Like with any machinery, it’s important you take precautions to ensure the safety of everyone who uses your winch equipment and everyone in the vicinity during use. Carefully following proper safety procedures and protocols when operating a winch may be the difference between a successful job and a serious injury.
Whether you’re new to winching or just want to refresh your memory of how to operate a winch safely, these useful tips from Atlas Winch Hire & Hoist Services will help you stay safe when winching.
Know your stuff
Learning exactly how to operate your winch is the key to avoiding injuries and accidents. A winch that isn’t used properly poses a serious safety risk to anyone who uses it and might also affect the quality of your winching services.
In order to remain safe, you must learn how to use your winch properly. Follow the winch’s manual and undertake any possible training in order to become knowledgeable about winching and about your winch equipment in particular.
Inspect winch equipment before use
You should always give your equipment a once-over before you begin using it. Make sure you check that the winch itself and any accessories or other equipment is all in good working order.
Here are some key things to check for:
- The winch cabling should not be frayed or tangled
- There should be no damaged or broken components
- The hydraulic fluid and engine oil should be at a suitable level (where applicable)
- All operator controls should be fully functional
Even the smallest amount of damage can immediately become significant once the winch is in operation. This subsequently increases the risk of your equipment failing and causing significant damage to the load and/or inflicting serious harm on its user(s). Therefore, checking everything beforehand is crucial in ensuring the equipment can be used safely.
Keep the area clear
Cable breakages and other equipment failures can cause serious harm or injury to people and animals in the vicinity of the winch. Therefore, it is important to keep the area around your winch equipment clear during operation and keep anyone not directly involved in the winching work at a safe distance.
Don’t operate for long periods of time
Operating your winch for short periods of time will keep it and any electrical equipment from overheating, which will keep it in much better condition long-term and should reduce the risk of incidents or accidents.
You should never push your winch’s limits, be it in terms of exceeding its capacity or running it for long periods. Putting your machinery under strain increases the chances of it failing or breaking. Faster completion of a winching job is never worth the risk of a fatal or serious injury.
Atlas Winch Hire & Hoist Services is a leading winch hire company in the UK. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, we proudly provide affordable and reliable winching products designed to help you put safety first every time. We also offer installation, maintenance, testing and inspection services to help keep your equipment in the best – and safest – possible condition. To find out more or to discuss your requirements with our team, contact us today on 01371 859 555 (Essex branch) or 01899 221 577 (Scotland branch).
