Holloway Houston Blog

When an overhead lift involves high heat, abrasive environments, or loads sporting sharp steel edges that would instantly sever synthetic webbing, lifting chains remain the default rigging gear. Alloy steel chain slings resist thermal degradation

Every overhead lift depends on physical connections. In the majority of rigging assemblies, the shackle serves as the primary load-bearing link connecting the sling, the hoist hook, and the load itself.

When a winch line must reach a load positioned around a corner or at an offset angle, redirecting the pull with a conventional closed pulley block requires disconnecting and fully rethreading the rope through the sheave.

In heavy lifting and rigging applications, the connection point between the load and the gear is often the most critical variable.

In the rigging world, hooks and shackles are reliable because they are mechanical. You can see the pin, you can feel the latch, and you know exactly how the load is secured.

Moving steel is different from moving almost any other load. It is heavy, often has sharp edges, comes in awkward shapes, and most importantly it usually lacks a built-in lifting point.

The eye bolt is a prime example. You can find them in every tool crib, on the back of every service truck, and in the "junk drawer" of almost every shop. Because they are so common, they are frequently treated as "commodity" hardware grab one that fits the hole, screw it in, and lift.

In the rigging and construction world, lifting a load is only half the battle. Often, the harder part is holding it in place, tensioning it, or pulling it into alignment. That is where the humble turnbuckle comes in.

In the rigging world, the connection point between your load and your sling is often the smallest component in the assembly. It is also the most frequently abused.

Rigging hooks are one of the smallest components in a lifting system, but they carry an outsized share of responsibility. On industrial sites, hooks connect slings to loads, loads to cranes, and mistakes to consequences. Choosing the wrong hook—or using the right hook the wrong way—has caused more dropped loads and near misses than most people care to admit.