The Health And Safety At Work Etc.

Act 1974
Section 2
Section 2 lays down the broad duties of the employer with regard to the safety of his employees. The opening to section 2
states:
"It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare
at work of all his employees"

Specifically this Section requires that the employer:

(1) Provides and maintains safe systems of work
(2) Ensures that risks in the handling, transport and storage of articles and substances are minimised
(3) Provides such information, instruction, training and supervision as necessary to ensure the health and
safety of his employees
(4) Provides and maintains a safe place of work with safe access to, and egress from it without risks
(5) Provides and maintains a safe working environment and adequate welfare arrangements
Section 6
Section 6 lays down the broad duties of the designer, manufacturer, importer, installer and/or supplier. Again many of
these requirements are more detailed in other legislation and it implies that such requirements must be met in full. This
section was amended in March 1988. It will be seen that the requirements relate to similar requirements placed on
employers, thus strengthening the area of responsibility. The opening sub-section of this Section states:

"It shall be the duty of any person who designs, manufactures, imports or supplies any article for use at work or
any article of fairground equipment:
(a) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the article is so designed and constructed that it will be
safe and without risks to health at all times when it is being set, used, cleaned or maintained by a person
at work;
(b) to carry out or arrange for the carrying out of such testing and examination as may be necessary for the
performance of the duty imposed on him by the preceding paragraph;
(c) to take such steps as are necessary to secure that persons supplied by that person with the article are
provided with adequate information about the use for which the article is designed or has been tested and
about any conditions necessary to ensure that it will be safe and without risks to health at all times as are
mentioned in paragraph (a) above and when it is being dismantled or disposed of; and

(d) to take such steps as are necessary to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons so supplied
are provided with all such revisions of information provided to them by virtue of the preceding paragraph
as are necessary by reason of its becoming known that anything gives rise to a serious risk to health or
safety".
Section 7
Section 7 lays down the broad duties of employees, this states:
"It shall be the duty of every employee while at work, to take reasonable care for the health and safety of himself
and of others who may be affected by his acts or omissions at work; and as regards any duty or requirement
imposed on his employer, or any other person by or under any relevant statutory provisions, to co-operate with
him so far as is necessary to enable that duty or requirement to be performed or complied with".
Lifting Accessories/Separate Lifting Accessories
The Directive uses both of these terms, but the definitions given are a little confused. It is generally accepted that these
terms have the same general meaning as ‘lifting gear’.

Coefficient of Utilisation/Working Coefficient

These terms have the same meaning as ‘factor of safety’. They are the ratios applied to establish the WLL and SWL of an
item of lifting equipment. Generally the FOS used by the manufacturer to establish the WLL is referred to as the
‘coefficient of utilisation’ and the FOS used by the competent person to establish the marked SWL is referred to as the
‘working coefficient’.

Test Coefficient
This is the ratio of test load or force applied to an item relative to its WLL.

Static Test
Is a test where a set force is applied to an item of lifting equipment, e.g. by a test machine. The force applied is
determined by use of the appropriate ‘test coefficient’.

Dynamic Test
Is a test where a load is applied to a lifting machine and the machine is operated in all of its possible configurations? The
load applied is determined by the use of the appropriate ‘test coefficient’.

Thorough Examination
A thorough examination is a visual examination of the item, which may include some form of testing, e.g. NDT,
functional test, proof test etc., as is deemed necessary by the person making the examination in order to reach their
conclusion as to the safety of the item under examination.

EC Declaration of Conformity
Is a declaration made by the manufacturer, or other responsible person with the legal duties of a manufacturer and who
controls the technical file, confirming that the item to which it refers complies fully with the Directive and that the
essential safety requirements have been met in full. It must give the following information:
(a) the business name and full address of -
(i) the responsible person; and
(ii) where that person is not the manufacturer, e.g. an importer in the European Union, that of the
manufacturer;
(b) a full description of the equipment, including the make, type and serial number;
(c) indicate all of the relevant provisions with which the item complies;
(d) specify the transposed harmonised standards, national standards and technical specifications used; and
(e) identify the person authorised to sign the declaration of behalf of the responsible person.

Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations 1998

Best Practice
(1) Keep work equipment maintained in a safe condition and in good working order.
(2) Keep a record of maintenance for work equipment.
(3) Have regular inspections of the equipment to ensure it stays in a safe condition.
(4) Make sure the equipment conforms to all local legislation.
The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998

The Factories Act, and the industry specific regulations made under the Act, contained lists of equipment to which they
referred. LOLER takes a different approach referring only to a lifting operation and any equipment used in that operation
is considered to be lifting equipment.

Regulation 2 defines ‘lifting equipment’ as ‘any work equipment for lifting or lowering loads and includes its attachments
used for anchoring, fixing or supporting it’ and an ‘accessory for lifting’ as ‘work equipment for attaching loads to
machinery for lifting’. We can therefore see that the scope is very broad and catches a lot of equipment previously not
considered to be lifting equipment.

The duty to comply with LOLER is placed on the ‘employer’, but Regulation 3 makes it clear that the term includes self-
employed persons who use lifting equipment and; as appropriate, persons who have control of lifting equipment; persons
who use or supervise or manage the use of lifting equipment, or the way in which lifting equipment is used, to the extent
of their control.

Regulation 4 refers to the selection and suitability of lifting equipment for the purpose and conditions under which it is to
be used. It requires that the employer ensures that lifting equipment is strong enough and stable for the load and that the
load itself, and anything attached to it and used in lifting it, is strong enough.

Regulation 5 makes the requirements for equipment used for lifting persons. It requires greater safety coefficients (factors
of safety) than for other purposes.
Regulation 6 requires lifting equipment to be positioned and installed in such a way as to reduce as low as possible the
risks of the equipment or load from striking persons; or the load from drifting, falling freely or being unintentionally
released; and that it is otherwise safe.

Regulation 7 refers to the marking of equipment. It requires lifting machines and accessories to be clearly marked with the
SWL. Accessories must be marked so that the characteristics for their safe use can be identified, e.g. with the grade mark
and angle of rating. There is a further requirement that equipment designed for lifting persons is clearly marked to that
effect, and equipment not designed for lifting persons, but which may be used in error for that purpose, e.g. a goods lift, is
clearly marked that it is not designed for that purpose.

Regulation 8 deals with the planning, supervision and control of lifting operations.

Regulation 9 deals with the examination and inspection of lifting equipment and Regulation 10 deals with the records of
lifting equipment. These have a direct bearing on the duties of the tester and examiner and contain some requirements that
the competent person must meet. We will therefore consider them separately after this general look at LOLER.

Regulation 11 refers to the keeping of records and documentation.

We need not concern ourselves with the remaining requirements of this set of regulations, other than to note that there is a
schedule of information to be recorded following a thorough examination.

competent person
The ACoP to LOLER Regulation 9 states that the competent person carrying out a thorough examination of lifting
equipment must have:
‘such appropriate practical and theoretical knowledge and experience of the lifting equipment to be thoroughly
examined as will enable them to detect defects or weaknesses and to assess their importance in relation to the
safety and continued use of the lifting equipment’.

(Over fifty years ago LEEA, then the Chain Testers’ Association, defined a competent person as:
"One who has the requisite knowledge and experience, both theoretical and practical, of the type of material under
examination to certify with confidence whether it is free from patent defects and suitable in every way for the
duty for which the article is required".)
VERIFICATION OF LIFTING EQUIPMENT
Examples of cleaning methods are:
1) Brushing or wire brushing to remove light rust and debris.
2) The use of proprietary solutions to remove stronger rust penetrations. Great care must be exercised here.
Many of these products are acid based and whilst dilute acid preparation may be used on some items of
lifting gear this is not generally the case. Alloy steels in particular are prone to hydrogen embrittlement
when they have been in contact with acid or caustic conditions.
3) Shot blasting or rumbling to remove scale.
4) Degreasing to remove oils and fats.
Carry out dimensional checks against the standard, specification or drawing. Carry out any other checks necessary to
ensure the item is in compliance with the standard and/or specification. Carry out a full visual examination. The following
gives examples of some typical items and lists the points to be considered during their examination following a period of
service. In later units, when we discuss the specific items covered by Lifting Machines Manual, we will consider these
matters in greater detail.

Chain Slings
Should be examined and checked for:
1. Sizes of chain, links and hooks for loads required
2. Stretch due to wear and loading (5% maximum), variation in the lengths of the legs; (compare with past
records)
3. Hooks for openings and distortion (see below)
4. Links and rings for distortion or roundness
5. Chain for bent and twisted links. The links should articulate freely
 6. All parts for wear, (8% reduction in diameter), corrosion, nicks and chemical attack
7. Cracks, weld faults and marks in weld areas

Hooks
Should be examined and checked for:
1. Opening of hook against manufacturer's catalogue, 1/10th maximum (if it exceeds this, scrap hook). Other
distortion
2. Wear in eye, saddle etc., i.e. 8% reduction in thickness
3. Cracks, nicks, scores and gall marks in the body of the hook
4. Shank for alignment, swivel for free running, soundness and completeness of thread etc.
5. Corrosion and chemical attack

Shackles
Should be examined and checked for:
1. Sizes for loads to be lifted
2. Correct pin fitted. Free working of pin
3. Wear of the pin thread
4. Alignment of holes in shackle
5. Wear in pin and bow (as per steel chain, ie 8% reduction in diameter)
6. All parts for nicks, cracks, corrosion and chemical attack

Eyebolts
Should be examined and checked for:
1. Size for loads to be carried
2. Thread for completeness, wear and alignment. Correct undercut or relieving at the base of the
shank.
3. Alignment of shank and eye
4. Cracks in shank and eye
5. Wear in eye and link etc, ie 8% reduction in diameter
6. Corrosion and chemical attack
Wire Ropes
Should be examined and checked for:
1. Size of loads to be lifted
2. Kinks in the rope
3. Wear in rope
4. Change in diameter (increase or decrease) and increase in length
5. Lubrication and internal condition
6. Broken wire (maximum 5% in any length equal to 10 times the diameter, but remember even 1 broken
wire presents a hazard to the user or equipment in certain applications)
7. Condition of splices, ferrule secured eyes etc
8. Corrosion and chemical attack. NB With some constructions of wire rope internal corrosion can cause an
increase in diameter

Fabricated Items
Should be examined and checked for:
1. General conditions of material paying particular attention to the finish of cut and machined parts which
should be smooth with no stress raisers
2. Nicks, cracks, distortion, corrosion and chemical attack
3. The soundness of welds, they should be free of slag, cracks, porosity and undercut
4. Bolts should be of correct length and threaded sections should not be subject to shear. Nuts should be
fully engaged and secure. Locking devices and washers must be in place.

Lifting Machines
Should be examined and checked for:
1. General operation, this will vary with the type of machine but should generally be smooth without
jerkiness
 2. Operation of brake or other sustaining mechanism
3. Operation of limits and safety devices
4. Correct mating of moving parts, eg gears
5. General condition of materials and anchorage’s
6. Mechanical damage, cracks, distortion, corrosion and chemical attack

Note: Composite items, such as a spreader beam with two leg top suspension chain sling, shackles and pendant wire
ropes, should be broken down into the component parts as necessary and examined on that basis. The complete assembly
should then be checked for correct fitting, alignment of parts etc.

Marking or Re-marking
As well as marking new equipment, it is sometimes necessary to re-mark the information on in-service equipment. It must
be realized that in stamping an item we are in fact introducing a potential fault as the indentations act as stress raisers.

The marking is therefore made on selected areas of the item where the effects are minimized. Care must be taken so that
the stamping is neither too sharp nor excessive in depth, particularly when using new stamps. The size of the stamps used
should not exceed the following:

Diameter of Material Size of Stamp

Up to & including 12.5 mm 3 mm

Over 12.5 mm up to & including 26 mm 4.5 mm

Over 26 mm 6 mm

UNIT NO. 3.13 - JAW WINCHES

PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
All jaw winches operate by the same general principle, which may be described as the 'hand over hand' principle, like a
man pulling on a rope. In the jaw winch there are two sets of jaws which act as the hands. Whilst one set of jaws grips and
pulls the wire rope the other set of jaws change position. The second set of jaws then grip the rope and the first set of jaws
release it, allowing the second set jaws to pull the rope and so on. See figure 2.
The effort to the rope in a jaw winch is provided by two levers, one forward and one reverse motion. These act via a lever
and cam system on keys which command the clamping of the jaws on the rope.

Each set of jaws is made up of a top and bottom jaw which are brought together (clamped), or separated (unclamped), by
means of half-moon shaped keys actuated by levers known as jaw links.

When the jaw link is moved clockwise, the jaws are clamped on to the wire rope in order to draw it forward or maintain it
in position. When the jaw link is moved in an anti-clockwise direction the jaws are unclamped in order to allow the wire
rope to move through, but only in the direction opposed to the motion of the wire rope. This is due to the fact that the jaws
are held together by a pre-clamping spring (as shown) and any effort to pull the wire rope forward when the jaws are
unclamped will result in them clamping onto the wire rope. See figure 3.
UNIT 3.17 - HYDRAULIC JACKS
PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
Although there are wide variations in design and the materials used to manufacture hydraulic jacks, rams and pumps, the
basic principle of operation is the same. A liquid is taken from a reservoir, forced thorough a small bore to the underside
of a ram which, in turn, is forced upward making room for further liquid to fill the space and keep the ram raised.

In hydraulic pump and rams, or jacks, the liquid is a light oil. Generally this flows easily, offers considerable resistance to
compression and is not greatly affected by changes of temperature. So, although not strictly true, we can consider the oil
to a) be incompressible, so that when put under pressure it will flow, b) unaffected by temperature so that it will not
expand and c) if put under pressure will seek an increase in the volume of the space.
In the hydraulic jack we make the oil flow into a confined space under pressure, but as we cannot compress the oil, the
space must expand. If the space cannot expand, the weakest part of the jack would fail, eg the seals would blow.

The space is expanded as a result of the oil pushing the ram out of the jack. In Figure 1 we see a schematic sketch of a
jack showing the principle of operation. (An independent pump and ram would be the same except the pump is connected
to the ram by a hose with the delivery non return valve in the entry port to the ram.)
When the lever is raised the small (pump) plunger is lifted. This causes oil to be sucked from the reservoir into the area
previously occupied by the plunger. The oil passes through a filter and a non return valve (suction valve). When the lever
is then depressed the plunger is lowered putting pressure on the oil, which, due to the non return valve is unable to return
to the reservoir. The oil is therefore made to flow into the large plunger chamber via another non return valve (delivery
valve).

Further pumping of the lever causes more oil to flow under pressure and, as the pressure acts equally in the enclosed
system, it seeks to expand the space available to it. This it does by pushing the large plunger (ram) out of its chamber, the
pressure in the system being greater than the downward pressure of the large plunger and load.

To lower the jack a valve is opened (release valve) which allows the oil to return to the reservoir. The downward action of
the ram puts pressure on the oil, which, unable to return the way it came because of the non-return valves, flows back to
the reservoir by this alternative route.

If the load were too great the jack would fail due to the high internal pressure. In practice a pressure release valve is fitted
so that if the pressure builds to an amount greater than for which the valve is set the oil is allowed to flow back to the
reservoir.