If a manufacturer decides to start using winches to pull heavy materials or equipment around their facility, there are a number of rules that they should implement. Read on to find out what these rules are.

Insist that the winch's cable is completely unwound before the equipment is inspected

Like any piece of industrial equipment that is subjected to heavy usage on a daily basis, industrial winches must be inspected regularly to ensure that they are always fit for purpose. It is vital for any manufacturers who have winches in their facilities to insist the cable is completely unwound before the inspection process begins.

There are a couple of reasons why this needs to be done. The first is that if the cable is wound around the drum of the winch, it will be difficult for the person inspecting the equipment to properly examine the drum component because the cable will be covering up most of it. As such, if it is not unwound beforehand, there is a risk that the person who inspects the winch could fail to see a defect in the drum that needs to be fixed. If this defect impacts the functionality of the winch and it remains unfixed, the winch may stop functioning at an inopportune time during the workday and disrupt the facility's operations.

Secondly, if the cable is not unwound prior to the start of the inspection, it will be almost impossible for the person performing this task to check the entire length of it for cracks or other visual indicators of damage, and to then repair any damage that is found before it compromises the winch's functionality.

Ban employees from getting within a couple of feet of the winch whilst it is in use

Manufacturers who have winches in their facilities should also implement a rule regarding how close their employees can get to each winch whilst it is in use. Ideally, they should forbid anyone from getting within a couple of feet of the equipment when it is switched on.

The reason for this is that a winch could seriously injure a person if they stand very close to it. For example, if an employee brushes their arm against the winch's drum whilst it is rotating, their arm or hand could get caught in the cable and pulled in toward the moving drum. This could cause a severe injury.

Given this, manufacturers who use winches must ban their employees from approaching this equipment when it is in use. If they have concerns that implementing this rule will not stop people from making this mistake, they should also consider erecting a barrier around the winch.