(225 ILCS 710/32) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 4240)
Sec. 32.
Hoisting rope; material.
It shall be unlawful to use, in any mine,
any rope or cable for hoisting or lowering either people or material, when such
hoisting or lowering is done by any means other than human or animal power,
unless such rope or cable shall be composed of metal wires, with a factor of
safety determined as hereinafter set forth. Provided, however, that such metal
wires may be laid around a hemp center.
A factor of safety of all such ropes or cables when newly installed in
shafts less than 3,000 feet deep shall in no case be less than 6 and shall
be calculated by dividing the breaking strength of the rope, as given in
the manufacturers' published tables, by the sum of the maximum load to be
hoisted, plus the total weight of the rope in the shaft when fully let out.
It shall be unlawful to use any rope or cable for the raising or
lowering of men when its factor of safety, based on its existing strength
and dead load, shall have fallen below 4.5.
It shall be unlawful to use any rope or cable of the so-called 6 by 19
standard construction for the raising or lowering of people, either when the
number of broken wires in one lay of said rope exceeds 6 or when the wires
on the crown of the strands are worn down to less than 65 per cent of their
original diameter, or when the superficial inspection provided for in this
Section shows marked designs of corrosion: Provided, however, that when
such broken wires are reduced by wear more than 30 per cent in cross
section, the number of breaks in any lay of the rope shall not exceed 3.
The superintendent of a mine shall keep a record of every hoisting rope
used at the mine or mines in his charge, noting the length and
cross-sectional dimensions of the rope, the construction of the rope, the
kind of core, the number of strands, the construction of the strands, the
number of wires per strand, the class of steel of which the wires are made,
the breaking stress of such steel, the breaking load of the rope, the name
and address of the maker, the date of manufacture, the date of purchase,
the date when put in use, the designation of the shaft and compartment in
which the rope is used, the dates of resocketing, reclipping, reclamping,
recapping, and shortening, the length of rope cut off at each such
operation; the dates of reversing ends, and the date when discarded. A copy
of this record shall be filed with the inspector of mines.
It shall be unlawful to use any hoisting rope after 3 years from the
time of its installment, irrespective of whether use of the rope in the
interval has been continuous or intermittent, unless a piece be cut off
from the socket end of said rope and subjected to an actual breaking test
in the laboratory of a responsible rope manufacturer or a testing
laboratory of recognized standing and shall be found thus to be above the
minimum limit of strength as prescribed in this Section.
Every hoisting rope whereof the hook for connecting with the skip, cage,
bucket, or other conveyance is made by means of a babbitted or zinc-filled
socket, must be re-socketed at frequent intervals, at least 6 feet of the
rope being cut off, and every rope whereof the connection be made by clamps
or clips must be reclamped or reclipped with the same frequency as herein
specified for sockets, at least 6 feet of the rope being cut off at each
time: Provided that if the expected rope life based on previous
experiences, be less than 10 months the resocketing must be done every
month. And provided further, that if the expected life be between 10 and 15
months, the resocketing must be done every 2 months; if between 15 and 21
months, the resocketing must be done every 3 months; if between 21 and 24
months, the resocketing must be done every 3 1/2 months, and if over 24
months, the resocketing must be done every 6 months.
When a new hoisting rope is installed, it must be run for at least 10
trips under full load before it is used for lowering or hoisting people and
after each resocketing, reclipping, reclamping, or recapping, every rope
shall be similarly run for at least 4 trips before it is used for lowering
or hoisting people.
All ropes shall be superficially inspected once in every 24 hours by
some competent person designated for that purpose by the superintendent. It
shall be the duty of the superintendent to cause an examination to be made
whenever a rope is resocketed, reclamped, or reclipped, by cutting off from
the lower end of such rope a section not less than 6 feet in length and
having such section carefully examined both exteriorly and interiorly for
corrosion and breaks. If upon any inspection such hoisting rope or cable
shall be found to be below the requirements set forth in this Section, it
shall be disused for such purpose forthwith, and any operator or
superintendent using or permitting the use of such hoisting rope or cable
for the purpose of hoisting or lowering people thereafter shall be deemed
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and shall be punished as hereinafter
provided.
Every rope used for hoisting or lowering people or material shall be
securely fastened to its drum or reel and when in use shall never be fully
unwound; at least 2 full turns shall remain always on the drum or reel. The
end of the rope attached to the conveyance in the shaft shall either be
securely fastened within a tapered socket or else it shall be bound around
an oval thimble and then fastened to itself by such number of clips or
clamps as will develop at least 80 per cent of the strength of the rope and
the rope connection shall be maintained at least at that point of
efficiency.
Every hoisting rope shall be treated with oil or some suitable rope
compound at least once every month. Such compound shall be chemically
neutral and shall be of such consistency as to penetrate the strand and not
merely cover the surface of the rope.
Provided, that the terms of this Section, however, shall not apply to the
hoisting and lowering of people in shafts over 3,000 feet deep: Provided
further, that the terms of this Section shall not apply to the hoisting or
lowering of water or other materials in shafts used exclusively for that
purpose and whereof no compartment is used for the hoisting or lowering of
people. If any shaft exempted by this proviso has a compartment for pipes or
any other purpose than hoisting, and repairs or the attention of workers may be
required in such compartment, hoisting through the shaft must be suspended
while the people are in it.
The depth of incline shafts shall be taken as the vertical depth
measured from the shaft collar.
(Source: P.A. 87-895; 87-1133.)
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