CHAIRLIFTS

Shaylin Bhana
Engineer in Training
CONTENTS

Chairlifts
Underground Chamber Support
Scraper Winches
Mono Winches
Water handling in stopes

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CHAIRLIFTS

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PERMITS

MHSA MA Reg. 16.105 & 16.107-16.110

• Chairlifts may not be used without a permit.
• New permit shall be applied for any modifications or new
installation
• Dimensional drawings, OEM specifications, full particulars of
ropes and chains must accompany permit application.
• Principle Inspector may grant permission to use chairlift,
subject to conditions.

• Permit contains following info:

• # Chairs
• Distance between chairs
• Chair speed
• Rope Diameter
• Centre to centre distance
• Drive motor power The De Beers Group of Companies 4
CLEARANCES AND SPECIFICATIONS

MHSA MA Reg. 16.111.4 – 16.111.10

• Maximum slope of loaded hauling rope ≤ 45⁰
• At landing and boarding sites, chair centre line to sidewall ≥ 1.5m
• Min spacing between two chairs (m, m/s)
• 4 x Velocity single seat
• 5 x Velocity 2 seat carriers simultaneous leaving
• 6 x Velocity 2 seat carriers leaving separately
• Maximum gradient at landing and boarding sites ≤ 6⁰
Min 0.3m 900mm 500mm
• Velocity Max 1.5m
• ≤ 1.5 m/s (fixed grip systems)
• ≤ 3 m/s (detachable grip systems)

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SAFETY DEVICES

• Emergency Stops
• Located at each landing station
• Pre-start Warning
• Warn all persons in close proximity of the chairlift
• Sounded for at least 10s
• Red/Green light at drive and tail end
• Passenger overrun protection
• Trips the drive when persons enter the drive unit area or tail pulley area
• Rope dislodge switches
• Guarding around tail and drive ends
• Barrier between chairs on landing
• Rope and chairlift logbooks

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SAFETY DEVICES

Over and Under speed trips

± 10% - over speed
± 10% - under speed
Tachometer relay
Phase protection
Trips if phases are swapped causing reverse direction
Protects against phase loss
Overload Protection
Counterweight limits
Trip/Pull Wire
Along entire length of travel

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ROPES, SLICES AND TESTING

Rope
6x19 (9/9/1)S Langs Lay – Non lubricated
Diameter: 26mm
Steel wire rope, sisal (steel core) (galvanised)
Testing
• 4m test piece prepared of new rope sent •Outputs
for destructive testing - Broken wires
• Non-destructive testing - Broken wires, bends and kink
- EMT test - Local area
- Done monthly - Indicates all faults over 20mm
- Diameter measurement area
- Condition of splice - Total area
- Rope condition (diameter reduction, - Covers total steel area
shape etc.) - Bends, kinks, change in diameter
- Estimated strength reduction
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DISCARD CRITERIA AND ROPE SPLICE

Discard Criteria
SANS 273
• 6 x 19 rope
• 4 broken wires in one strand
• 6 broken wires across all strands
90% of breaking strength
7% reduction in diameter
Kinking and rope crush
Splice
Splice length at least 1200 x Rope diameter
(31.2m)
Maximum of 2 splices
Minimum length of 3000 x Rope diameter
between splices (78m)

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TENSIONING SYSTEM

Counterweights
• Tension produced by system shall be such that minimum tension in the rope at any
point along its length is not less than 15 times the vertical load acting on a single rope
grip
• 15 x (Rope Mass + Carrier Mass + Passenger Mass)
• 29 - 33 level – 2.12 Tons
• 33 -34 level – 1.86 Tons

When a winch is used as a tensioning device

• FOS of at least 5
• Winch should have at least 3 turns of rope on it at all times

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CHAIRS AND ATTACHMENTS

Approved chair designs:

• One seat with foot rest
• Chair with two seats providing seating with of not less than 0,5 meter per person with
suitable footrest
• Special easily detachable receptacles to permit the transport of material
• Special stretcher carriers used for transporting stretcher cases (1.8m)

• Carriers shall be designed with a safety factor of 3, with respect to the yield point, and
taking into account the mass of the carrier itself.
• The total load of the carrier and the load carried on it, per grip point, shall not exceed
150 kg including itself and the live load.
• Rope grips are designed with a pre tensioned setting (approximately 20 Nm)

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DRIVE SYSTEM

Regulation 16.116
Motor must be of adequate power in order to start up under most unfavourable conditions –
fully loaded upward direction
Stop automatically when brakes are applied or any safety device is operated.
Must be fitted with a reverse phase relay or equivalent device to prevent the reversal of the
driving motor – Wrong direction

Drive
75 kW motor
Connected to gear box – fluid coupling
Pinion then drives gear on wheel
Gearbox oil ISO 320
Grease motor weekly (Castrol EP2)
Fluid coupling uses ISO 46
Fusible plugs on gearbox and coupling
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BRAKING SYSTEM

Regulation 16.117
Must have a main and auxiliary brake
Each brake should be able to hold, without slipping the installation under maximum static
torque
Automatically engaged if motors stops or safety device is tripped
Brakes work on sheave wheel or sheave wheel shaft

SANS 0273
Deceleration ≥ 0.375 m/s²
Deceleration ≤ 1.5m/s²
Deceleration Calculation

unladen

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SHEAVE WHEELS

SANS 273; Chapter 5.14 Drive and return Sheaves

Where gripping devices travel around sheave wheel minimum diameter should be 50 times
rope diameter or 700 times outer wire diameter.
The rope groove of a sheave shall have a depth of at least 5 mm or one quarter of the rope
diameter in accordance with the following:

d is the rope diameter

D1 is the sheave outer rim diameter,
Chairlift 1 Chairlif
D2 is the inner diameter of the groove.
t2

The passage of the carriers around the drive and returnDrive 1800mm 1500m
diameter m
sheave shall not be hazardous to persons who have been
unable to alight. Return 1800mm 1500m
diameter m
Rope 26mm 26mm
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BOARDING AND ALIGHTING STATIONS

Gradient < 6º
Length:
• 6m (< 500 persons/hour)
• 8m (≥ 500 persons/hour)
• Equal to minimum spacing between carriers (whichever is greater)
Clearance from centre line of chair to sidewall: >1,5m
Adequately illuminated at all times
List of items allowed on chairlift
A barrier should be erected down the centre of the landing area to prevent passengers from
passing between the chairs if the chairlift design capacity exceeds 400 persons/hour.

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MAINTENANCE

Daily daily in the chairlift logbook (16.123.2)

Operator checklist All stoppages and causes thereof to be
Fitter, rigger, boilermaker, electrician recorded in log book by operator
inspections
Weekly Common Issues
Fitter, rigger, boilermaker, electrician, Slip and falls around installation
Blasting ticket holder Struck by chairs
Monthly Rope grip slipping down rope
Fitter, rigger, boilermaker, electrician,
Blasting ticket holder
Engineer
Yearly
NDT – drive shaft, return wheel and chairs
All inspections and tests are to be recorded

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SCRAPERS

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RIGGING AND AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT

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SAFETY DEVICES

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DANGER TRIANGLE

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TIPS

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TRANSPORT AND INSTALLATION

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MONOWINCHES
MONO WINCHES

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RIGGING

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MONO WINCHES

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SAFETY DEVICES

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