Inconsistent LOLER inspections.

[Floatlikeabutterfly]

Hello Arb talk.

 

Thought I'd ruffle some feathers with something.

 

I am a subby climber and am very pedantic when it comes to kit and health and safety.

 

I have noticed some inconsistencies between different LOLER inspectors. My kit got done earlier in the year and all of it passed with flying colours, I really take pride in looking after my kit and keeping it clean. Most firms I work for use the same inspector.

 

However, one of the companies I work for is in a different county and the amount of kit that failed their inspection was interesting. As nearly all the kit that failed was similar kit of similar age and state of wear to alot of kit I own. For example an isc micro grab, less the wire, passed with me and has done for years, but failed my friends LOLER.

 

I am no gung ho idiot, if I piece of kit is clearly past it I destroy and bin it.

 

Just wondering if anyone has come across the same thing.

[Pete Mctree]

It is difficult to keep standards across the board perfectly equal I guess. But, for the record, most of the inspectors I know will not pass a rope grab, without the spring (wire) as it does not function correctly without it.

[Floatlikeabutterfly]

That's interesting. Not saying you are wrong. But mine has been on 3 steelcore fliplines and not had an issue. I will buy a wire and see. Thanks.

[Thesnarlingbadger]

I would have thought there were certain things to look for I.e ropes with nicks in, harnesses having major ware on the bridge or stitching in key areas coming loose etc.

I guess it's down to someone's individual assessment of its a close call.

I guess it's worth asking the person that lowlers the kit why it failed, or more importantly why it passed. I had a strop pass once and I had no idea how it got through (I'd even brought a brand new one knowing it was on its last legs) but I spoke to the inspector and he said yeah it looks like it's ready for the fire but all the safety aspects are still fine the rope is frayed all over but the wire core isn't showing and the ends of it are fine.

[bumble B]

Rope grab minus wire = fail. Sorry to hear it bud, at least it wasn't a sticky biner that just needed a soak. Leave out of the inspection next time because you bought it the day after.

[Pete Mctree]

That's interesting. Not saying you are wrong. But mine has been on 3 steelcore fliplines and not had an issue. I will buy a wire and see. Thanks.

 

The wire acts like a spring, applying pressure to ensure that the cam grips all the time, not just under load. There is always a chance without it, that when loaded gently, the cam will not bite & slide along the line, which is not desirable to say the least. Especially with smaller diameter cordage/flip lines & larger cams. Hope that makes sense

[Floatlikeabutterfly]

See my biggest concern is always ropes. They get the most wear, they get filthy, have nasty groundies with sharp cutting tools cutting around them. They also aren't cheap especially when you are buying long ropes with splices.

 

My friends long climbing line had knots in it to highlight where it failed, and there were several, but was nothing more than fluffing from wear asfar as I could see.

 

I'm not arguing just trying to understand.

[Rich Rule]

I like to test my LOLER inspector. If a piece of kit fails LOLER and I remove it from working use. I have in the past slipped that piece of kit back in to be inspected. Sometimes it passes sometimes it fails again.

 

Very hard to keep standards across the board.

[Floatlikeabutterfly]

Rope grab minus wire = fail. Sorry to hear it bud, at least it wasn't a sticky biner that just needed a soak. Leave out of the inspection next time because you bought it the day after.

 

That's not the response I was looking for, you can't dictate like that. I have the paperwork, it passed and it's a legal document.

 

Thanks Pete Mctree, that's the sort of thing I wanted to hear. Thanks.

 

I'm not trying to spur an argument as these types of threads always do, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it as my friend forked out quite alot of dollar to replace equipment.

[Pete Mctree]

I used to do inspections for a company & one year I failed at least half a dozen krabs. I was not impressed that he put them back into service with his lads & submitted them again for me to re-fail next time around.

However, it is not an inspectors job to police what people do with there kit, only comment on thecondition etc

I never throw away, damage or destroy anything without the owners consent, as I hear some do, as I do not own it.