.

Conclusion

• So, the wireless loadshackle’s designed to help keep you safe, give you that knowledge of what the true weight of that load is experiencing and it’s going to prevent accidents and injuries. So, using Straightpoint Load Cells or wireless Loadshackles are going to keep you safe. And as we say at Straightpoint, “Know the load.”
• Combining advanced technology with the most standard and basic, yet integral, pieces of your rigging. The Loadshackles will help you make safer and more efficient lifts. Know the load like never before. If you’re interested in learning more about these solutions, contact Mazzella’s Lifting and Rigging Division today, links below. If you found this video useful, informative, entertaining, or you just feel like being friendly, then hit that Like button, so we can get this information out to everyone who needs it. Subscribe and hit the bell so you never miss a video. If you have a question, drop it in the comments, so we can get you an answer. Remember, safe rigging is smart rigging. My name is Ben and stay safe out there.