Winch safety question.

[UKJeeper1]

Can anyone tell me when it would be acceptable to stand on a winch cable??

I'm asking as i was in this situation during an event last weekend. I was about to climb a steer rock slab and attached my wire cable to another vehicle as a saftey measure. There was the possibility of sliding sideways and rolling, so i deemed it a prudent measure.

The marshall started to clear spectators from the area, but walked over and deliberately stood on my untensioned cable. I felt this to be unsafe as if i had not been paying attention and wound in the cable he could have been seriously hurt. I had to shout at him to get off the cable and he looked at me like i was an idiot.

Was i wrong in asking someone NOT to stand on the cable during an active winch operation??

 

[DDCxj]

you were right. He shouldn't have been standing on it. I've used a couple winches that have got stuck and wouldn't stop pulling in the cable. If his foot had somhow got twisted in the cable and that happened, he might need a few toes replaced.

So he just stood on it for no reason?

 

[UKJeeper1]

Didn't really ask him as i was just pissed at him. I didn't need the distraction at the time as i was kinda focused on making the climb, and after i got up on top i wanted to just move on to the next obstacle. Also didn't want to hear his lame assed reasons, as it would have made it worse.

It just blew my mind that the marshall deliberately stood on the cable. Dumbass.

 

[Wayne Sihler]

Maybe he thought it needed a safety weight on it and "stepped up" :laugh3:
There was no good reason for anybody to be on or near that cable.
Wayne

 

[5-90]

Just like climbing ropes, it is NEVER acceptable to stand on a winch cable - in tension or slack.

Not only is there the safety hazzard of having the winch operator start it up (as far as he knows, no-one's on the cable - and he probably wasn't told that you were...) and attendant entanglement, but there is also the hazzard of ground grit getting into the cable. This results in internal abrasion everytime that portion of the cable is tensioned, slacked, or flexed, and can result in premature failure. I highly suggest you clean the cable thoroughly - brushes and boiling water, then soak the cable in warmed linseed oil will handle it, as I recall. I could be off - I'd have to look it up to be sure (I'm more used to ropes than cable at the moment...)

Oh - in climbing circles, it is perfectly acceptable to throw things at someone mishandling a rope. I see no reason why the same should not be true of winch cables.

5-90

 

[Kejtar]

Oh - in climbing circles, it is perfectly acceptable to throw things at someone mishandling a rope. I see no reason why the same should not be true of winch cables.

5-90

Throw a shackle maybe?? Would work in both "circles" except our shackles are bigger and heavier

 

[TekkaMaki]

Was that to prevent you from proceeding until the spectators were clear? Must be a British thing.....you shoulda given him a little zip on the line. :wierd:

 

[5-90]

Throw a shackle maybe?? Would work in both "circles" except our shackles are bigger and heavier

Don't really matter - as long as it at least stings when it gets there. Since I'm known to carry knives, people don't tend to step on my ropes...

5-90