Roundsling Committee Report

By Greg Babinchak, Roundsling Committee Chairman

I wish to take a moment to expand my viewpoint of recent WSTDA work beyond that solely of the roundsling committee. From a technical perspective, the Spring 2007 WSTDA meeting at Phoenix was a momentous time. Without much fanfare, this period of time yielded the resolution of operating practice recommendations for two prominent issues within the synthetic sling industry. The completion of this work did not result in any “high fives” among any committee members. No group hugs amongst representatives of competing sling manufacturers could be seen. No mayhem spilled into the streets.

The two issues include UV out of service criteria for web slings completed by that committee, and secondly; contact edge recommendations for polyester roundslings, completed by this roundsling committee. To some, the conclusion of these projects may perhaps have yielded a sense of: If I ever again hear the combined words “UV degradation” or “edge radius” it will be too soon. However, supplemented with only mild applause at the end of the committee meetings, all should have walked away from the meetings carrying a sense of achievement and purpose.

The efforts to resolve these two issues involved a wide range of painstaking work including: goal setting, the development of testing protocols, the design and manufacture of test equipment, the completion of product testing, the gathering of test result data, the generation of graphic charts from this data, and finally, this spring, the committee development and approval of operating practice recommendations. Without going into detail, the resulting recommendations will begin showing up in upcoming WSTDA literature.

Looking forward, this work will certainly be examined, questioned, updated, and possibly challenged, but the basic imprint of this work will remain longstanding. Twenty years from now, roundslings and its cover materials may possibly be made from materials that are impervious to being cut by contact with load edges, but don’t bet on it.

This work forms the real essence of why WSTDA is needed within the industry. Working side by side with competing companies can be challenging work. Rarely, is an individual’s sole interest served. Those with a large ego do find this committee work to be particularly challenging. However, had this work been completed independently by five different manufacturers, the result would have been five different, and less effective, recommendations.

The recommendations for roundslings will show in next revision to the WSTDA RS1 standard specification for roundslings, which is now being reviewed. Other issues also under review for this update include: a broadening of the scope of this roundsling specification to include construction materials of other than polyester, the use of roundslings in an adjusting hitch, an update to inspection information, clarification to the design requirements of roundslings containing hardware, and the addition of statements concerning user training requirements.

I thank all who have assisted with these projects and all who have made a decision to contribute to the technical committee work. Good Work. “Now that’s what I’m talking about!!!”, or better yet, mild applause.

You are receiving this email as a benefit of your membership with WSTDA. You are not receiving this message because you are subscribed to an electronic list. If you have any input you would like to provide about mailings of this type, please e-mail wstda@ksgroup.org. To unsubscribe to this newsletter, click here.

Web Sling & Tie Down Association

2105 Laurel Bush Rd. • Suite 200 • Bel Air, MD 21015 • phone: 443-640-1070 • fax: 443-640-1031 • wstda@ksgroup.org • www.wstda.com