Dropped lifting beam due to parted soft strop  

What happened?

During lifting operations a lifting beam weighing 4 Te was dropped from 50cm. The incident occurred when the lifting beam was being prepared for relocation for sea fastening prior to transit. A 1 Te strop was doubled through the main lifting pad eye on the lifting beam for the relocation. When the crane started lifting the beam, the soft strop parted, and the beam fell 50cm to deck. The deck crew kept a safe distance from the lift; no-one was injured.

What went wrong

• The weight of the lifting beam was not checked before the relocation;
• An unidentified sharp edge on the pad eye in combination with an 1 Te soft strop (lifting a beam weighing 4 Te) caused the soft strop to part.

Our member considered that owing to the nature of the unidentified sharp edge on the pad eye, it is likely that even a higher rated soft strop would have also been severed in this operation.

What was the cause

• Our member identified as the cause, a failure to properly assess and identify risk.

Actions taken

• Never use soft strops against straight / sharp edges;
• Any straight or sharp edges or corners identified should be protected or covered or alternate lifting arrangements identified;
• Verify the weight of objects before the lift. Always verify that lifting equipment has the capacity to lift the load in hand;
• Be ready to STOP THE JOB if you are unsure about the safest method to be used.

Members may wish to refer to:

• Failure of webbing strop during lifting operations
• Failure of slings during loading operations
• Failure of lifting equipment: Dropped ROV
• High potential near-miss – Lifting equipment failure
• IMCA LR009 – Guidance on the selection, safe use and inspection of high performance fibre slings used for engineered lifts