Holloway Houston Blog

In conventional rigging, releasing a load at the end of a lift requires a rigger to be physically at the load connection point pulling a latch, removing a sling, or manually releasing a shackle.

A rigging block is a pulley assembly used to redirect a rope, wire rope, or synthetic line, or to create a mechanical advantage that reduces the force required to lift or pull a load.

Learn what rigging equipment is, the main categories used in lifting operations, and how slings, rigging hardware, hoists, and below-the-hook devices work together for safe and efficient load handling in industrial, construction, offshore, and heavy lifting applications.

A turnbuckle is one of the most common pieces of rigging hardware in the field, yet it is often the least understood by those outside the trade. If you have ever worked around guy wires, stage rigging, industrial fencing, or any kind of structural cable tensioning, you have almost certainly handled one.

Steel plates, structural beams, and pipe sections present a common challenge on job sites: they often lack attachment points for slings or hooks. A lifting clamp solves that problem by gripping the material directly, creating a secure connection between the load and the hoisting equipment without requiring drilled holes, welded lugs, or wrapping slings around the piece.

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.

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.

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.