Had a main hoist cable let go on a job in Phoenix last Tuesday

We were lifting a big HVAC unit onto a roof, maybe 15 feet off the ground, when I heard that sickening pop and felt the load drop a few inches. The cable snapped right at the drum where it was spooling on. I hit the emergency stop and got on the radio to tell everyone to clear the area. We had to get a mobile crane in to finish the lift and spent the rest of the day inspecting every inch of our other rigs. Anyone else had a cable fail like that, and how often do you guys really check the wraps at the drum?

3 comments

3 Comments

dianal941mo ago

Wait, it snapped right at the drum while it was spooling? That's the part that gets me, that's supposed to be the safe part of the wrap. I'd be checking that spot with a flashlight every single lift after hearing that. @bettyfox has the right idea with a morning check, but man, a failure mid-spool makes me wonder about a bad spot on the drum itself or a crazy pinch point. That sound, that little drop, it just gets in your head. Makes you second guess every hum and creak the rig makes for weeks.

bettyfox1mo ago

That's a rough one, glad nobody got hurt. We check drum wraps every morning during the pre-op.

alex_johnson1mo ago

Morning checks are good, but that snap at the drum points to something deeper. You can't catch a hidden flaw just by looking.