26
RIGGINGREVIEW
ACT
JUNE 2014
TimHillegonds
reports that organizing and storing rigging
gear is an important element in assuring safe operations.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT FACTORS
INSTORINGRIGGINGGEAR?
HB:
At SWIR,we store all synthetic slings
indoors andout of the sunlight.Wekeep
themout of thedirt and store everything
on racksordirectlyon the concrete floor.
TF:
Yeah,Harry’s right onpoint.At Python,
we always recommend toour customers
to store their rigging ina cool, dryplace.
High levelsofmoisture andheat canaffect
riggingand cause it tobecomeunsafe.
Having the right storage environment is
extremely important.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THEMOST IMPORTANT
FACTORS INRIGGINGGEAR INSPECTION?
HB:
Forour employees,we’re always
impressingupon them that theyneed
topayattention to thedetails. There’s
simplyno excuse fornot payingattention.
Whenour folks are inspectinggear,
they’re looking closely fordamage and
wear.Anything that looks suspect is
immediately flaggedandpulled.
ANYTHING TOADD TO THAT, TONY?
TF:
Sure, it’sdefinitelygood tohave a
qualified rigging inspector take a lookat
your gear, aswell. These inspectors are
OWNANDWHAT’SKEY INPURCHASINGAND
STORING IT?
HB:
Iwould estimate that it’s close to
3,000pieces. I guesswe’renot as
concernedwithknowinghowmuchwe
have aswe arewithknowinghowgood it
is.Aswithalmost everything elsewedo,
quality is themost important factor to
us, especiallywhenwe’repurchasingnew
rigging.
TONY, DOES THATRING TRUE?
TF:
Definitely. I agreewithHarry that
quality is fundamentally important. You
alsoneed tomake sure that you’vegot
documentation inhand that verifies
the rigginghasundergone theproper
certificationand testing. Youneed to
know the countryof origin, too. In fact, it’s
requiredbyOSHA that this information
beprovided to thebuyerprior to the
purchase.
HARRY, HOWDOES YOURCOMPANYORGANIZE
ITSRIGGINGGEARANDWHY?
HB:
Wehavemultiple rigging rooms and
shedswherewe storeour riggingand it
is all sortedby size, length, and category.
Thismakes everything easier forus.
It’s easier to findwhen someoneneeds
something for aparticular job, and it’s
easier to inspect.
TONY,WHATHAVE YOUSEENCOMPANIESDO
OVER THE YEARS?
TF:
Most of the reallygood companiesout
therehave some sort of organizational
system inplace. I like to think that how
you storeyour rigginggear shouldbe
similar tohowyou store tools inyour
garage. Everythinghas itsplace.Also, a lot
of slings areproducedwithmetric
or imperial sizeson their tags. It just
makes sense toorganize themby length
anddiameter soyou’re less likely topull
the incorrect productwhenyou’re ina
hurry.
H
azelCrest, IL andPhoenix,
AZ are roughly1,700miles
apart. The climate inHazel
Crest is humid andgoes through seasonal
temperature changeswhile the climate in
Phoenix is typically arid andwarm. But
even though it seems as if the twoplaces
areworlds apart, they’re actually closely
linked, by industry andby interest.
HazelCrest ishome toASC/Python
America, amanufacturer anddistribution
center forCrosbyproducts andother
rigginghardware. Phoenix ishome to
Southwest IndustrialRigging, oneof
the country’spremier crane, rigging,
machinerymoving, heavyhaul and
warehousing companies.
Bothorganizations,whileoperating
onopposite endsof the country, share a
passion for “riggingdone right” andare
ledbypersonalities that havebeen staples
of the crane and rigging industry for years.
HarryBaker, thehard-workingowner
of Southwest IndustrialRigging, hasbeen
known tokeepa shop so cleanyou could
eat off the floors.AndTonyFastuca,
vicepresident, PythonAmerica&High
PerformanceProducts, can tell you
virtuallyanythingyou’ve everwanted to
knowabout riggingproducts.
Recently, Ihada chance to interview
Baker andFastucaabout all things rigging.
THE SOUTHWEST INDUSTRIAL RIGGINGSHOP
ISORGANIZEDAND IMMACULATE. HOW
MANYPIECESOF RIGGINGGEARDOESSWIR
Rigging
done right
Rigging gear is stored neatly by size
and capacity according to its usage.
SWIR owns close to3,000 pieces of
rigging gear.
THEAUTHOR
TimHillegonds
spent 10 years
in the heavy construction
insurance industry before
founding Thrive Creative
Services, a creative
copywriting agency dedicated
to helping businesses tell their stories.
