Rope Damage at the Termination Before the Morning Shift
At 07:10 on a 24-storey residential project in Kwun Tong, a dual-point gondola is parked at 18/F after overnight rain. The platform nameplate shows a rated load of 600 kg and a maximum of 6 persons. During the pre-use check, the operator finds five broken outer wires within one lay length on the left suspension wire rope, about 300 mm below the roof-rig termination. There is rust staining at the thimble and a slight kink. The independent safety rope has a flattened section near the same level. The hoist brake holds in a static test and the control pendant functions. The site supervisor says the first facade panel must start at 08:00 and that rope replacement will take four hours; he suggests using the right hoist only and keeping workers near the centre. Two workers are already in harnesses on the roof. The weather is calm, but rain is forecast after 14:00.
1. Should the platform be released for use? Apply inspection criteria to the suspension rope, termination and safety rope, and give your decision.
Read the worked answer
No. The suspension rope is a primary load path, and these findings point to a rejectable condition, not a cosmetic defect. Five broken outer wires within one lay length, rust staining at the thimble and a kink indicate loss of section, possible internal corrosion and a disturbed rope lay. Acceptance is not decided by a static brake test; that test only shows the brake can hold at that moment. The correct approach is to compare the rope against the manufacturer’s discard criteria and the SWP code of practice: broken wires, corrosion, kinks, bird-caging, diameter reduction, heat damage and termination defects are grounds for removal. The independent safety rope is also damaged by flattening, so it cannot be relied on as the fall-arrest line. Using the right hoist only, or keeping workers near the centre, does not restore the left rope’s strength and may create uncontrolled load distribution. The platform should be tagged out, its controls isolated and the area below barricaded. A competent person should inspect both ropes and the termination; the damaged suspension rope and safety rope should be replaced by trained riggers. Return to service only after inspection, functional tests and any statutory examination or certificate required by the safety scheme.
2. What immediate actions, communication and records should follow, and who authorizes return to service?
Read the worked answer
The operator should stop work, secure or lower the platform only if that can be done without loading the damaged rope further, isolate the power supply, attach a do-not-use tag and inform site management and the contractor’s competent person. The two workers on the roof should be kept off the platform, and the area below should be cordoned off. The damaged rope should be preserved for inspection rather than discarded immediately. The operator should check whether the other suspension rope and the independent safety rope show similar defects. The supervisor cannot authorize continued use; the decision belongs to the competent person, with a competent examiner where statutory examination is required. Records should include the time and location of the finding, rope identification, description of defects, photographs if permitted, the isolation/tag-out action, the defect report and the maintenance log entry. A toolbox talk should explain why the schedule was changed. Return to service should be authorized only after replacement, inspection and function testing, with the certificate or record filed before the platform is used again.