Site safety guy flagged my rigging on a job in Portland last Tuesday

We were setting a 12 ton HVAC unit on a rooftop and this safety rep from the GC walks up and points out my choker hitch was twisted on the master link. I'd done it that way for like 8 years without a problem, but he had photos showing how it reduces rated capacity by 15 percent. He made us stop, reshuffle the slings, and recheck the load chart before the lift. Has anyone else had a close call that got caught by someone who was purely there to watch?

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david8212d ago

Twisted chokers used to seem like no big deal to me either, just a sling hanging a little sideways. Then a rigger I worked with showed me how much a twist can cut into the rated capacity, and once you see the numbers in a load chart it's hard to unsee. Fifteen percent is a couple tons on a unit like yours, and that's the kind of thing that doesn't show up until it does. Glad the safety guy caught it before the load was in the air instead of after.

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