rigging yearbook 2012

The independent guide to rigging, from the publisher of Cranes Today, Hoist, and OCHThe independent guide to rigging, from the publisher of Cranes Today, Hoist, and OCH

2011/2012RIGGINGYearbook

Wind Energy Operations & Maintenance Summit 4th Annual North America 2012

April 25-27, 2012 | Dallas, Texas | The Marriott City Center Hotel

Operators speaking

Iberdrola Renewables

Duke Energy

EDP Renewables

Infigen Energy

TransAlta

enXco

Edison Mission

Wind Capital Group

Federal / Government Institutions

NERC

Bonneville Power Administration

NREL

Sandia National Laboratories

WIND ENERGYupdate

Utilize the latest industry experience, proven technology and O&M strategies to maximize generation and reduce costs in your wind farm

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO BOOK call Wind Energy Update on 1 800 814 3459 or visit: www.windenergyupdate.com/dallas

Contents | This year

05 Editor's view

06 Case StudyMHS’s airplane-lifting hoist takes off.

10 Case studyBrazilian Transport firm Megatranzflies a compoenent over a bridge.

14 Case studyA Manitowoc GTK crane is carefullyrigged on the Gdansk docks.

18 RopeExperts from major rope firms,including manufacturer Bridon,explain what to do when ropes getthin, and how to implement thelatest revisions to the ISO 4309 atyour firm.

25 RopeMRE Matron in Israel hasdeveloped a special rope testingmachine that can proove whichrope will give the longest life foryour crane and job.

This year

10

14 Best practice

Ropeblock in the Netherlands madehistory with the largest hook block fora land based crane: It’s capable oflifing up to 108t. The custom rope blockwas created for the Sarens megaliftingSGC-120 ringer crane (page 23).

On the cover

06

23 ChainsRUD shows how its RFID tags canbe used in chains to revolutionisechain maitenance.

27 Spreader barsSpreader beams developed byModulift are being used to makelifting wind turbine parts a breeze.

29 Hooks and shacklesRead the story of the making of theworld’s largest block by Ropeblock,ang get the scoop on Vic Lok’spermanent shackles.

Equipment

3www.riggingyearbook.com | RIGGING YEARBOOK2011/2012

50 Years Experience in Developmentand Production of Hoisting Equipment

podem.bg

As of April 2011 the total number of electrical wire rope hoistsproduced in the factory is 1 923 700.

Editor’s view | This year

In today’s market, you need goodconnections. Rope connections, that is.During the slowdown lifters make do

with fewer cranes, less demand and stilloutperform the competition, and thatrequires good rigging.

Whether that means buying remote-release hooks that give less trouble,ensuring ropes are in top shape beforelifting, getting operators trained as expertriggers who can advise on the rightequipment, or becoming standards-compliant before the competition, there’salways room for improvement.

The next best thing to buying new ropeor equipment is maintaining the kit youalready have in the most up-to-date way.

New kinds of ropes are on our minds,not least on the minds of the folks whomake them. Manufacturers are telling usthat the new fibre core ropes and rotational-resistant ropes need different care when itcomes to maintenance.

The ISO committee responsible forsetting rope standards has revised thediscard criteria for ropes to make surethat lifters know to measure the ropesafter they are broken in, as this is thebest way to calculate when they shouldbe discarded.

Revisions to ISO 4309, giving thelargest amount of deformation before arope must be discarded, recommend thata new measurement called “reference

diameter” should be taken immediatelyafter the rope goes through its firstloading cycle.

Riggers need to let their rope inspectorsknow that this is a better measurement touse than the “nominal diameter” found inthe manufacturer’s catalog traditionallyused, for two reasons.

Manufacturers say the “nominaldiameter” measurement can’t be accuratebecause of tiny differences in rope when itis being made, and also because the ropewill stretch a fraction during the firstloading cycle.

The same principle of usingequipment kindly applies to cranes:overloading is no longer a suitable wayto test cranes, according major cranecompanies like Terex and Manitowoc,which have released a position paperwarning against overloading cranes viathe European manufacturers associationof materials handling, lifting and storageequipment, the FEM.

Companies looking to improveproductivity should remember thatoverloading can wear a crane’s boom andmake the crane uninsurable under someplans, as well as pose the danger of theboom breaking and injuring bystanders andloads.

Cristina Brooks [email protected]

Time to tie uploose ends

Find out more about our range of products and read daily news atwww.cranestodaymagazine.com

EDITORIAL

Editor Cristina Brooks Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 [email protected]

Group EditorWill North Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 [email protected]

Associate Editor KevinWalsh Tel: +44 (0) 20 7336 [email protected]

SALES

Group sales managerMartin McCarthyTel: +44 (0) 20 8269 [email protected]

Classified sales executive Kate HearnTel: +44 (0) 20 8269 [email protected]

Web sales executive Paul HurleyTel: +44 (0) 20 8269 [email protected]

Journal fax: +44 (0) 20 8269 7844

ADVERTISING AGENTS

Italy:Anna De Bortoli, Ediconsult InternazionaleTel: +39 02 477 100 36 Fax: +39 02 477 113 [email protected]

Japan: Sho Harihara,Yukari Media IncTel: +81 6 4790 2222 Fax: +81 6 4793 [email protected]

China: Xianbiao Zhou, CMTMTel: +86 10 642 636 04 Fax: +86 10 6428 [email protected]

PRODUCTION AND DESIGN

Designers KarenTownsend, Alpa Shanks

Technical designer Nick Stenning

Online designers Dan Rogers, David Cooper

Production Lyn Shaw

Marketing manager ShellyWills

Marketing executive Jeanette Pletten

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Title customer [email protected]

Subscriptions hotlineTel: +44 (0) 845 155 1845 (local rate)Fax: +44 (0) 20 8269 [email protected]

1 year: UK/Europe: £195.00/!399.50,USA/Canada: $438.50, Rest ofWorld: $485.002 years: UK/Europe: £333.00/!699.00,USA/Canada: $770.00, Rest ofWorld: $848.00

Cranes Today subscriptionsProgressive Media Publishing, Progressive House,2 Maidstone Road, Foots Cray, Sidcup, DA14 5HZ, [email protected]

Subscribe online atwww.getthatmag.com

Group CEO Russ MilburnCranesToday,World Market Intelligence Ltd,Progressive House, 2 Maidstone Road,Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5HZ, UK

CranesToday ISSN 0307-0018 is published monthly byWorld MarketIntelligence, Progressive House, Foots Cray, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 5HZ,UK

© Progressive Media Publishing Ltd 2011

Cristina Brooks Editor

ConferencesWebsite

Some of our other productsCranes TodayChina

Hoist and OCHmagazines Buyer’s Guide

RiggingYearbook

CranesAsia

MiddleEastCranes


This year | Case study

6 RIGGING YEARBOOK | www.riggingyearbook.com 2011/2012

US Technologies Inc, (UST) based inCanton, Ohio, has been supplyingthe military with blast media and

related services for over 30 years. The blastmedia is a clean efficient way of strippingpaint from aircraft during the refurbishmentprocess. As part of providing the militarywith blasting media UST became involvedwith a solution to better access the planewith this media, which would allow for abetter, quicker, and safer solution.

The normal way to do this would be touse scissor lifts and articulating man lifts.The lifts would move around the plane,while operators sprayed blast media at it.This approach comes with its ownproblems though. Jack Hinsdale, owner of

MHS, explains: “This was very timeconsuming and required a certain amountof clear floor space in order for the lifts toaccess the perimeter of the planes.”

Instead of using traditional man liftsthat operated from the floor, UST helpeddevelop a method that would allow amanned platform or cab fixed with a spraynozzle to be carried around the plane.This was suspended from an overheadcrane which gave the operator access toevery part of the aircraft. UST called thisthe Aerial Multi-access Platform, or AMP.

The original design for the AMP wasinspired by the Stewart platform used inairplane simulators. Hinsdale says: “TheStewart platform uses three pairs of

cylinders underneath a platform andmounted to a base. The tops of the threepairs of cylinders are affixed in anequilateral triangular pattern to the upperplatform, with the bottoms of the cylindersmounted on the base rotated 60 degreesfrom the upper platform triangle. Thusraising and/or lowering the cylinders invarious measures allow the upper platformto be moved on multiple axes. Since threepoints determine a plane geometricallyspeaking, the pitch, yaw, and roll achievedin flight is easily simulated.”

UST’s design for the paint stripping cabor platform inverted the typical Stewartplatform, using hoists to lift and lower fromthree points simultaneously. Hinsdale

Precision flyingCrane builders MHS worked in conjunction with UST to design a custom system for the US AirForce that allows for precise multi-axis positioning of aircraft wings during assembly anddisassembly. Will North spoke to MHS owner Jack Hinsdale.


says: “Instead of using cylinders, as withthe Stewart platform, the AMP system usessix wire rope hoists positioned in the sametriangular configuration.

With the AMP designed and a cab orplatform fitted to allow operators to blastmedia at the plane, the airforce could do

away with the work platforms taking upspace on the busy plant floor. Hinsdalesays: “The operator can literally fly fromthe cables in the cab or on a platformaround the plane blasting media.”

Supporting an operator demonstratedthe flexibility of the concept, and inspiredits application to heavier loads. At RobinsAFB in Warner Robins, Georgia, a key taskis to remove and replace wing boxes fromC-130 aircraft. Hinsdale says: “Thespecific problem with the wing box wasthe need to pitch, yaw, and/or roll thewing box slightly to allow for easyinsertion or removal from the fuselage.

“The method used for many years wasto use an overhead crane or a mobilecrane and rig to the load as best possible.This was explained to us as a very diceyoperation. It was not uncommon for thewing box to be in a bind with thefuselage. The unbinding of this wasachieved by lifting, lowering, hammering,or better described ‘Jimmying’, the wingbox free or into place.”

Once this problem was identified theAMP system was identified as the perfectpotential solution. This is the point whereUST and MHS partnered for the first

application of the AMP concept for thepurpose of materials handling. Morespecifically to use the AMP system’sattributes to lift and control an actual loadas opposed to its earlier blast mediaapplications.

“By using these principles to handle anactual product (the wing box) you createthe ability for controlled multi-axismovement of the load itself. In the wingbox application the six hoists are attachedto a lower triangle frame that is used topick up the wing box. The motions gainedin addition to the standard up and down,left and right, and forward and reverse of acrane are pitch, yaw, and roll of the load aswith the Stewart platform or the originalAMP applications. The wing box systemwas further enhanced by adding 360degree rotation to the lower lifting fixture.”

The benefits were soon apparent.Hinsdale says: “Even the very first timethey used the system there weremeasurable improvements on speed,quality, and safety. When you are giventhe ability to pitch, yaw, or roll an item (ina controlled fashion) when assembling itto another item you gain a considerableadvantage.”

Designing the mechanical parts andapplying the complex algorithms of thesystem was still not the complete solution.A really useful application also needed tobe easy to control. The team workedclosely with Electromotive Systems, aMagnetek subsidiary, to come up with aspecially designed radio transmitter suitedto the requirements of the AMP system.Hinsdale says: “The system has a craneand trolley mode which allows forstandard forward/reverse and left/right.Then when the load is close to the correctposition the controls are switched intoAMP mode. In AMP mode the pitch, yaw,roll, and lower/raise are all controlled withtoggles labeled accordingly.

“The system is remarkably user friendlyand required very limited training. Theoperator simply controls all of the functionsfrom a single belly box with the designatedmotions on toggle type switches. Thesophistication is in the algorithmscomputed and controlled by way of the onboard PLC. The hoists are all DC motordriven which allows for very precisepositioning and tracking of the cables.”

Hinsdale is now looking for newapplications for the AMP system. Hesays: “I believe the applications arelimitless. The primary qualification wouldbe any lifting and mating or assemblywhere manipulating the load is critical. Itwould also be specific to loads that are ofa high enough capacity to disqualify usinga handling device or manipulator.

“The industries that would seem to bethe best candidates at this point would beaircraft manufacturing or maintenance,and ship building. I believe that whencrane and hoist people become aware ofthis product there will be a number ofother industries identified.”

Positioninga wing box

with the AMP

LIFTING GEAR SOLUTIONSNATIONWIDE Arbil are experts in the sales, hire and service of Lifting, Winching, Jacking and Load Securing products to all marketsand industries.A comprehensive sales, hire and service facility is located at all three of our branches; Lye in the West Midlands, Bristol and Coventry. Our facility at Cradley Heath specialises in the manufacture and engineering of bespoke lifting solutions. We can also load test, calibrate and inspect your equipment on-site.

We only represent market leading brands such as Kuplex, Crosby, Green Pin, Enerpac, Cartec and Dillon, in addition to our own respected range of lifting equipment.

Call us NOWfor a catalogue or todiscuss your requirements

Newly Appointed Approved Service Centre for:

engi neeri ng of bespoke l i f t i ng sol ut i ons. W e can al so l oad t est,

TEL: 0845 600 8007 / info@arbi l .co .uk / www.arbi l .co .uk

E-mail: [email protected] www.vanbeest.com Member of Van Beest International

Registered trade marks ‘Green Pin’ and ‘Excel’R e g i s t e r e d t r a d e m a r k s ‘ G r e e n P i n ’ a n d ‘ E x c e l ’

Van Beest B.V. Manufacturer and supplier of wire rope- and chain accessories with offices inThe Netherlands, Germany, France and the USA. Registered trade name Green Pin ®,agenuine made inHolland product.


Company profile | Advertorial

Arbil Ltd was founded by Raymond R Bills in 1963, and through acombination of expansion and acquisition, has grown into adynamic company dedicated to providing the quality of productand after-sales service we believe every customer deserves.

Acomprehensive sales, hire andservice facility is located at allthree branch sites: Lye in the

West Midlands, Bristol and Coventry. Ourfacility at Cradley Heath specialises inthe manufacture and engineering ofbespoke lifting solutions.

Arbil represents high quality brandssuch as Kuplex, Crosby, Green Pin,Enerpac, Cartec and Dillon, in additionto its own respected range of liftingequipment. It is also an authorisedService Centre for Enerpac, ColumbusMcKinnon and Dillon products.

Arbil has an on site load weighingand measuring capability with a range ofload links, load cells, load columns,potentiometers and multi-way read outsystems. Other services include gaugerepair and calibration, verification andcertification of third party testingfacilities.

Arbil also has specialist divisionsserving the Rail industry and 4x4 aftermarket. Our Rail division focuses on thesales, service and hire of rail handlingequipment, in addition to manufacturingZwicky jacks. Arbil 4x4 imports anddistributes a high quality range of brandssuch as ARB, Warn winches, Hi-Lift jacksand Safari snorkels.

Arbil partners with Dillon ForceMeasurementArbil is proud to announce its recentpartnership with Dillon, becoming the UKdistributor of its Force Measurementproducts. In addition, Arbil becomes theauthorised provider of repair andcalibration services.

Dillon is a market leadingmanufacturer of force measureinstrumentation, including load cells,overload protection and suspendedweighing products. Dillon also offersForce Testing products, popular withinQuality Assurance departments.

The Dillon brand was founded on themechanical dynamometer, which itinvented in 1937. Designed for longevity,this instrument remains a very popularseller to this day. Dillon has earned areputation for rugged, long-lastingproducts that are easy to use and themodern product line boasts the largestrange of electronic dynamometers, crane

scales, instrumentation specific tooverload detection and wire tensionmeasurement.

Equally as important is the world-wide distribution network that assistsDillon customers with product selectionand unequaled service after the sale.Arbil have been appointed as a keyservice, repairs and calibration centre toSupport Dillon products for Europeanmarkets.

Please contact Arbil on 0845 600 8007,or visit www.arbil.co.uk to see the fullrange of Dillon products.

Arbil offers a comprehensive sales,hire and service facility, located at threebranch sites: Lye (in the West Midlands),Bristol and Coventry. Our facility atCradley Heath specialises in themanufacture and engineering of bespokelifting solutions.

Dedicated to quality

• Access & Safety

Equipment

• Chain Slings &

Components

• Hardware & Fittings

• Hoists

• Hydraulic Pumps &

Cylinders

• Jacks

• Lifting Beams & Gantries

• Load Measuring

Equipment

• Webbing Slings

• Wire Rope & Fittings

• Special Projects.

Arbil’s product range



Brazilian bridge lift

T he Petrobras Paulínia refinery, orReplan for short, produces 20% ofBrazil’s oil refining capacity. Its

products include diesel fuel, gasoline, LPG,naphtha, kerosene, coke, asphalt, solventsand propane.

To upgrade the facility, built in 1972,and to improve refining and maintenanceprocesses, Petrobras launched amodernisation programme in 2005.

Delivering upgraded components,

Megatranz transported three modules for aRegenerator Continue Catalyst (RCC), eachweighing between 110–168t. The moduleswere intended to reduce maintenance timesand improve the quality of fuel produced atthe refinery.

The cargo started out at the port ofTarragona in Spain, then sailed overseas.From the port of São Sebastião in Brazil, itwent by river to the town of Caraguatatuba,where 12-axle, SPE Scheuerle modular

trailers were waiting. On these, itmanoeuvred along the D. Pedro highway inSão Paulo before arriving at its destination.

Renato Zuppardo, director atMegatranz, was involved in the projectfrom the start. “We had to cross the cityof São Sebastião and because of the cargowe couldn’t pass through the city centrebecause of the power lines and concreteblocks in the middle of the street. So wedeveloped a transportation area in the city

Megatranz, specialists in logistics and heavy lifting, and crane rental firm Guindastes Tatuapé,recently concluded six lifting operations during the transport of ducts to the Replan refinery inPaulínia, Brazil, 118km from São Paulo. The company used cranes to manoeuvre cargo past anoverpass and a viaduct. Cristina Brooks reports.

CaptioncaptionCaptioncaption

Refinery modules flown over anoverpass in Brazil

Case study| This year


of Caraguatatuba. In this city we found avery small river which goes behind ourtransportation company’s area.

“We talked with the marines and thefishermen in this local area and westudied the drift of the lake,” Zuppardosays. “We made a quay in behind thetransportation company. Then we wentinto it with our barge using very smalltugs from Brazil. After that we usedtrucks to reach Paulínia, 300km by road.”

To complete the transport, Megatranzused at least three Scheuerle Intercombitrailers, each with 16 axles. Blocked by a

footbridge at the highway, it suspendedthe footbridge with the help of four cranes.Two cranes had a lifting capacity of 500t,while the other two had lifting capacitiesof 300t and 250t respectively.

Zuppardo said: “The Replan projectrequired a lot of dedication and creativityof our entire team. We conducted anextensive study to define what would bethe best logistics solution, since therewere many challenges to be overcomebecause of the size of the equipmenttransported. The choice of lift equipmentand use of river transport by barge were

steps we took under the strategy wecreated for this transport.”

Attaining the licences for the use ofhighways required extra effort. Zuppardosaid: “We faced too much bureaucracyfrom the companies responsible for theBrazilian highways, which took a lot oftime to give the necessary licences to dothe transportation on the highways.”

Zuppardo continued: “The conclusionof this project represented a big victory forMegatranz because we overcame all thechallenges by following our policy ofcreativity and audacity.”

Modules for a RegeneratorContinue Catalyst

Cranes lift the moduleover the overpass

verope - special wire ropes

the one and only …

www.verope.com

Four decades ago, Datek redefined the industrial radio remote control industry by the introduction of the first digitally verified protocol. Over the years our efforts for safe and user-friendly radio remote controls have continued. Amongst our recent achievements are fieldbus receivers and a flexible graphic display. Our sophisticated systems are made to order, this ensures that they will suit both you and your application.

TRUSTED INTERACTION

For further information please visit www.datek.net or give us a call at +46-8-534 101 50


Company profile | Advertorial

The company is currently setting up a new state- of- the-art R&D centre on the premises of theverope service centre in Zweibrücken, Germany. The aim of this R&D facility is to permanentlymonitor the quality of the latest production and to enhance and further develop special wire ropes.

I t all began in mid 2011 when thelatest bending fatigue test stand wasinstalled. With this innovation the

bending fatigue performance of wire ropeswith diameters of up to 34mm can beanalysed. This allows verope to give adetailed analysis of the ropes’ condition,both internally and externally, at differentstages of the rope life from the start of thetest via the discard state to the ropefailure.

Additionally the bending fatigue teststand measures the rope efficiency whilethe rope runs over the sheaves. Themeasurements can not only be takenover the complete load range but also –and this is as of today unique – duringthe entire lifetime of the ropes.

verope is going to install further testmachines to the verope service centre inFebruary 2012.

After the installation of the test

machines, verope will build a multi layertest stand.

This test machine will analyse thespooling behaviour of ropes on multilayer drums and help the furtherdevelopment of special wire ropes suitedfor multi layer spooling.

Thanks to the investment in these testmachines and a sophisticated qualityassurance programme verope is a partneryou can “rely on” in 2012.

Verope AG is preparingfor the future

Verope is going to install further test machinesto the verope service centre in February 2012.Then the following rope tests will be possible:

• Bending fatigue tests for diameters from 6 to 34mm

• Efficiency tests over the complete load range and during thecomplete lifetime of the rope Tensile tests and modulusmeasurements up to 250 tons

• Analysis of elongation, lay length and reduction of diameter underload and recording of wirebreaks using a sophisticated

contact-free video-extensometer

• Measurement of rotation properties (torque factor and rotationangle) up to 36mm on a newlydeveloped test stand

• Determination of the torque factor under load up to 250 tons

• Measurement of the flexibility of the rope

• Measurement of lateral pressure stability


Gdynia-based Viatron was set up totake advantage of the uniqueManitowoc GTK crane, with a

focus on the wind energy sector in Polandand Sweden. It has been showcasing theabilities of its recently acquired GroveGTK1100 at the Remontowa shipyard inGdansk where the offshore drilling rig

Grove GMK all terrain crane upper,mounted on a telescoping tower suppliedby steel specialists WolterMetallverarbeitung, now part of the

Wilphoenix is being refitted.The GTK1100 was the brainchild of

one of Manitowoc’s lead designers,Gerhard Kaupert. The crane combines a

GTK gets pickedup in Gdansk docks

Polish rental firm Viatron used a 1,000t gantry crane to lower a newGTK1100 into the dry dock at the congested Remontowa shipyard.

A gantry crane liftsViatron’s new GTK1100into a dry dock


Case study | This year


Rautaruukki group. The tower and upperare mounted on an SPMT-stylehydrostatic carrier, and held steady bypendants linking the tower and upper tothe outriggers.

Originally designed to lift heavynacelles on to wind towers, it has foundfurther applications on other tall, heavy,jobs like chimney work.

For Viatron’s first job with the 90tcapacity GTK1100, it positioned it in adry dock, using a 1,000t gantry cranefrom the shipyard, before using it to

perform several lifts to place upgradedcontrol equipment modules and drillcontrol mechanisms on the Wilphoenix.

Due to the limited space in the drydock, the crane could only be partiallyrigged with its outriggers and telescopicmast at ground level. However the cranewas still capable of safely lifting a rangeof components in this configuration, theheaviest of which weighed 10t, toheights of around 116m at radii as largeas 52m over the course of nine days.

The Wilphoenix semi-submersible

vessel is used by offshore drillingcontractor Awilco Drilling to drill at depthsof more than 360m, and the substantialupgrade formed an important part of itsrefurbishment, which will be fullycompleted later this year.

Manitowoc says using the GTK1100solved a number of engineeringchallenges, and Viatron’s CEO Igor Pawelaagreed he was impressed with the crane’scapabilities on the job, commenting. “TheGTK1100 is one of the most innovativecranes I’ve seen in years.”

SPREADER BAR KITS

PATENT 7,967,352


Product announcement | Advertorial

“Build Your Own Spreaderbars” with patented “End Caps” is thenewest technology offered by Tandemloc, Inc.

It is so simple – all you need isTandemloc’s End Caps and a lengthof cut pipe*. Tandemloc stocks every

size End Cap that they offer. Capacitiesare from zero to over 3 million pounds ofstrength!

There are several notable features ofTandemloc’s End Caps. Unlike thecompetitor’s, which requires multiplebolts and bolt holes, Tandemloc’s EndCaps connect to the pipe with one safetypin that is affixed to the end cap itself.Each End Cap is proof test and certifiedover the strength of the working loadlimit and includes our one year warranty.The wide variety of End Caps sizes(ranging from 3” to 32” diameter) allowsthe end user to choose which span andcapacity works for them. For example,Tandemloc’s 32” End Cap has a WorkingLoad Limit of 220 Tons at a 100 feetspan!

End Caps have many benefits to theend user. Freight costs are huge savingsbecause you can purchase the pipe fromyour local pipe supplier and only have toship the End Cap from Tandemloc.Several of the Tandemloc End Caps arelight enough to ship by a ground courier.Also, every lift is unique – with a uniquespan and strength requirement. The EndCaps allow the end user to be precise,creating a custom spreaderbar withoutthe custom lead time. With extremecapacities and spans, a large and heavylift is just as easy as a light lift because ofthe Tandemloc End Caps. Most riggers donot have time to keep track of severalbolts, but since Tandemloc’s End Capsuse a safety pin already attached to theCaps, the installation and removal of theEnds from the pipe is quick and easy.Finally, Tandemloc stocks every size EndCap that they offer, so last minute lifts areno longer a problem and End Caps usuallyship within 24 hours of receipt of order.

Tandemloc, Inc. manufactures andmaintains stock of a broad range of belowthe hook lifters for industry. They arelocated in North Carolina, USA.www.tandemloc.comWarning: Failure to use the pipe asspecified by Tandemloc can result in lifterfailure, which could lead to a droppedload, causing property damage, personalinjury and death. Please be sure andobtain material test reports for thepipe purchased and be sure thepipe is correct prior to use.

Build your ownspreaderbars

Above: Mammoet’sspreaderbar on the job.Below: Close ups ofTandemloc’s End Caps

Best practice | Rope


Wearing ropes thin

That’s why the latest revisions to theISO (International Organization forStandardization) 4309 are critical.

“Anybody who is responsible for, uses,inspects, maintains or examines craneropes needs to be aware of the changesthat have been made within thisstandard.”

The ISO has new criteria for decidingwhen rope discard happens, recognisingthat ropes stretch slightly.

The standard has always listed tablesfor different types of crane.

Kirkham continues, “Depending on thetype of machine the rope is installed on, itwill show how that rope deteriorates overtime. This is also defined in the standardin that the allowable number of wirebreaks is given in a number of tables.”

The ISO gives the largest number ofwire breaks or amount of wear, corrosionand deformation that inspectors can find ona rope before it must be thrown away.

The committee deciding this number ismade up of representative rope expertsfrom each country, elected from nationalstandard organisations as well as crane,rope and safety industries.

Regarding his selection for thecommittee, David Hewitt says, “It’s astructured process through BSI (BritishStandards Institution).

“You have to be a member of the cranecommittee for BSI, that is the BritishStandard Crane Committee.” He is thechosen representative for Britain and was aspeaker at the Cranes Asia conference inSingapore in September 2011.

Hewitt says new diameter calculationcriteria in the latest standard revision doesnot substantially change practice. “Theway we inspect wire ropes has been thesame for a number of years.”

He continues, “To clarify, with theadjustments we made in this document,we’re talking about numbers which are so,

“Most people apply [the ISO 4039] standard to any scenario where a rope comes off a drum andpasses over or around a pulley/sheave,” says Adrian Kirkham, a training manager for Certex.Cristina Brooks reports.

Uniform rope diameter in the newstandard is measured only on areas

running over single layer steel drums

Rope | Best practice


so small, it’s not going to make anysignificant difference. But we technicallyneed to be correct.”

Though this ISO has been around formany years, the ISO committee still makesimprovements, such as the latest revision,ISO 4309:2010, to refine the values andcalculation method for the minimum ropediameter.

The slimming of rope that the revisiontargets is caused by external and internalwear and abrasion. The most critical areato examine for decreased diameter is thearea on the rope that runs over steelsheaves and/or spools on single layerdrums.

“This is about uniform decrease in ropediameter due to external and internal wearand abrasion.

“The wires are rubbing on each otherand the rope is rubbing on the steelsheave,” says Hewitt.

The ‘uniform decrease in rope diameter’is the name for this slimming of diameter.

While the old standard that would havemeasured this slimming as a percentagedecrease in rope size from the nominaldiameter, which is the diameter of rope inthe manufacturer’s catalog, the newstandard requires the customer to use a‘reference diameter’ when calculating it.

The ISO committee has created this newterm, ‘reference diameter’ because ropesvary slightly during the manufacturingprocess.

Hewitt says, “The reference diameter isalways larger than the catalog value due tothe manufacturing tolerances.

‘Manufacturing tolerance’ means thatwe say the rope is 22mm diameter, butwhen that rope is made, it can be anythingfrom 22mm to 22mm+5%.

“So it could be 22mm +1% or 22mm+3%, but it should never be smaller than22mm.”

The ‘reference diameter’ is a measure ofthe diameter of the new rope taken by thecustomer immediately after being brokenin.

If the rope is already in service, thereference diameter may also be taken froma section of rope that does not pass oversheaves or spool on the drum, normally asection of rope towards the outboardanchor.

An indication of the rope’s actual

diameter when manufactured can be seenon some suppliers’ test certificates.

Kirkham explains this stretching. “It isrecognised that after installation, and once

a loading cycle has taken place, the ropediameter will normally change from thenominal stated on the test certification.

“Therefore the allowable reduction in

Carl Stahl Evita instructormeasuring diameter with

a vernier caliper

Best practice | Rope


diameter is based upon a referencediameter that should be recorded after therope has been installed.”

Most inspectors didn’t realise they hadto take this second measurement.

Hewitt says: “People weren’t takinginto account the difference in the ropewhen it was being manufactured. It was apretty common mistake.”

Another change reflects not tinydifferences in manufacturing, but thebehavior of materials within different kindsof rope.

The original standard referred to allkinds of rope when it pegged theunacceptable level of diameter reductionfor an abraded rope at 7% for the nominalrope diameter.

However, the new standard gives atable containing different discard criteriadiameters for different types of rope,making adjustments to reflect the use offibre core ropes, which are able tomaintain their durability while stretchingthinner.

For example, the uniform diameters ofsingle layer ropes with fibre cores areallowed to decrease up to 10%, single layerropes with steel cores or parallel closedropes are allowed to decrease up to 7.5%and rotational resistant ropes should onlybe allowed to decrease up to 5% of theirnominal diameter from the referencediameter.

Kirkham continues: “The new standardrecognises the fact that differentconstructions of wire rope are expected toreduce in diameter by different amounts,and there is now different criteria for ropeswith a fibre core, ropes with a steel coreand multi-layer low rotational ropes.”

However, don’t throw away your multi-layer drum ropes using this criteria.

“Any piece of rope working on singlelayer drums is measured and discarded inthis manner, but it’s not applicable to thatpiece of rope that goes on multi-layerspooling drums,” says Hewitt.

Along with fine-tuning this diametermeasurement, the ISO committee gives anew Severity Rating percentage within atable, with columns for percentagediameter reduction and the rope type.

The Severity Rating table can be used togive an indication of how close the rope isto a point where the examiner must

discard it.For all types of ropes, a Severity Rating

of 20% is ‘slight’, 80% ‘very high’ and 100%means that it is time to ‘discard’.

Rope Category Numbers andCumulative EffectsDistributors of ropes and training are nowchanging their catalogues to include aRope Category Number (RCN) for eachrope, a figure based on rope type providedby the manufacturer.

The RCN can be used in othercalculations.

Supplying rope and rope inspection inaddition to crane services, Certex nowgives the RCN to buyers of its ropeproducts.

“Suppliers of crane ropes should beinforming their customers of the RCN, sothat the correct discard criteria can beused,” says Kirkham.

He adds, “This defines ropes by theirconstruction and number of load bearingwires in the outer layer of strands. Some ofthe discard criteria is then based aroundthis RCN.”

Kirkham says, “One of the othersignificant changes is the formalisation of amethod of assessing rope deteriorationknown as the cumulative effect.

“This method may be used due to thefact that a rope deteriorates in a number ofdifferent ways and this can sometimeshappen in the same portion of rope.

“The standard now recognizes this andgives advice as to the way we can assessthe ropes percentage towards discard.”

Training changesCarl Stahl Evita, which provides a two-and-a-half-day Wire Rope Inspection Course inRotherham, UK, has recently updated itscourses to take into account of all of thechanges which have been introduced inthe new standard, and offer a shortercourse as a referesher course for returninggraduates on the new method ofmeasuring rope diameter.

Roy Fulthorpe, a manager at Carl StahlEvita, says: “By making this calculationand referring to relevant tables within ISO4309:2010 the examiner can determinewhether the rope has reduced in diametersufficiently to trigger discard.

“In the event that the diameter has

reduced, but not to a level which wouldjustify full discard, the examiner canallocate a percentage ‘severity rating’.”

Fulthorpe says this training allowsexaminers to prove dicardability to clients.

“This is important as it allows the wirerope examiner to support his judgmentwith quantitative information based onactual measurements.”

Certex, a global training provider withoffices in the US, UK and Europe is alsooffering courses on the update to thestandard: a day-long rope examiners’course, or a four-hour session designed forgraduates.

Attendees of Certex’s training may havethe good fortune to be in a class taught byRay Allen, who is also the current chairmanof the ISO 4309 committee.

To help their customers attain ropeexaminers’ certification, Bridon alsoprovide a two-day rope examiners courseat their manufacturing base in Doncaster,while offering tailor-made coursesworldwide.

With the latest revision, the ropeinspection industry faces a large-scaletraining challenge that will lead toimprovements in safety in the years tocome.

Hewitt notes that the use of large ropeswill continue to shape inspection practice.

“I think it is getting more precise and Ithink it’s becoming more critical with thelarge and longer lengths of ropes nowbeing deployed on cranes,” he says,adding, “Crane manufactures are simplybuilding bigger cranes.”

Although this applies to all craneindustries, it is particularly important to theoffshore industry because of its tendencyto cycle load.

Hewitt says, “Wire rope inspection isparticularly important, and the knowledgeof wire rope inspection is particularlyimportant when ropes are being cycleloaded for long periods.”

In memoriam: Adrian Kirkham

Adrian Kirkham, one of the interviewees inthis piece, sadly passed away after theoriginal publication of the article. An obituarywas printed in the December 2011 issue ofCranes Today, and is published online atcranestodaymagazine.com/AdrianKirkham

c km y

Chains | Equipment


Chainmanufacturer RUDhas had apresenceinAalen, in theGerman region of Swabia,since 1875. The companywas set upbyCarlRieger andFriedrichDietz, and takes itsname from the twomen’s surnames (RiegerundDietz, inGerman). With the departure ofFriedrichDietz, the companyhas beenowned outright by theRieger family,who stillmanage the business.

RUDnowemploys over 1,500 people inover 40 locations around theworld. Chain, asinternational salesmanager Eberhard Funkputs it, has always been the ‘connecting link’betweenRUD’smanydivisions. Today, thecompanymakes chain basedproductsranging from tyre chains, to fences, tooutdoors furniture, to conveyor systems. Inthe lifting industry, it is best known for itssling and lashing systems, and for supplyingcomponents to chain hoistmanufacturers.

Around 30 years ago, theGermanminingindustry began looking closely at accidentcauses. One of the conclusions from theirresearchwas that themain cause ofaccidentswas the use of standard, cheap, orevenhome-made, eyebolts. Building on itsexpertise in developing safe products for thelifting industry, RUDworkedwith theminingindustry to develop specialized lifting pointsthatwould remove the risks associatedwiththe use of eyebolts.

Reinhard Smetz, divisionalmanager forsling and lashing systems, has been involvedcloselywith the development of thesespecialized lifting products. Over the yearssinceRUD first startedworkingwith themining industry, he has helpeddevelopspecialist products for sectors including themould anddie, plastics, and castingindustries.

Today, the company continues toinnovate. Its latest newproduct again aimsto address a vital safety issue. One of themost importantways of avoiding accidentswhenusing rigging equipment is conductingregular inspections, discarding components

that are no longer safe to use. Theproblem isthat it can bedifficult to trackwhencomponents have been inspected.

RUD’s solution has been to develop a smallRFID chip that canbe incorporated into all itslifting points andhooks. The chip itselfmeasures just 8mm indiameter,with athickness of 3.25mm. ThepatentedRUD-ID-Point,with its 13,86MHz transponder is smallenough to be embedded safely in a hole in themaster link, hook or lashingpoint.

All of the componentsmakingup each ofRUD’s lifting points or hooks are trackedthroughout the production process. Once theRUD-ID-Point is embedded in the product, itcan thenbe tracked throughout its lifetime.RUD launched the system this year; thecompany aims to embed the tags in all 2mlifting points andhooks it produces annually.

On its own, RUDsays, the presence of anRFID transponder on rigging equipment isnot unique. Whatmakes the idea special, thecompany says, is its integrationwith anonline tracking system. TheRFID tag canberead in a range of differentways, including

the thumbdrive size RUD-ID-EASY-CHECKreader,which slots easily into theUSBport ofa laptop or tablet computer. Other optionsinclude readers that candisplay theRFIDtags unique, anonymous, number on anLCDdisplay, or transmit it to a computer bywireless Bluetooth.

RUD stores all relevant customerinformation referring to a component or acomplete chain assembly. This can becalled up via the RUDweb application.Using the web-based RUD application,customers can then access data related tothe component or chain assembly,including the operation manual, repairhints, test certificate, BG (Germanworkplace H&S insurer) permission,manufacturer declaration, user videos,calculation examples, test instructions anddocumentation. RUD now offers the RFIDand tracking system on all master linkswith a nominal size of 10mm or higher in itsVIP Grade 100 and ICE Grade 120 ranges,as well as most sling points with safeworking loads exceeding 5t.

Checking-up on chains

Using RUD’s RFID-based system to check a hook’s inspection history online

A German firm recently demonstrated its new RFID for chains. It uses an online server for ease ofaccess. On this page we review RUD’s innovative RFID equipment tracking system.

NEW

WinchesManufacturer

Tel. (+33) 344 511 133 - Fax (+33) 344 511 313 www.huchez.fr

Rope | Best practice


The firm’s fatigue testing machinegives crane owners the ability toimprove rope life for ropes used on

heavy-duty cranes such as those inshipyards, but also on ropes used in largeasset applications such as aerospace anddeep mining shafts, where the cost of ropefailure is high. The testing machines atMRE Matron’s laboratory compare lifelengths of different ropes more quicklythan generic testing machines, says itsfounder Dr. Ronen Ashkenazi, wire ropespecialist. It does this by using testingmachines to simulate the loading cycle ofthe application, and giving anapproximation of rope life in only two and ahalf months, rather than the year typicallyrequired.

The tests replicate the exact loadingcycle of the crane using nearly identicalcrane interfaces. They expose rope tosimilar environmental conditions, such asextreme temperatures of -55 degrees, andmaintenance including greasing, underlaboratory conditions.

Ashkenazi, says, “We have to considerthe interface of the rope and the machine:the sheaves, the drum, the grooves on thedrum and the alignment of the sheaves.You can specify friction forces, rotation

forces as well as controlling parameterssuch as the braking of the drums and thecontrol of the operator. All of these willaffect the rope life.”

In the analysis stage, MRE Matronassists with rope selection by analyzing thetest results and determining which ofdifferent available ropes is the mosteconomical and safe for the specificapplication.

MRE Matron sometimes works withengineers at rope manufacturer’s firms tomodify structures in order to improve rope'sperformance. Crane modifications are alsoconsidered. As Ashkenazi says, “Theservice life is not just the rope, it’s also theinterfaces with the machine.”

Based on the tests for the chosen ropetype, MRE Matron will determine thediscard criteria, predict the rope life, andrecommend maintenance practices suitedfor the usage.

Ashkenazi presented a case study thatshows how important it is to test ropes forheavy duty and critical applications.Seemingly identical ropes made by differentcompanies may be better or worse for agiven application.

“With regard to a specific application,fatigue testing compared three different

ropes under the same loading cycle,” hesaid. “The results are that three ropes ofthe same construction performed extremelydifferently. We opened one rope and foundthat the core was completely broken, andthis is invisible, while the outer surfaceshowed no damage. Another ropeperformed very well with respect to itscore.”

Preventing rope failure at all costs isimportant for obvious reasons on satellites,but it is important as well on shipyardcranes and in other situations whereneither the hire firm nor the contractor canafford waiting times.

Ashkenazi says, “On heavy duty cranesfor ships the fine is !100,000 just to occupythe space. The crane owner pays theshipyard for the waiting time. We arehelping them to choose the right rope.” !

Picking the right ropeMRE Matron Rope and Wire Rope Engineering, an Israeli firm, has developed a test to show how aspecific crane might be fatiguing its rope with the aim of improving rope life.

Chr. Huygensweg 21, 2408AJ Alphen a/d RijnThe Netherlands

[email protected] Tel.: +31 172440481

Your partner for special wire ropes

, Hoisting Ropes

, Trolley Ropes

, Pendant Ropes

, Assembly Ropes

, Boom Hoist Ropes

, Pipe Handling Ropes

Tower crane wire ropes for:

, Liebherr, Wolffkran, Potain, Terex-Peiner, Cadillon

Please get in

contact with us!

www.carlstahl.com

, PKZ, Condecta, Arcomet, Ferro, Terex-Comedil


Modulift’s customised rig was developed forlifting and assembly of the turbines atshipbuilding and offshore construction

contractor Harland and Wolff’s Belfast shipyard,before transport to and installation at the Ormondeoffshore wind farm in the Irish Sea.

Swedish energy firm Vattenfall, which will run thewind farm, will have 30 RePower 5M turbinesinstalled at the wind farm before the end of the year.

Harland and Wolff required a rig that could lift notonly the turbine hubs, nacelles and towers, but alsobe able to lift three rotor blades for fitting to eachturbine, in one lift. The rotor blades would need to bestored and lifted together in calibrated sets.

The giant lifting rig also needed to be lightweightto minimise any reduction of the maximum liftingcapacity of the crane lifting the turbine componentsbefore and after assembly.

Modulift’s solution consisted of a 16m-long 500tcapacity lifting beam with an unladen weight of 40tand a lightweight 48.5m-long spreader weighing lessthan 9.6t.

The lifting beam was designed to includeinspection hatches and was built to ensure that thesehatches would not compromise the strength of thebeam.

The second component, the spreader beam, had tobe easy to assemble in situ and capable of lifting thewind turbine blades, which in their set of three weigh75t and span 61.5t.

Sue Caples, operations director and head ofengineering at Modulift, says, “We spent a lot of timeplanning the best solution for their requirements andstill needed to be able to turn this project around inrecord time. With the barges already on their wayfrom Germany we had to battle against the weatherto get the components finished and transported toBelfast on time to enable the project to stay onschedule, with the first barge arriving in earlyJanuary.

“The components were taken by ferry to Belfast onseveral trucks and with Belfast experiencing itscoldest winter in 16 years, snow storms threatened todelay delivery. Luckily the dedication of all partiesinvolved enabled both the lifting beam and the latticespreader to be delivered before Christmas, and testedand commissioned in time for its first use in earlyJanuary.”

Spreader bars | Equipment

A sharp idea for bladesModular lifting and spreader beam specialist Modulift has produced a large customised lifting rig forhandling components for the assembly of RePower Systems’ 5MW wind turbine units.


The patented Vic-Lok shackle’sdesign improves on othershackles' safety, the Integricert

says, by being permanently attacheduntil it is cut off. This eliminates thepossibility that an operator may use anincorrect shackle. The company says itsshackle has a five-to-one load safetyfactor, with certified load ranges from3.5t to 13t, and is available in 1/2 in, 5/8in, 3/4 in, 7/8in and 1in sizes.

“The Vic-Lok is one of the firstshackles designed to address the mostcommon shackle-related safetyconcerns,” said Vic Segura, president ofIntegriCert.

“As shackles are often stored

separately from the slings, we designedthis permanently captivated shackle toeliminate the dangerous risk of shackles

that are too small for the load, ordifferent sizes on the same sling,leading to an unbalanced lift.”

Meeting the requirements of FederalSpecification RR C-27-1-D, Type 4-B,Grade A, the shackle also meets andexceeds ASME B30.26 requirements.All shackles are provided with ABS andDNV “pull to destruction” testdocuments.

IntegriCert is a portable load testingcompany for oilfield services equipment,transit cargo containers, skid units, wirerope slings and connex shipping

containers. Its services include inspection,load testing, and rigging for the oil and gasindustry in the Southwest. !

Hooks and shackles | Equipment

Vic-Lok keeps holding onIntegriCert, owned by Vic Segura with two locations in Louisiana, has recently launched the shacklethat bears its owner’s name: the Vic-Lok Shackle.

Moving into the market for bigmodular lifts, the 120,000tmSGC-120 can use its six

winches, twin booms and speciallydesigned ropeblock to lift a maximum of3,200t. It can lift 600t at a radius of 100m.

Despite the size of the crane itscomponents, rope block included, can betransported in standard 20ft and 40 ftshipping containers.

RopeBlock said the engineering of theblock was ‘extensive’. When the designand components were finally ready, theblock was assembled outside RopeBlock’s

plant in Oldenzaal. The hook has fivesheaves on each of its six housings. Thehousings fit a total of 30 falls of wire ropeswith a diameter of 50mm each. Themodular block may be configured forvarious capacities over 1,200t followingremoval of two sheave housings in themiddle of the block. It can lift using ageneral hook or two double hooks in caststeel.

Sarens has commenced the reeving andload testing on delivery of the block, usingthe hook to lift 625t at a 120m radius onthe full main boom. !

World’sbiggest blockThe world’s largest rope block for a land-based crane has beencompleted and will be tested in the coming month, according toits manufacturer, the Dutch firm RopeBlock. The 108t rope blockwas created for the Sarens megalifting SGC-120 ringer crane.

rigging yearbook 2012

Documents