9.8.2 Pre-use Inspection/Thorough Examination

The degree of pre-use inspection or thorough examination required will to some degree depend on the type of clamp used and the installation conditions. Some types of clamp are designed and intended for temporary installation by the user to a suitable beam, e.g. in maintenance applications. It is therefore the user’s responsibility to ensure the adequacy and suitability of the beam. It will usually be sufficient for a suitably qualified and experienced person to inspect the installation prior to use to ensure it is correctly fitted. Other types of clamp are designed and intended for more permanent installations, often requiring an amount of dismantling and reassembly, which may call for a higher degree of examination to be made by a Competent Person (See 9.7 LEGAL REQUIREMENTS).

Where the Competent Person deems a proof test is necessary as a part of his thorough examination, the test load applied will be governed by the limitations of the overall installation, the test load for which may differ from that of the clamp, i.e. 125% of the SWL if used with a runway. The proof load for beam clamps is typically twice the WLL, unless specified otherwise by the manufacturer.