Requirements & Procedure to be followed for thorough examination of cargo gears and load testing of lifting appliances as prescribed in Dock Workers (Safety, health and welfare) Act 1990 and rules / regulations framed there under:
Test and periodical Examinations of lifting appliances:-
- Before being taken into use for the first time or after It has undergone any alternations or repairs liable to affect its strength or stability and also once at least in every five years, all lifting appliances including all parts and gears thereof, whether fixed or moveable, shall be tested and examined by a competent person in the manner set out in the regulation.
- All lifting appliances shall be thoroughly examined by a competent person once at least In every 12 months. Where the competent person making this examination forms the opinion that the lifting appliance cannot continue to
- Function safely, he shall forthwith give notice in writing of his opinion to the owner of the lifting appliance or in case of lifting appliance carried on board a ship not registered in India, to the Master or officer-in-charge of the ship.
- Thorough examination for the purpose of this regulation shall mean a visual examination, supplemented if necessary by other means such as hammer test, carried out as carefully as the conditions permit, in order to arrive at a reliable conclusion as to the safety of the parts examined; and if necessary for this purpose, parts of the lifting appliance and gear, shall be dismantled.
Maintenance and Inspection of the Cargo Gears:-
- The maintenances of the cargo handling gear will be included in a planned maintenances system as required by the ISM Code.
- There are two basic requirements when maintaining cargo gear:
- To keep the equipment in good safe working order and
- To keep the supporting documentation in good order.
- The maintenance of the Derricks and associated gear aboard a ship which has been well maintained can be summarized as follows:
- Daily, when Derricks are being used to work Cargo: Inspect runner wirers for wear or damage. Check the rig for damage or for fastening.
- Before Arrival in port: Inspect Derrick in the associated gear to ensure that they comply in every respect with the requirements on the flag state and of the port to be visited.
Test & Periodical Examination of Lifting Appliances:-
- Before being taken into use for the first time or after it has undergone any alterations or repairs liable to affect its strength or stability and also once in every 5 years, all lifting appliances including, all parts & gears thereof, whether fixed or moving, shall be examined by a competent person in the manner set out in the regulation.
- All lifting appliances shall be thoroughly examined by a competent person once atleast every 12 months, termed as periodic (visual) survey. The survey must be done by a competent person, often the chief officer, though some authorities require the survey to be carried out by an independent surveyor.
- When the ship’s cargo gear is in frequent use all checks required by the survey should be done by the ship’s staff move often then once a year, even when regulation require an annual survey.
- The rigging arrangements must confirm to the rigging plan.
Before Examination:-
- All assembled items such as goose necks and blocks should be dismantled, so that the component parts can be readily inspected.
- Shackles, links, rings, hooks, triangle plates, chains, etc. must be sufficiently free of paints & grease scales to enable proper inspection to be made.
Items to be examined:-
- Deformation, wear, scoring, corrosion, scars, dents or other defects is to the structure & fittings.
- In structural members, the maximum permitted wear down or corrosion is 10 % of the diameter. If the metal appears to be wasted or worn the thickness should be checked using calipers against the original specification.
- In loose gear the maximum permitted weardown or corrosion is 5% on any diameter and 2% of any diameter of a pin in a hole.
- Wire ropes should be inspected over their entire length with particular attention to end fittings, ferrules & splices.
- Wire ropes must be renewed if the number of broken, warn or corroded wires in any length of 1 diameters exceeds 5 %.
- ➢ Fibre ropes should be examined over their entire length for external chafe and cutting, for internal wear between strands for mildew, rot chemical attack or other contamination.
- The Derrick boom, particularly at the point where it rests in its crutch or housing shall be thoroughly checked.
- A Derrick shall be tested with its boom at the minimum angle to the horizontal (generally 15O) or at such angles as may be indicated in the test certificate. The test load suspended and the boom shall be swing as far as practicable in both directions (P & S).
- Cranes shall be tested similarly with movable weights, at maximum, minimum & intermediate radius points.
Heat Treatment of Loose Gears:-
- All chains other than bridle chains attached to the Derricks on mast and all rings, hooks, shackles & swivels used in hosting or lowering shall be subjected to heat treatment at the following intervals:
- 12.5 mm and smaller chains, rings, hooks, shackle & swivels in general use, once atleast every six months.
- All other chains, rings, hooks, shackles and swivels in general use once every 12 months.
- All chains & loose gears made from high tensile steel or alloy steel be plainly marked with an approved mark, shall not be subjected to any form of heat treatment except where necessary for the purpose of repair & under direction of a competent person.
Regular Maintenance of Cranes:-
- The filters of the hydraulic system must be regularly cleaned or renewed and the hydraulic oil must be charged as required by the manufacturers.
- The oil in the gear boxes must be kept topped up to the correct level and must be changed at required intervals.
- Suitable grease must be applied to all moving ports of the system such as bearing of winches, sheaves, pivot points, etc.
- Wire ropes must be inspected for any signs of worm or corrosion and must be condemned if more than 5 % of the wires in any length of 10 diameters are damaged.
- The brakes for the hoisting winch & for the stowings & luffing which must be regularly inspected.
- Limit switches and the over ride keys for the over-hoisting or for the luffing & slewing travelling beyond permitted limits must be tested frequently and certainly before each port visit to ensure correct operation & position at the limit switches.
- The planned maintenance for a hosting and luffing wires should be when required on working hours or two years, whichever comes first.
Justify the statement the planned maintenance of ship proves cost effective in the long run:
The main aim of any maintenance plan on ship is to get the maintenance and repair work done in the least possible time with minimum costs.
A maintenance plan is therefore followed by every shipping company to ensure that the ship’s machinery maintains a particular standard of operation and safety.
Maintenance plan is an imperative element of ship’s routine operations and also forms an integral component of ship’s maintenance mechanism.
While making a maintenance plan, several aspects are taken into consideration, starting from the International safety management code (ISM) to the guidelines put forth by the machine manufacturers.
Objectives of a maintenance plan:-
- As mentioned before, the main objective of a maintenance plan is to make sure that the work is done in the least possible time with utmost efficiency and at optimum cost.
- Various points mentioned in the ISM code are taken into consideration, along with company’s procedures and manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Other aspects include type of the ship, condition of the ship, age of the ship etc.
