Hoist & Winch Inspection

Hoists and winches carry load continuously in service and degrade in ways that are not visible from the outside — brake linings wear, load chains stretch, rope cores corrode inside an apparently sound outer layer. Because these are the items most often left in place and used daily, they are also the ones most often overdue.

Equipment inspected

• Chain hoists, manual and powered
• Lever hoists and pull lifts
• Wire rope hoists
• Air and pneumatic winches
• Electric and hydraulic winches
• Man rider winches
• Beam trolleys and push travel units
• Tirfor and wire rope pullers

Man rider winches

Equipment used to lift people is held to a materially higher standard than equipment lifting loads, and it is inspected accordingly. Examination covers the secondary or fail-safe brake and its independent function, rope condition against the tighter discard criteria applied to personnel lifting, controls including deadman operation, emergency lowering under load, and the correct reduced working load limit for man riding rather than the load rating marked on an equivalent goods hoist. Inspection intervals are shorter and are not negotiable against operational convenience.

What the inspection covers

• Verification of identification, safe working load marking and traceability to certification
• Load chain examined for stretch against the manufacturer's limit, wear at the bearing surfaces, nicks, gouges, twisted or bent links and corrosion
• Wire rope assessed against ISO 4309 discard criteria — broken wires, corrosion, deformation, diameter reduction and core condition
• Rope termination, wedge sockets, dead-end anchoring and minimum dead turns on the drum
• Drum and sheave condition, groove wear and correct spooling
• Brake function and holding capability under load, including secondary brakes where fitted
• Load limiter and overload protection function tested where fitted
• Upper and lower limit switches on powered units
• Hook examined for throat opening, twist, wear and cracking, with magnetic particle inspection where condition or standard requires
• Safety latch, swivel and suspension arrangement
• Gearbox and drive condition, lubrication and leakage
• Air supply, lubricator and control valves on pneumatic units
• Beam trolley wheel and flange wear, and compatibility with the beam it runs on
• Review of history, previous certificates and any repair records

Load testing

Proof load testing is carried out on new equipment, after repair or replacement of a load-bearing component, after installation in a new position, and at the intervals your specification requires. The load is applied at the multiple of safe working load stated in the applicable standard, with brake holding, lowering control and structural condition verified during and after the test. Testing uses calibrated weights or load cells with recorded values.

Standards applied

Inspection follows the standard specified by your contract or governing authority. Those most commonly applied are ASME B30.16 for overhead hoists, B30.21 for lever hoists, B30.7 for winches and B30.23 where equipment is used for personnel lifting, together with ISO 4309 for wire rope discard criteria and LEEA codes of practice. Manufacturer inspection and maintenance requirements are applied alongside the standard, since they set component-specific limits the standard does not detail.

Inspection intervals

Interval is set by the governing authority, equipment type and operating environment. Twelve months is a common baseline for lifting appliances, reduced to six months or less for equipment used to lift persons and for units in offshore, corrosive or high-duty-cycle service. Inspection is also required after any overload event, after repair, and where the equipment's history is unknown. Where we hold your equipment register we track due dates and notify you before certificates lapse.

Accreditation and approvals

ITMAD is accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 as an inspection body, is an ADNOC approved inspection contractor, and is listed on the Abu Dhabi City Municipality register of Approved Third Party Inspection Bodies. Certificates are issued in the format required by the governing authority, including Dubai Municipality and the Dubai free zone authorities, and inspection is carried out across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the northern Emirates. Inspection is carried out at your site, yard or offshore facility, and can be scheduled alongside crane and lifting gear inspection in one attendance.

What you receive

• An inspection certificate in the format the governing authority requires
• A report identifying each unit by serial number, capacity and location
• Findings recorded component by component with photographic evidence of defects
• Defects classified by severity, separating what stops the equipment from what must be monitored
• Load test results with applied load and post-test condition
• Colour-coded tagging applied on site
• Your lifting equipment register updated, where we hold it