Damage to ART Spiderjack 3

Shared ProArb Safety Contact.

An arborist was climbing with 2 systems, an ART Spiderjack 3 on one, and hitch cord / Hitchclimber pulley on the other. While descending, he noticed that the Spiderjack wasn’t operating smoothly
As soon as he was on the ground, the arborist removed the device from the rope to inspect it. This inspection quickly revealed damage to the device body where it is connected to the frame by the bearing screw. In use, this was hidden by the wooden brake / bowl.

Recommendations include:

• All friction devices / friction cords should be checked daily, and in addition, before and after use
• If an irreparable problem is identified with a friction device / friction cord during the climb, perform an emergency decent on the other system, and inspect the problem component
• All damage / faults must be reported to the HSEQ Manager / LOLER inspector

Read full alert below.