{{Short description|Equipment that can be used to lift and lower loads}} {{For|the application in physical exercise known as "weightlifting equipment"|exercise equipment}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2023}} {{multiple image | direction = vertical | width = | image1 = The Employment of Women in Britain 1914-1918 Q28530.jpg | alt1 = | image2 = The Employment of Women in Britain 1914-1918 Q28529.jpg | alt2 = | footer = A worker demonstrating a barrel elevator, 1918 }} [[File:Block-and-tackle-in-use.svg|thumb|Lifting a heavy object with a [[block and tackle]]]] '''Lifting equipment''', also known as '''lifting gear''', is a general term for any equipment that can be used to lift and lower loads.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=What is lifting equipment? - Work equipment and machinery|url=https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-equipment-machinery/lift-equipment.htm|access-date=2021-09-22|website=www.hse.gov.uk}}</ref> Types of lifting equipment include heavy machinery such as the [[patient lift]], [[overhead crane]]s, [[forklift]]s, [[Jack (device)|jacks]], building cradles, and passenger lifts, and can also include smaller accessories such as [[chain]]s, [[hook]]s, and [[rope]].<ref name=":0" /> Generally, this equipment is used to move material that cannot be moved with manual labor, and are tools used in most work environments, such as warehouses, and is a requirement for most construction projects, such as bridges and buildings. This equipment can also be used to equip a larger number of packages and goods, requiring less persons to move material. Lifting equipment includes any form of equipment that is used for vertical lifting, and equipment used to move material horizontally is not considered lifting equipment, nor is equipment designed to support.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lifting Equipment|url=https://warwick.ac.uk/services/healthsafetywellbeing/guidance/lifting_equipment/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=warwick.ac.uk}}</ref> As lifting equipment can be dangerous to use, it is a common subject of safety regulations in most countries, and heavy machinery usually requires certified workers to limit workplace injury.<ref name="Department of Labor">{{Cite web|title=1926.1441 - Equipment with a rated hoisting/lifting capacity of 2,000 pounds or less. {{!}} Occupational Safety and Health Administration|url=https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.1441|access-date=2021-09-22|website=www.osha.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2307/regulation/2/made|access-date=22 September 2021}}</ref>
== Safety issues == Failure or misuse of heavy machinery can lead to severe or fatal injury, leading regulations to be one of the largest debates in labor laws across the world. Each country sets its own regulations, and enforces different aspects of workplace safety when using lifting equipment.
=== In the United States === The [[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]] sets regulations for all equipment.<ref name="Department of Labor" /> Contractors are forced to uphold usually strict rules to ensure safety of workers. All machinery is required to be developed by a certified engineer, contractors must follow manufacturer procedures, all users be professionally trained before operating equipment, and equipment must be inspected regularly.
=== In the United Kingdom === The [[Health and Safety Executive]] sets regulations on equipment in the United Kingdom, under the [[Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998|Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations]].<ref name=":0" /> These regulations require equipment be registered on a Statutory Inspection Report Form, is adequate for the task, be subject to routine inspection, and the use of the equipment be properly planned out.
=== Working load limit === {{See also|Limit load (physics)|Ultimate load}}
Lifting equipment can be assigned a '''working load limit''' (WLL) in the interests of avoiding failure. It is sometimes known as '''safe working load''' (SWL), but this alternative term is sometimes avoided due to giving the connotation of safety, which may not be guaranteed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Glerum |first1=Jay |title=Stage Rigging Handbook |date=18 April 2007 |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |isbn=9780809327416 |page=38 |edition=3rd |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Stage_Rigging_Handbook_Third_Edition/7yS4uno7P2UC?hl=en&gbpv=1 |access-date=29 December 2024}}</ref>
The working load limit is calculated by dividing the "minimum breaking load" of the equipment by a [[safety factor]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yu |first1=George |title=Comments on a Case Study on Engineering Failure Analysis of Link Chain |journal=Safety and Health at Work |date=December 2021 |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=544-545 |doi=10.1016/j.shaw.2021.05.001 |access-date=29 December 2024 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2093791121000378|doi-access=free }}</ref> Working load limit as a concept is not restricted to lifting, being also relevant for [[mooring]] ropes.<ref name=Zarga>{{cite web |title=Report on the investigation of the failure of a mooring line on board the LNG carrier Zarga while alongside the South Hook Liquefied Natural Gas terminal, Milford Haven resulting in serious injury to an officer on 2 March 2015 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/59400114e5274a5e4e000239/MAIBInvReport13_2017.pdf |publisher=Marine Accident Investigation Branch |access-date=29 December 2024|date=June 2017}}</ref> Minimum breaking load is also known under the terms of "minimum breaking strength" or "minimum breaking force".<ref name=Zarga/> Working load limit of ropes are usually much smaller than their minimum breaking load.<ref name=Zarga/>
== See also == {{div col|colwidth=23em}} * [[Crane (machine)|Crane]] * [[Forklift]] * [[Lewis (lifting appliance)]] * [[Overhead crane]] * [[Patient lift]] * [[Simple machine]] {{div col end}}
==References== {{Commons category|Lifting equipment}} {{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Lifting equipment| ]] [[Category:Machines]]
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