Lifting a variety of cargo equipment and provisions is an integral part of transportation and operations. Lifting is a hazardous operation. To reduce the risks involved to a minimum, it should only be carried out by adequately trained personnel.
People who operate lifting installations must have extensive knowledge of the equipment they use, its limitations, and the forces involved in each lift. Also, they must assess the risks involved in every lift as they plan it. In order to arrive at an effective plan, they must also have a good working knowledge of all the lifting gears, frames, beams, slings, clamps and shackles they’re likely to use; this is not a simple task.
You should never take risks when it comes to safety, and this is especially important when lifting heavy objects. Heavier loads bring more massive consequences to any accidents that may occur; as such, the way you lift these objects should always be as safe.
Here are some vital tips to help you maintain safety at the workplace
Be Attentive
A wandering mind or lax attitude can spell disaster on a worksite. Workers should always be on the top of their game; whether this means more regular breaks or longer ones is a choice for you to make, but it should be one you must make. Supervision of heavy object moving is integral to ensuring a safe and speedy process; anyone in such a position should have the right mindset.
Never Take Shortcuts
This is a standard motto for any workplace; faster is not always better. There may be complaints that your work is not as fast as it could be, but it is better to do the work right and make sure that the heavy objects are installed correctly than to speed up the process for speed’s sake alone. Shortcuts are risky, and risks have no place on a construction site.
Use the Best Equipment
When it comes to lifting, it is most important to have the necessary equipment to complete your task well. Having inferior or incorrect equipment is not acceptable; it can be the straight path to disaster and will more than likely make you liable for any accidents that do occur. Reliable and quality lifting equipment makes your work much easier and provides the needed safety.
Conclusion
So, what is involved in planning a lift? First, check the weight of the object to be lifted. Verify if this is indicated on the object or on its related documentation. Most of the trusted brands such as Tway lifting indicate the maximum weight their equipment will lift.
Once the weight to be lifted is known, check for any lifting loop provided on the object itself. For example, electric motors sometimes have an eyebolt for hitching a hook or a shackle for lifting. Other objects may have lifting plates welded to them with holes or rings for fitting lifting gear.
These lifting points provide easy answers because the best lift requires lifting gear to be hitched to the object vertically above its center of gravity to achieve balance, if the makers of the object have provided lifting points it is most likely that the lift will be balanced.