Cable hooks cut accidents caused by workplace clutter
Injuries in fabrication yards and offshore installations often arise from hoses or cables left lying on the ground. Serious collisions or trips can lead to long absence from work, with the threat of legal action by the injured party.
Woudenberg-based Westmark says that many such accidents could be avoided through use of its S-shaped Cablesafe hooks. These are designed to suspend cables, wires, hoses, and extension cords safely away from the workplace floor. They are made from a strong, non-conductive and non-flammable reinforced polyester, and are also heat resistant up to 200° C. According to the company's founder, Lodewijk Westerbeek, some of the hooks were fire tested, and approved, at Britain's Devonport naval shipyard for possible application in a submarine. After 20 min in sustained temperatures of 200° C, there was no evidence of deformation.
Westmark has introduced a phosphoric agent that makes its cable hooks glow in the dark.
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The first large-scale offshore application was the conversion of the Heerema crane barge Balder into a deepwater pipelay vessel at the Keppel Verolme shipyard in Rotterdam in 2001. ExxonMobil, which has been using the hooks for several years at its refineries in the US and Europe, also stipulated Cablesafe for the fabrication of the Kizomba A TLP at the Heerema yard in Rotterdam. This project required the supply of 2,000 hooks, where 200-500 is a more normal order.
The hooks also feature in Heerema's safety video for personnel boarding its platforms. During temporary shutdowns or emergency shutdowns, Westerbeek adds, the hooks bring the added advantage of keeping escape routes clear of cables that might otherwise hinder evacuation efforts.
Westmark's most recent innovation has been to add a phosphoric agent, available on request, which makes the hooks glow in the dark. This too can assist rescue staff, but it also helps maintenance crew to work inside void spaces such as storage tanks or the legs of drilling rigs.
Cablesafe comes in three sizes. The smallest, 6-in., can handle 40 kg static loads, while the largest, 12-in., can support 190 kg static loads. The hooks have been tested in this regard by TNO in Delft. To avoid confusion among contractors over who owns which hooks, the owner's name can be pre-engraved by Westmark.
