Without the right equipment, hoisting projects can be difficult and downright dangerous. If you want to make sure that your next project is as safe and as efficient as possible, you’ll need to ask yourself these 3 questions about your hoisting equipment:

1. “Is my come along big enough?”

The last thing you want to do when your hoisting job is done is to spend forever cleaning everything up. That’s why the right come along is so important! These tools are specially-designed to roll up all of your wires and cables quickly and easily.

But because industrial cables and wires come in so many different strengths and lengths, you’ll need the right come along for each type. If your come along isn’t sturdy enough for the heavy cables you’ve been working with, it’s not going to do you any good.

Luckily, no matter what kind of heavy cables they’re designed to deal with, all come alongs are lightweight and easy to carry from job site to job site!

2. “Do I need a beam clamp or festooning equipment?”

On the surface, it might look like these two tools do the same exact thing — since both attach to your ceiling. However, they are very different!

A beam clamp attaches to the beams itself, providing you with an easy way to hoist things on a temporary basis. Their steel “claws” are sturdy enough to hoist virtually anything you need.

However, they’re not meant to suspend things in the air on a long-term basis.

If you need to hoist things up and leave them there, you’ll need festooning equipment. Similar to a beam clamp, festooning equipment connects right to your ceiling. The difference, though, is that festooning equipment can be used permanently. It even comes with special bearings and a sturdy track so that you can slide things around, without having to take them down and re-hoist them.

3. “Do I need special outdoor equipment?”

If you’re planning on hoisting things outside — for example, along the side of a building instead of inside it — even your best beam clamp and festooning equipment won’t be able to help you. Instead, you’ll need something that specifically made for the outdoors — like a gantry crane. A gantry crane is a stand-alone tool that doesn’t need a ceiling to connect to. You can use one right next to your work area. As long as your gantry crane is long enough, you can slide things from side to side — meaning you’ll only have to hoist them once.

Hoists Direct can help make all of your projects easier. Tap into their expertise today at www.hoistsdirect.com.