• lifting, securing and rigging products

Hooks and Swivels

Many industries use hooks and swivels in their day-to-day operations. What you may not know is that not all hooks are meant for lifting and not all swivels are meant to swivel underload, and not knowing the difference could result in an accident with little to no warning.

 

If you are using hooks and swivels in construction, mining, auto sector, machine shops, manufacturing and the moving of machinery, make sure the products you are using are designed for the application for which you are using them. For hooks and swivels to rotate under load, they must be equipped with a swivel bearing and approved by the manufacturer of the product. Often times they will have a grease fitting or perhaps a sealed bearing but it is important to know what products are meant to swivel underload.

Many other hooks and swivels can be used in lifting application, but they are not meant to swivel underload. They are considered "positioning" swivels. When connecting to the load, they are handy as you can rotate them to connect to the load properly, but once the load is lifted they should not swivel as over time they will wear prematurely and there is a very good possibility they will fail with little to no warning.

As all products being used in critical and/or lifting applications, it is important to know the name of the manufacturer of the products being used. By knowing the name of the manufacturer, you will know where to go to find information relating specifically to the product you are using, and most manufacturers have the application information readily available.