9Operation and
Maintenance
9.1 General Safety Precautions
Gravity ropeway is usually operated by local
communities and operators in remote areas having
no or limited facilities for repair and retrofitting.
Following points should be considered in ropeway
operation to avoid undesirable incidents:
Apart from the design with suitable Factor of
Safety (FOS), rigorous installation practices
should be specified for on site installation
Where the yearly use factor is low, the
mechanical system should be given careful
preventive maintenance treatment and
provided with shelter to protect from changing
weather, rain and snow, both for the machines
and the operators
Operating instructions should be rigorously
drilled into the operators to avoid any
accidents. The instructions should be
displayed in written forms at both the lower
and upper stations and mechanisms to deal
with emergency situations should also be
listed
Effective communication between upper
and lower station is essential for preventing
accidents. Mobile phone or any other available
communications means (land telephone line,
signalling by hitting the rope) may be used
to communicate between upper and lower
stations
A detachable handle should be provided at
the lower station so that the trolley can be
winched down by rotating the handle through
a coupling provided for this purpose;
Platforms of adequate sizes should be provided
at both stations for loading and unloading
conveniences
The sheave system should be adequately
isolated in an enclosure for the safety of those
working around
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