Winch
A winch is a piece of mechanical equipment used to move heavy items. Winches work by either pulling in or letting out rope or wire rope (also known as cable), or adjusting the tension of the rope.
Winches are often used to pull or drag items along surfaces which are level, as opposed to hoists which lift and lower things vertically. Winches are often used when areas of a site are inaccessible by cranes or other moving equipment.
While winches can be very simple devices, those used for construction purposes are often more elaborate, with gear assemblies and powered by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or internal combustion drives.
A common type of winch is air-powered, known as an air winch, and often used for the pulling, suspending or tensioning of materials.
As with hoists, the wire rope that is used with winches, should be considered in terms of the following characteristics that determine their suitability according to the application – size, classification, rope lay, grade of steel, type of core, and nominal strength.
Winches should be regularly checked for defects and deterioration by competent individuals, with routine maintenance carried out at intervals suggested by the manufacturer.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Why it is so important for health and wellbeing.
A highly effective method of managing supply chains.
How it can benefit construction.
Free guide to commissioning for site managers published by NHBC and BSRIA.
Resolving quickly to minimise delay and costs.
Tackling domestic abuse.
Disallowed costs vs. defined costs. Which is which?
Coping with the loss of local authority conservation services.
The cost of poor housing in Wales
Remedial works could save the NHS £95 million a year.
One of Europe’s largest waterfront transformations.
Building Information Modelling
How BIM was used to produce an information model of a home.