Have you considered the “safe” working limit and factor of safety when conducting lifting operations or when utilizing cables or ropes?  According to OSHA Standard 1926.251, Rigging Equipment for Material Handling,  rigging equipment shall not be loaded in excess of its recommended safe working load as prescribed on the identification markings by the manufacturer.  The safe working load should not be confused with the minimum failure strength of the components.  In general, OSHA requires a factor of safety of at least 5 for rigging equipment.

For example, if you are using a cable/rope that is rated at 500 pounds, is this the failure limit or safe working limit?  Is there a tag on the compont?  What are the terms used?  You should be asking this question for all rigging you are using and confirm that the value presented is the safe working limit and that your load is less than this number.  If you find that the 500 pounds is the failure limit, then divide 500 by the OSHA required factor of safety of 5.  Your actual safe working limit for that cable/rope is 100 pounds and your load should be under this.

If you need assistance with determining your safe working limit when using cables or ropes, contact Alan Weir (714-622-3920) or Dan Dowdy (805-340-3162) for assistance.