RSS completes beam, frame proof load tests

Rope and Sling Specialists (RSS) Ltd. has proof load tested two 140t capacity truss lifting beams (frames) at crane rental firm Cramscene’s heavy lift division in Morley, West Yorkshire.

RSS, a lifting and rigging equipment and services company, accepted a scope of work from Sheffield-based TFL Responsive Engineering Ltd., which delivers engineering services, from concept and design through to fabrication, welding and mechanical installations. The pair of frames were each tested to 155.2t.

TFL shares premises with Ecclesfield’s CTL Seal, the engineering company that fabricated the frames and the 200t capacity test jig for the bottom of the beams, used to spread the load uniformly across the bottom of the beam. All other necessary equipment was readily available onsite, from the 440t capacity mobile crane, to the slings and shackles used to complete the rig.

Mick Gill, senior testing engineer at RSS, said: “Much of this job was routine, but it was memorable because the thermometer read minus two degrees beneath the hook and heavy snow had fallen in the region. However, the wind was fine and only that would have put a stop to the tests. The cradle weighed 5t and we utilised 160t-worth of ballast weights.”

There were two lifting points at the top of the frame and four at the bottom. Gill explained that the two top slings were 5,000mm in length, rigged at 20 degrees; and the four bottom slings, 4,000mm. The crane’s in-cab monitor delivered comprehensive information throughout, including the actual hook load, hook block (2t), frame and lifting gear (5t), totalling 7t, plus the load of 155.2t, equalling the 162.2t required.