Rigging and lifting

Introductio
• Rigging is the process of lifting heavy objects such as piping and cargo
and moving them to a new location.
• Rigging is a type of art because rigger must possess special skills that
allow them to carefully and safely perform lifting activities.
• It is the process of lifting and moving heavy loads with ropes, chains
and mechanical devices such as cranes and lifters etc.
• A rigger should keep in mind the following points:
1. Surrounding: Safe lifting and rigging activities require riggers to evaluate
their surrounding. Since rigging is typically used in construction
companies or industries, the rigger must survey the zone to determine
how much room is there for lifting the objects, a as well as to plan a safe
route for moving the objects from one point to another.
2. Inspections: safety and health administrations requires cranes or other
rigging vehicles to be inspected before they are operated. It must be
ensure that the equipment is safe to activate and that all of the
necessary controls function properly.
3. During rigging and lifting activities, areas in a construction zone must be
barricaded or block off from the public as well as construction workers,
to maximize safety. The route, the riggers take to move an object through
air must be clean to eliminate the danger of the object dropping onto
someone below.
Equipment for rigging and lifting
• Most rigging and lifting equipments assist crane or hoist operators when
they are lifting a load or moving it horizontally.
• The equipment can include several different types of devices and depends
on the type of load attached to the lifting devices.
1. Slings:
Slings are the most common equipment for lifting of different loads, with a
crane or hoist. The slings are single leg to multiple legs lifting and rigging
equipment.
A sling is made from a wire ropes, chains or nylon with a large ring or a
hooking device that attaches to the hook of the lifting device. At the bottom
of the sling is a load attachment. Load attachment is a hook that attaches the
load to the sling and lifting device.
• 2. Magnets:
• A common lifting and rigging device is a lifting magnet. This type of rigging
and lifting equipment lifts the loads of steel or scrap metal in foundries or
large scrap yards . The magnet attaches to the end of the lifting device and
engages the load with a on-off switch controlled by the crane or hoist
operator.
• Once the magnet is set onto a pile of scrap metal the operator engages the
magnet and the loads sticks to the bottom of the magnet.
• The load is then hoisted or lifted to a different location. A lifting & rigging
magnet comes in many different sizes depending on the maximum load
capacity, allowed by the lifting device.
•
• 3. Vacuum lifters:
• Vacuum lifters move different types of loads to another location.
• It uses suction cups to attach the load to the lifting device. The
suction cup utilizes a vacuum to make the loads stick to the lifting
device.
• This type of lifting is used to move large pieces of glass or other
materials that requires careful handling.
• They handle the dedicated loads without causing any damage to the
face of the material.
4. Clamps & Spreaders:
• These are used for large long loads, requiring a more stable way to
lift oblong materials such as cargo containers and ship yards.
• The clamps attached to the load by pressing against the sides while
the hoisting device is moving up to lift the loads.