Valley City, Ohio-based Insulatus Inc.'s Load Insulator is a self-testing safety device that protects ground personnel in contact with loads from injury or death in the event of a crane making contact with overhead energized power lines. Insulatus reports that the Load Insulator, rated at 132 tons, was recently tested to determine the load at which failure occurs. The unit supported a test load of 812 tons; after the test the insulation properties were unchanged.
The Load Insulator aims to protect riggers from becoming victims of crane power line contacts, which result in death or severe injury. These deaths and injuries are sustained by the riggers, when part of the crane contacts an overhead power line and the current passes through the rigger to ground. This results in a line-to-ground voltage of 24,000 volts to which the rigger would be exposed.
Launched in 1997, the Load Insulator was designed and developed over five years to be a high performance insulating component. This component has the engineering strength to perform in demanding conditions. Unlike any other insulating links the Load Insulator contains a black box monitoring system that self-test the integrity of both internal insulation and external tracking daily; record date and time of high voltage contact and self-test failure; and emits audible warnings if the unit is faulty or requires to be returned for inspection or for annual recertification.
The company also offers Tag Line Insulators to further protect ground personnel. For more information, visit www.insulatus.com.
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