Safety Bulletins

Tension monitoring devices are not new to cable hauling, and other industries have used them for many years. In fact, they have been available here to hauler operations for more than a decade and more than 50% of the cable haulers working in the PF Olsen operations currently have one fitted. Additionally, some of the newer hauling systems have tension monitors fitted as standard equipment from new.

Fitted to haulers, tension monitors mostly monitor the tension of the skyline and the safe working load (SWL), however, they provide a number of additional benefits as well, including:

Using Tension Monitors - What are the Benefits?

• Avoiding overload, prolonging the life of the skyline and avoiding catastrophic failures particularly when using carriages or utilising long spans of rope.

• Training new hauler operators in particular to acquire the sense of and feel for the load on the system against a real-time display.

• Providing breaker-outs with feedback e.g. optimising the payload for productivity.

• Helping cable hauler crews to evaluate the value of the various rigging configurations.

• Enabling the calibration of the skyline band brake, and

• More recently, data collection capabilities allow data review and comparisons.

New PF Olsen Requirement...ASAP - 1 July 2017

Tension monitors make good sense and provide a safety and productivity benefit. Where haulers are using a skyline, it is a requirement to install a tension monitor, have it calibrated and used.

NOTE: Wireless Tension Monitoring Shackles (pictured right), used extensively in the oil and gas industry, have also been used by logging contractors to successfully monitor guy-rope tensions.

View this article in Safety Bulletin number 106