General Winching Theory and Practice

Who should attend?

This course is for you if you need to become proficient in safely operating a winch.

As you'll appreciate, this course contains some practical activity that will require a minimum level of fitness. If you have any concerns, please speak to the Provider.

What will be covered?

At the end of this course, you will confidently be able to:

• Recognise a range of tasks for which winches can be used
• Identify the health and safety requirements for winch operation and be able to carry out a risk assessment – including emergency procedures
• Understand the legislative requirements of winching operations
• Recognise the different types of winches and their inspection, maintenance and potential uses
• Recognise and understand safe working practices for winching
• Understand working signals and be able to control an operation
• Be aware of a range of different winch cables, ropes and accessories and their inspection, maintenance and uses
• Understand load rating terminology and how different configurations can affect the ratings
• Recognise when to remove equipment from service
• Plan and set up basic winching systems for a range of winches
• Recognise the safety zones/procedures for different winching operations
• Understand the basics of mechanical advantage (use of pulleys) and how this can be used to facilitate a winching operation
• Understand how different factors can affect the winching operation
• Demonstrate different winching operations: straight line; offset and double-line pulls applicable to the type of winch being used
• Understand how to conclude the operation and make the site safe.