When it comes to purchasing lifting equipment it is tempting to purchase second hand lifting gear to help cut your company costs. While it is understandable why many companies would chose to invest in second hand lifting equipment because it is a lot cheaper than buying brand new equipment, it is not something that we at SafetyLiftinGear recommend.

Even though there is a great deal of reputable second hand lifting equipment dealers out there, there are also a lot of deals who handle substandard equipment. This could mean that you may end up with some untested, unsuitable and above all else, unsafe lifting equipment. This could end up causing damage to machinery or fatal injuries if the equipment fails.  

Here at SafetyLiftinGear we strongly recommend you either buy brand new lifting equipment or hire your lifting gear from a reputable company:

• Hiring your lifting equipment can save you a lot of money.  We know that purchasing lifting equipment can become very expensive. Hiring equipment gives companies the opportunity to obtain a new piece of equipment for a fraction of the cost.
  
  
• When you hire lifting equipment from SafetyLifinGear you can be confident that the history of the item has been regulated. All of our items have been maintained to the highest standards, and if the equipment is damaged, or too old, we will remove it from our stock. Hiring our equipment will help you avoid situations where you find out that the second hand piece of equipment you have purchased is unusable because it has been poorly maintained.   
  
  
• If you are looking to replace a piece of lifting equipment buying new equipment could end up saying you money in the long term.  There is nothing worse purchasing an expensive second hand piece of equipment for it to fail on its third or fourth use, leading you to pay out yet again. You can avoid this extra cost by purchasing your equipment first hand. Sure, it might cost you a little more, but you have the benefit of the equipment lasting years, not months.  
  
  
• When purchasing second hand lifting gear you cannot be certain of its condition. It could look fine on the surface, but there may be something wrong with it that you don’t stop, or doesn't become noticeable until you are using it, by which time it’s too late!  All of our products come tested and certified,  so you can be confident that our lifting equipment will be safe and ready to use when you get it delivered to your site, warehouse or factory.
  
  
• Finally, with many second hand products you will not get a warranty, or if you do it will be for a month. This is not long enough to test the equipment, if you are not using it regularly. So, if you do run into a problem when using it, you often cannot return it, and will have to purchase a new piece of equipment as replacement. When purchasing your items first hand from SafetyLiftinGear we offer a 2 years warranty on most of our products as standard. So if you do encounter an issue you can be confident in the knowledge that we will maintain and replace your items.

When purchasing or hiring your products from SafetyLiftinGear, you can be confident that you are in expert hands, and receiving the best service.  Click here, to view our range of lifting equipment. To Hire our equipment simply click the red “hire me” button and follow the on screen instructions. If you run into any difficulties, or require any assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly customer service team on 0808 123 69 69.

Scaffold Hoists and Accessories

Block Grabs

Pallet Trucks

At SafetyLiftinGear, we supply a wide selection of ratchet straps as part of our range of load restraint products, which are ideal for for the secure transportation of heavy loads. Like other lifting and transportation products, ratchet straps come with their own WLL as well as a minimum breaking strength, making it easy to select the correct strap for your particular application.

Premium 5 Tonne Ratchet Lashing Strap 

1000kg Ratchet Lashing Strap

2000kg MBS Ratchet Lashing Strap

If you find yourself working at height regularly, either on a scaffolding our on roofs, even in manholes, a fall arrest block is an essential piece of equipment designed to help minimise the risk of injury, or worse. If you are working at height without using a fall arrest block, you are putting your own safety, and the safety of others at risk.   

Fall arrest blocks comprises of a retractable life line either made from synthetic rope or steel cable. The rope or cable retracts up onto a reel, that is stored within a protected housing, often made out of anti-corrosive metal, but in some cases, like our super lightweight fall arrest blocks or mini blocks, they can be made from plastic.

Each of our fall arrest blocks have a different working length, from 2.2 meters to 2 meters. The working load length is the measurement from the bearing point in the housing, to the bearing point of the hook the rope or cable is fully extended. In the event of a fall, the lifeline is pulled out the housing until it reaches a critical velocity at which point the breaking mechanism activates and the block decelerates to over a short distance, protecting you from falling to the ground.

Here at SafetyLiftinGear we supply a large range of Fall Arrest blocks, including mini fall arrest blocks, today we are going to run through some of the features of our best-selling fall arrest blocks. 

A window manufacturer and installer has been fined £36,000 after their workers were seen installing a window without any safety precautions, 8 metres above a busy west end street.

Westminster’s magistrates court head that the company carried out window installation work, which put their workers and members of the public at risk of serious injuries or fatalities.

A member of the public provided photos of the workers leading out of a window 8 metres above the street, they also provided a video, filmed on their phone, of the workers accidentally dropping a part of the window which fell to the ground narrowly missing a pedestrian.

The health and safety executive investigation found that the company failed to provide basic safety equipment, including scaffolding – which would have prevented the workers and the window from falling. On top of not providing the essential safety equipment, health and safety executive also found that the workers had not received any formal training, and there was no supervisor present.

It was also found that no risk assessment had been conducted, and the company had failed to invest in the correct safety equipment needed for when people are working at height.

Andrew Verrall – Withers, an HSE Inspector said – “The Company’s standards were appalling, and this was particularly unacceptable as previous warnings had been blatantly disregarded.”

In this day and age, there is no excuse to not take the relevant safety precautions when you are carrying out dangerous work.

Working at height is extremely dangerous so it is incredibly important to adhere to the working at height regulations and take the correct safety precautions at all times. These laws are in place to help protect workers, and the general public. In this case, if the pedestrian was under the window at the wrong time, there could have been a fatal accident.

If you have been asked to work at height make sure you have all the correct equipment for the task ahead. Remember to inspect your equipment for damage before use. If you equipment is damaged in any way, do not carry out the work until you have sourced a replacement, or had it repaired.

Here at SafetyLiftinGear we have a whole department dedicated to height safety. Here you will find a variety of specialist safety harnesses, fall arrest blocks, lanyards, safety lines, rope access equipment, anchors and more.

If you are looking for a specific item but cannot locate it on our website, you can contact us by telephoning 0800 123 69 69 or emailing sales@safetyliftingear.com and a member of our team will be more than happy to assist you.