Forty-five contractors, safety personnel, engineers, and members of the nuclear power field and Navy attended the I&I Sling rigging seminar on March 5, 2008. Tom De Soo, who has more than 20 years of experience in the Crane & Rigging industry, led the seminar at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Norwood, Mass.

Topics included load control issues, load calculation, sling loading, wear protection, sling inspection, and more. Following the seminar, about 30 attendees returned to the I&I shop in Canton, Mass., for some demonstrations. There they saw firsthand how a TPXC® sling was made as well as how an FE sling is spliced and swaged, and what the differences are between that and a loop back sling.

Following the demonstrations, I&I Sling performed a TPXC2500x7 break test. The sling was pulled to its WLL so the attendees could feel the fibers inside under load and get an appreciation for the HPF before it was pulled to destruction. Once pulled to its ultimate failure, the attendees were amazed when it broke at a 7.6-to-1 design factor, topping out at 190,000 pounds.

The people in attendance all had a guess as to when they thought the TPXC sling would fail. Lewis Eaton of SPS New England had the closest guess (184,000 pounds) and was the recipient of a $100 bill.