With the sobering reality of the destruction delivered by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and the extensive wildfires in the western U.S., we are both awed and humbled by Mother Nature. To readers affected in those areas, we extend our support to you in thought and in deed. We can hope for a smooth recovery, but recognize it’s a process that may never seem to go fast enough. While there’s little we can say that can actually speed the process along, we hope this month’s newsletter offers a bit of inspiration to all readers.
Industrial Wire Rope Connector: Meet our Employees
The first offering of inspiration is an introduction to one of our employees, Randall Wren.
Randall’s story is one of encouragement. Frustration comes to all of us in various dimensions. Randall’s wasn’t Category 4 Hurricane size; it was a sense of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment in a prior job with another company. Change of any scope can be uncomfortable and disruptive, and so many people who are less than happy with their work often resist making the change.
Not Randall. He made the move to Industrial Wire Rope. It seems like just yesterday, but he has been with us three years now. He works at our Cincinnati, OH facility and is responsible for rigging wire rope slings and chain slings.
To him, sling-making is a craft, and his genuine enjoyment of his work is obvious. He professes a passion for working with his hands and his responsibilities at Industrial Wire Rope are a perfect fit for his skills and capabilities. He’s a great spokesperson for the culture of the company, saying he’s never been happier. “This is a great company,” Randall remarked. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Outside of work, Randall’s family keeps him busy. He has three children. Football practice and games occupy Randall as well as his children!
We appreciate all Randall does for Industrial Wire Rope and our customers. His enthusiasm and inspiration is contagious. Keep pouring it on, Randall!
A (Rope) Walk through History: Inspiration of a Medieval Genius Architect
Randall’s comments about how he loves working with his hands, led me to thinking about not only the process of making slings, but that of making rope itself. Of course, most of us working with industrial wire rope day-to-day very well know how it’s made. Still, thinking led to searching, and whether you know the process of making industrial wire rope or not, this is an interesting on video how it’s done:
For some reason, I was hungry for inspiration myself, and the search on rope making went back through the centuries, then millennia, and exposed interesting information not only about MAKING rope but using it. The search served up many fascinating stories to choose from – from the pyramids to Stonehenge to Brunelleschi’s Dome.
Yes, Brunelleschi’s Dome; it’s construction is awe-inspiring.
Structurally completed in 1436, Brunelleschi’s Dome remains, nearly 600 years later, the largest brick dome ever constructed. Atop the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (in English “Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower”), this dome was literally a construction of faith. In 1296, when building of the Cathedral began, the dome was designed. However, no plan or technology existed to actually erect it.
A National Geographic article from 2014 specified the purely technical problem of the time: “No known lifting mechanisms were capable of raising and maneuvering the enormously heavy materials” needed to build the dome, spanning 150 feet across and starting at 180 feet off the ground. The answer came by way of Filippo Brunelleschi, a goldsmith and clockmaker who had spent years in Rome studying and measuring ancient monuments.
Brunelleschi’s solution to the dome construction puzzle included a “special rope 600 feet long and weighing over a thousand pounds”. Mechanical innovation accompanied the rope: a three-speed hoist and a system of gears, pulleys, screws, driveshafts, and a single yoke of oxen, PLUS a 65-foot crane.
The National Geographic article virtually skims over this observation: “Brunelleschi’s lifts were so far ahead of their time that they weren’t rivaled until the industrial revolution.”
And the 600-foot long, 1000 lb. rope? It reportedly was made by shipwrights in Pisa.
The video above shows technology of the third millennium making industrial wire rope. The following video illustrates the rope making process of the Middle Ages.
Just imagine the “walk” required to build a 600-foot long rope, weighing half a ton.
Safety Matters: October is National Fire Safety Month
Another point to ponder about Brunelleschi’s Dome is the fire hazard presented by the rope and hoist involved with constructing it. In a book of about 200 pages, author Ross King presents a comprehensive look at Brunelleschi’s brilliance in devising a way to build the dome. King pointed out the potential peril of the ox-hoist in starting a fire by way of friction, and the devastating effect that could have as massive beams were being raised.
If Brunelleschi had the benefit of industrial wire rope, the rope itself might not have been such a fire hazard. But, in 2017, the workplace still presents potential fire risks.
Safety Center Inc. presents a list of 12 simple tips for workplace fire prevention. NOW is a perfect time to review these tips and make sure your workplace is as safe as possible.
Building/Rebuilding
It may not take a natural disaster like hurricanes or wildfires to pull you out of your comfort zone.
From wanting more from a job to facing a monumental construction/reconstruction puzzle and other challenges, a building or rebuilding process is always in front of us.
Going back to Brunelleschi’s Dome, it’s a story of accomplishment truly built on faith. And it’s one that awes, inspires and encourages.
In this story, we see that what seems monumental and impossible CAN indeed be done.
