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When I first began learning about gear for roped activities there was very little consideration given to gear inspection, retirement or documentation. Now I'd say it's come full circle and I'm doing things very differently.
Much like a professional in any other industry, when you bring your tools to a worksite you should be able to demonstrate to any employer (or supervisor) that your equipment is in good working order.
Your goals should be:
to ensure that equipment is regularly inspected,
faults are picked up and rectified early, and
to provide proof of this process.
I'd like to recommend a system and some pointers that I wish I had been using from the start of my career. This system has been adapted with permission from Richard Delaney at ropelab.com.au and I would thoroughly recommend checking out his site.
Note: This is not an article about how to assess, or when to retire equipment.
An inspection and documentation system
Always carry out pre-use checks (eg. flake a rope through your hands)
Have formal inspections by a competent person ideally at least every six months (you can be the competent person!)
Have additional inspections of specific items following unusual uses (eg a drop from height).
At each inspection sort items in to
pass (return the item to use/continue to use in your work)
fail (remove the item completely from service and ensure it cannot accidentally be returned to use. Dispose of the item thoughtfully)
quarantine (having a quarantine pile is useful for equipment that may have had an unusual use or questionable behaviour [like a carabiner gate sticking], it's also good for if you’re unfamiliar with a particular bit of gear. Quarantined items need to be very clearly removed from service until they can be passed [by a competent person in line with manufacturers guidelines])
Documentation
A system suggested by Richard Delaney of Rope test Lab has equipment divided into categories. I've reorganised his categories, added one, and formed a mnemonic/acronym from the result: C.R.A.S.H.E.D.
- Connectors (carabiners, maillons, etc).
- Ropes (working ropes, lifelines, lanyards, setup ropes, etc).
- Absorbers (shock-packs, force limiting lanyards, etc).
- Slings (anchor slings, rigging slings, webbing, etc).
- Harnesses & Helmets.
- Everything else you want to track/measure/record/mark (eg rope protection, drills, winches, tripod components, caving ladders, etc) (My addition)
- Devices (descenders, rope grabs, ascenders, rigging plates, pulleys, swivels, back-up devices, etc).
Each item in each category is given the appropriate letter and then a 3 digit unique identifier (eg C092 would be for the 92nd carabiner you buy). (For more on marking gear, you can read some good stuff as a member at http://www.ropelab.com.au/members-equipment-inspection-and-logging/ )
Richard's approach to record keeping is a simple spreadsheet. The file has multiple pages with one for each of the six categories outlined above (Connectors, Devices, Rope, Slings, Harness/Helmet, Absorbers, Everything else). Each page has a single line which corresponds to an individual ‘record’ for each unique piece of equipment. As each inspection falls due, create a new column and note the overall result for each item of equipment. Note and check expiry dates for software like harnesses, helmets, ropes, and slings.
If you create this spreadsheet in a free online service like google docs, then your spreadsheet will be available with you anywhere you work.
(I hope to one day share a copy of a spreadsheet here that you can download as a template)
Richard Delaney's inspection and documentation system used with permission. Find out more by becoming a member at http://www.ropelab.com.au/
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