Industrial Lever Hoist Freewheeling Load Drop Danger: New Concerns for Plant Safety Managers

Industrial plant safety managers have growing concerns about lever hoist freewheeling under light loads in hoist brands that don’t provide absolute safeguards. Lever hoists are widely used in all levels of commercial and industrial applications as primary lifting solutions.

The hoist-human interface on lever hoists is a totally manual operation requiring the operator to switch modes of lift from up to down by a lever selection. Plant safety managers have discovered a freewheel load drop can occur in some hoist brands, because the lever selector must pass through the neutral position before changing lift direction from up to down or vice versa.

“Zero mistakes are critical,” commented a plant safety manager to WVSN Reports. “Our plant now has much higher production quotas with decreased time, and the human tendency for wandering thoughts or casual conversation can become companions for catastrophe with hoist lifting applications. We have to think safety first; that is why we have made a change out of our lever hoists to the Harrington LB lever hoist. We know for a fact, that Harrington’s patented spring loaded freewheeling mechanism prevents the hoist from accidently dropping a load by locking in the freewheel mechanism under load.”

Recently, Industry Visions Industrial News witnessed a dramatic experiment of freewheeling with an unidentified hoist brand. Business Development Sales Manager for Harrington Hoists, Inc., Bret Lussow, suspended a galvanized bucket of steel scraps four feet above the floor. As he passed the neutral position for decent of the load, the hoist suddenly freewheeled and the bucket crashed, dropping the load.

“This is the scenario we are talking about,” Lussow explained. “It can happen fast without notice.”

Harrington’s LB lever hoist has ascended as the market leader in manually-operated lever hoists, and safeguards against freewheeling by using a patented two step process that locks the hoist into position when the direction selection is made. The patented lock-in feature of the LB lever hoist also allows the operator to use only one hand in its operation, thus speeding production and creating less operator fatigue. Being light weight and small in size also gives the Harrington LB lever hoist an edge as the choice for plant managers, due to the fact it can be carried easily by operators to remote locations.

Harrington Hoists, Inc. is one of America’s oldest manufacturing firms dating back to the 1800s, and has developed from a small niche player in the hoist market place to the leader in the theater of international lifting solutions.

WVSN Reports is a national industrial news show highlighting the lofty endeavors of American Industry.

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