When to Replace a Wire Rope
Clearly a wire rope should be replaced whilst it still retains an adequate factor of safety, but what that means, is open to interpretation.
Regulations and Codes of Practice govern the use of wire ropes on various types of installations and for differing wire rope applications and even for different wire rope constructions; but, they need to be applied with some knowledge of the installation including:
- Frequency of operation
- Working environment
- Rate of wire rope deterioration
- Are people involved or only materials
Do you have to immediately stop an installation working because for example the rope has ‘two broken wires’ or is it safe to keep it working for one more shift, one more week or even until the next shut-down?
There is no doubt that in some circumstances it would be prudent, if not necessary, to change the rope immediately but, that judgment needs to be made without any commercial interest.
Depending on who is carrying out your wire rope examinations, there is the possibility that two alternatives are considered; either the rope is changed immediately on the basis of ‘regulations’ or ‘take the risk’ because the rope has been in service for only a short period of time.
You might say that the first of these alternatives is reasonable but both could be based on commercial interest.
Is immediately always necessary? That depends on the factors already stated.
The alternative ‘take the risk’ is not a wise decision.
In almost all cases, the only way you will receive a ‘neutral’ recommendation is if your examinations are being carried out by an independent examiner.
We would never propose to a client that they should continue working with a wire rope that is unsafe; our objective is to keep you safe and we apply appropriate standards, even if regulations don’t exist or are not rigidly enforced in the location where we are working but, we aim to take a sensible approach.
