Hoists come in many varieties, such as electric chain, manual chain, electric wire rope or electric belt and are all produced with one decade of service life before major repairs or replacements are needed. The ten-year work period may not mean it needs replacing or repairing after this time, but the machinery can last longer based on the way the machine is operated during its working period.
To help evaluate the working life of a hoist, you must be able to calculate how long the Safe Work Period is after your first use has occurred.
All hoists start life with 100% SWP and when used, the percentage will decrease to 0%, where General Overhaul (GO) is usually carried out by the manufacturer or representative. If a general overhaul is not possible or financially feasible, the unit must be replaced because its useful life has been exceeded.
When you buy a new hoist, you need to choose a unit carefully that has the correct task rating for your specific lifting operation, so you will have a machine that does not use SWP too quickly and requires replacement. When you do need to replace, find out more about a Hoist Winch from https://www.brevini.co.uk/power-transmission/winches/hoisting-winches/
Safe and reliable load handling is a major concern to ensure and maintain safety during all lifting operations. Wear due to normal use can easily generate potential problems, if not handled at the right time, so knowing what your remaining SWP is can assist with the early signs of wear and tear caused by material exhaustion and can help with predictive care and also provide initial notice of general repairs needed or when a hoist replacement must occur.
All hoist users must know the SWP remaining on all hoists they have and it is recommended that a log book detailing all appointment operations is stored for each unit.
The clock in the service meter installed on your hoist does help you calculate how long the hoist has operated, but this type of device only records the amount of time the main contact on the hoist has been energized and not how long the electric motor has operated.
Maintenance devices that can offer predictive services that monitor all lifting jobs and load weights, running time, and a wide range of alternative parameters can be used and this is probably the most accurate way to understand hoist status, because they continue to recalculate the remaining SWPs. This device is usually not installed on equipment and can be an expensive addition to existing or newly purchased hoists, plus the only wire rope hoist that usually has a predictive maintenance device attached to it, so it is generally not available for chain hoists.