Lifting and Rigging Misconceptions: What Every Safety Professional Should Know

Intro

– “You can mix and match shackle pins between manufacturers.”

– You cannot mix the pins from manufacturer to manufacturer.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– Hi, I’m Ben.

– Hi, my name’s Henry Brozyna. I’m the industrial products trainer for Columbus McKinnon.

– And today, we’re tackling some lifting and rigging myths that don’t hold weight and debunking some of those misconceptions.

Why Rigging Training Is Imperative

– What ends up happening is, is people will perpetuate that myth year after year. And it’s always, “Well, the other guy told me.” And every time they do it, they get one step closer to a failure. Training is an important part of an employee’s job.

Can Carbon Shackles Be Used for Overhead Lifting?

– Let’s dive into some of these myths. So, Henry, you’re never supposed to use carbon shackles for overhead lifting. Just like chains, you have to use alloy shackles only, right?

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– You can use carbon shackles to lift.

Some people will say, “Well, why do you use carbon for lifting with shackles and you can’t use carbon chains for lifting?” ASME B30.26 covers hardware. That’s what shackles fall under. Nowhere in there does it say you cannot use a carbon shackle for lifting.

Don’t assume that the shackle capacity size matches the capacity of the same size chain. There’s always going to be a difference. So, if you are using a shackle and chain, you want to work to the lowest working load limit.

Can Round Pin Shackles Be Used for Overhead Lifting?

– You can use carbon shackles, but when it comes to the type of shackle, it really doesn’t matter which type of shackle you use for overhead lifting as long as the working load limit is greater than the load that you’re lifting. You can use screw pin, round pin, or bolt type. Right?

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– Screw pin, bolt, nut and cotter, both can be used for overhead lifting. Round pin with the cotter pin in it, no. That if you look in ASME B30.26, they specifically say in there not to use a round pin shackle for overhead lifting.

Does the Cotter Pin Need To Be Used for Bolt Type Shackles?

– So, cotter pins on bolt type shackles, they’re a pain, and they get lost all the time. They’re really just put there by the manufacturer to cover their own butts, right? You don’t actually have to use a cotter pin with your bolt type shackle.

– No, you want to use the cotter pin.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– What can happen if you don’t have the cotter pin in there is the nut can actually back off the pin and then of course we could lose the load. And that’s why that pin, yes, some people might look at it and say, “Well, we don’t really need it.” Yes, you do. It’s there for a purpose.

Can You Replace Shackle Pins With Grade 8 Bolts?

– Sometimes, when you’re working really fast or maybe the second shift, before you didn’t put everything away properly, the shackle pins can get mixed up. This doesn’t matter. You can mix and match shackle pins between manufacturers. You can even put a regular old bolt in a bolt type shackle, right?

– Well, you cannot use a standard bolt.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– All right? You can’t go to the hardware store and buy a grade 8 bolt. ‘Cause you lost this pin, put a grade 8 bolt in there. No, that’s noncompliance. All right?

Can You Mix Pins Between Shackle Manufacturers?

That’s one. The second thing is, is you cannot mix the pins from manufacturer to manufacturer.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– They may fit, but don’t do it, because their pins are made a little bit differently. They might use a little bit different material than, say, what Columbus McKinnon uses, and vice versa. So, you never want to mix manufacturers.

If you do have Columbus McKinnon pins and shackles, If I take the pin out of the carbon shackle, which is going to be the lowest capacity, and put it into the higher capacity, I don’t sacrifice capacity. All right? So, the pins within the Columbus McKinnon line are interchangeable.

They’re all made to the higher standard. All right? And that reason for that is, is we do know that people will separate the two and then all of a sudden when they go to put them back together again, it’s like, “Oh, geez, I don’t know if I’ve got the right pin.” In our case for Columbus McKinnon product, we don’t worry about that.

Does “Should” Mean Optional in ASME Standards?

– If the ASME standard says “shall“, you have to do it, but if it says “should“, it’s optional. If it slows down my process, I don’t have to.

– “Should” is a recommendation. If you don’t follow the standards, whether it’s a “should” or a “shall“, if you have an accident, and there’s an investigation, and OSHA gets involved, and they start doing an investigation, that inspector is going to look at and see what happened. They’ll cite you based on that.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– They have what they call their General Duty Clause. Whatever OSHA doesn’t cover specifically, they will grab from the standards, they will grab from the manufacturer’s recommendations, they will even grab from that company’s policies, all right? And procedures. And they could cite you based on one of those three items.

So, is it a good idea to make sure that you are following the standards? Yeah, it is.

What Is the CE Marking on Rigging Hardware For?

– If there’s a CE on a piece of hardware, it means it’s from China, “Chinese Export”.

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– CE refers to a international standard that started in Europe. It does not mean Chinese export.

Basically, when you look at a shackle, like this one has the CE markings on it, that means that this shackle can be sold in Europe, because it meets the CE standards. So, it can be sold in Europe.

– So, you’re telling me that CM shackles that are marked CE are not manufactured in China?

– Correct.

Can Turnbuckles Be Used for Overhead Lifting?

– So, turnbuckles are never to be used in an overhead lift, correct?

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– You can use turnbuckles for lifting purposes. They’re also covered under ASME B30.26 Rigging Hardware, which that standard is for lifting equipment.

– So, what are some applications where maybe you might use a turnbuckle in a lifting application?

– If you attach it to a hoist and then you can go ahead and use the turnbuckle to kind of fine-tune it.

So, for example, maybe you’re putting in a shaft into a piece of equipment, and a hand hoist or a lever tool doesn’t give you quite that adjustment that you need to really get it lined up, ’cause you don’t want to scratch the shaft. You don’t want to scratch the bore that it’s going into. The turnbuckle gives you that fine adjustment.

I went to a facility, it was actually a power generating facility, and they were lifting the cover off of a turbine, but when they go to put it back on, because they have all those threaded studs sticking up, they don’t want to damage threads.

They were having some issues lining that all up. We suggested to them was to start using turnbuckles and that worked out perfectly for them.

What Is the Red Thread for in Web Slings?

– So, how about this one? The red thread in nylon slings is an out of service gauge. If the thread is hidden, sling’s good to go.

– The red thread is not a gauge.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– All right? It is a indicator of overload, period. All right?

The red thread is not the same material that the sling is made from. The nylon sling will stretch a certain amount before it takes load. When it gets into the overload condition, it stretches much, much more. The red thread doesn’t stretch that much. So, what ends up happening is, the red thread becomes visible.

That’s an indicator that that sling has been overloaded. Unfortunately, there are people who look at it and say, “Well, the red thread’s in there, that tells me when the sling is no good anymore.” Well, the sling’s got a hole in it, it could have cuts in it, it could have abrasion. And they’re like, “Well, what’s wrong with it? The red thread isn’t out yet, so it’s fine.”

It’s like, “No, that’s not the purpose of that red thread.” That red thread is an overload indicator. It’s not a gauge.

Is a Kink in a Wire Rope Sling Removal From Service Criteria?

– But with wire rope slings, you know, I know that the ASME standard says you’re not supposed to have kinks or doglegs, but they’re going to get kinked up with everyday use. If the kink is minor, it’s acceptable and not cause from removal from service.

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– Any kink is cause for removal from service.

We’ve all done this. We’ve taken a paperclip or a small piece of wire and we bent it multiple times. It breaks, all right? That’s metal fatigue. You’ve weakened it to the point where failure happened.

Apply that same idea to wire rope. That’s exactly what’s happening. The wires on the one side have already been stretched, they’ve gone past their elastic limit. You haven’t physically broken them, you’ve broken them internally, basically. And every time that that wire rope gets used, you put a load on it, straightens out, you take the load off, kink comes back. You keep bending that paperclip enough times, it breaks. You keep bending that wire rope back and forth multiple times, and one of these days, it’s going to break.

That’s the reason why you got to take it out of service, ’cause no one can sit there and say, “You know what? After you do that 20 times, the wire’s going to break.” No one can predict that.

Can Any Employee Perform Rigging Tasks?

– Okay, how about this one? “Rigging is simple. Anybody can do it.”

– Of course! Of course they can. No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– Some rigging is simple rigging. Very basic. Some of it can get complicated. It depends on what you’re lifting, how you’re lifting it, what you’re lifting it with, and then of course how you’re attaching it.

Those are all things that a rigger will take into consideration.

Training vs In-Field Rigging Experience

– “Rigging trainers are just OSHA shills and they’re there to tell you things based on the standards, but they don’t actually have any experience of how things are done in the field. Their purpose is to tell you what to do so they can sell you some more stuff.”

– No.

– [Announcer] Myth!

– They’ve been in this business for 10, 15, 20, 30 years, right? They know what they’re talking about.

They’ll sit on different boards. They’ll sit on ASME, they’ll sit on CMAA, they’ll sit on WSTDA, they’ll sit on those different groups, because they want to know what is changing in the industry, just so that they can keep it as safe as possible.

The flip side of that is, is I can give them my input, too. I can give them input into from what I have heard or what I have come across in my experience. You know, sometimes, somebody will put something out there and it’ll be like, “That’s not going to work, guys.”

“Why won’t it work? Give me an example. Tell me why.” Right?

I can bring that to the table. And that, that’s one of the reasons why I like sitting on these different committees. It keeps me at the forefront of any changes that are coming through.

– So, you’re telling me that trainers are not just salespeople in disguise?

– I am not, no. I don’t know about others, but I am not, no.

How To Learn More About Rigging Training?

– All right.

All right, guys, that’s it. So, if you have a myth that you’ve heard that we didn’t cover or you need some clarification, feel free to drop it in the comments.

Hopefully, this has equipped you with some knowledge that you can bring back to your job site so you can keep your team safe. If you need training or if you have any questions about the rigging process Mazzella can help, contact us through the link below.

We can also help with your slings, hardware, wire rope, cranes, fall protection, and lifters for all of your lifting needs.

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. And remember, safe rigging is smart rigging. My name is Ben. Stay safe out there.