On 8/22/13 10:16 AM, Grant Saviers wrote:
There are standards for when a wire rope should be replaced, one from OSHA
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=34
another at
http://www.grainnet.com/articles/Inspecting_Wire_Ropes-10905.html
As I read this guidance, you absolutely need to replace the cable,
particularly since the breaks are so close together.
Yes, if you're using it in an occupational setting, or if you want the
conservative approach.
However, hams do things that are "unsafe" from an occupational or
workplace regulatory standpoint all the time. They just have higher
risk than is considered acceptable for workplaces.
For instance, at my workplace, standing on the top 3 steps of a ladder
is not supposed to be done. But an awful lot of people stand on higher
steps at home, accepting the risk (and the inevitable injuries that result).
How many people have safety railings and restraints on their roof when
they go up to work on antennas? What about in their back yard? I have
a retaining wall in my backyard that is about 5 ft high, and you can
walk on the fill above the wall, and there's no safety railing.
How many people lift more than 55 lb by themselves without using a
lifting device (e.g. that 60 pound sack of concrete, or a 100 pound bale
of hay, or changing a tire)?
I would venture that very few recreational rock climbers are compliant
with occupational fall protection standards.
It is good that we discuss the usual standards, but they have a time and
place. And, in particular, for someone who cannot evaluate the relative
risk, regulatory limits are a valuable check point.
But part of what this mailing list is all about is to discuss the
relative risks, and create knowledgeable users who can make those sort
of judgement calls. The going in assumption is that only YOU is going
to be affected by the judgement, of course. I think all of us tend to
take a more conservative standard when doing work for someone else, than
when doing it for yourself. Folks who have come out on the unfortunate
side of the decision personally also tend to be more conservative. Age
has a lot to do with it. There are things I did in my 20s that I would
not do now, 30 years later.
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