Construcciones Yamaro: Material handling and lifting hardware that performs under load

Hobson Engineering tests lifting components to the required standards and adds further assurance with magnetic particle inspection. (Image: Hobson Engineering)

Material handling and lifting now sit at the centre of modern construction delivery. High-rise developments, industrial builds and infrastructure projects are compressing staging areas and accelerating programs, forcing cranes, hoists and rigging systems to work closer to their limits. The connection points – eye bolts, hooks, shackles and lifting points – often dictate how a lift behaves once it is under load. That increased pressure has made the performance of individual lifting components far more consequential.

With the scale and frequency of lifts increasing, the risks tied to low-grade or undocumented hardware have multiplied. These vulnerabilities remain embedded across many sites, prompting Hobson Engineering to focus on the relationship between specification, documented performance and real-world use.

A tightening lifting landscape

Alan Washburn, national product and market development manager at Hobson Engineering, describes a market that is “steady but under pressure”.

“Construction activity is strong in many regions, and that naturally feeds ongoing demand for material handling and lifting components,” says Washburn. “At the same time, there is more scrutiny around safety, specification and compliance than ever before. It is a market that rewards quality and exposes shortcuts quickly.”

Shrinking budgets and stretched labour have increased the temptation for project teams to substitute lower-grade hardware.

“Across our range, and lifting is a significant part of that, we are seeing a tightening environment. Material costs soared after the COVID-19 pandemic, and some companies have struggled. That creates pressure on procurement teams and builders to save money wherever possible,” says Washburn.

“The problem is that compliance cannot be trimmed. The biggest risk we see is an assumption that all lifting components are created equal. They absolutely are not.”

Non-compliant hardware often mirrors certified components in appearance yet behaves unpredictably under load. These are safety-critical parts carrying weight above crews and equipment, and the margin for error is thin. A single failure can result in severe injury or loss of life and cause project delays, investigations and extensive rectification work. In many cases, the rectification cost of replacing undocumented or unsuitable hardware exceeds the initial saving.

Recent incidents have highlighted how easily lifting risks escalate when connection components fall outside the specification. Regulators and asset owners have responded with firmer procurement controls, more detailed inspections and stronger documentation requirements. Contractors are now expected to demonstrate not only that hardware is certified, but that it can be traced directly to its batch and test report.

Suppliers with transparent documentation and stable manufacturing controls are becoming essential partners as reliability rises to the top of procurement criteria. Hobson Engineering has aligned its lifting portfolio with these expectations through disciplined testing and traceability.

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Products that hold the load

Hobson Engineering’s lifting range includes eye bolts and nuts, slings, shackles, hooks, weld-on lift points, and chain connectors and master links. These products sit at the core of day-to-day lifting activity on high-rise, industrial and civil projects, where loads are constantly being moved, positioned and secured.

In construction, this hardware is relied on for structural steel erection, precast placement, mechanical services installation and the handling of formwork and reinforcement. In fabrication yards and staging areas, weld-on lift points and shackles support repetitive lifting tasks, while slings, hooks and chain connectors form the assemblies required for heavier or more complex movements. Together, these components form the connection systems that determine how material is managed safely across a project.

“By supplying compliant products suited to these demanding tasks, we provide hardware that sits at the centre of safe and reliable materials movement,” says Washburn.

Standards, testing and traceability

Lifting components are governed by standards that outline how they must be manufactured, tested, marked and applied on site. These requirements govern material properties, load behaviour and performance under stress.

“Standards guide everything we do. We know exactly what requirements each product must meet,” says Washburn. “Some suppliers might claim full testing when only batch testing has been done, or they may not test to the correct load. It is easy to make broad claims, but much harder to invest in proper testing.”

Hobson Engineering tests its lifting components in accordance with the relevant standard and applies an additional layer of inspection through magnetic particle testing. This method detects cracks that cannot be seen with the naked eye and reduces the risk of in-service failure.

Traceability is now an expectation across lifting activity. Hardware that once relied on packaging for identification is now required to carry permanent markings that remain visible throughout its service life. Hobson Engineering stamps the trace number directly onto each component, giving installers, supervisors and inspectors an immediate link to its test report.

“Our test reports are publicly accessible,” says Washburn. “Anyone can enter the trace number on our website and retrieve the certification immediately. We want traceability to support on-site checks, not complicate them.”

Markings also help distinguish certified hardware from lookalike alternatives. Safe working loads, batch trace numbers and CE identification provide visible indicators of how and where a component has been manufactured. CE identification, while not required in Australia, confirms that the component has been produced under recognised European quality controls.

Awareness on the ground

Although material handling and lifting hardware is critical, it is often selected on site rather than specified in detail during design. This creates added exposure, as a compliant component may still be used incorrectly or installed in a configuration outside its intended purpose.

“Welders require formal training before they can work on a project, but there is no equivalent for lifting hardware or even general fasteners,” says Washburn. “A carpenter, bricklayer or electrician might be incredibly skilled in their trade but may not know the correct installation method for a nut and bolt or lifting eye. Incorrect installation of lifting hardware can cause catastrophic failure even when the product itself is completely compliant.”

Without structured training pathways, much of the knowledge required for safe lifting practice is absorbed informally on site. Clear documentation, visible markings and easily accessible reports are becoming key tools that help crews make informed decisions on the job.

A maturing lifting environment

Washburn notes that compliance continues to be the strongest force shaping the material handling and lifting sector.

“When incidents occur, there is always public discussion and promise of action, but ongoing enforcement is limited,” he says. “We would like to see more routine testing requirements and more oversight, similar to what exists for fire systems or other regulated components.”

Construction teams increasingly seek supply chains they can verify. They want components that can be linked to their test reports, documentation that is accessible on site and hardware that has been tested to the relevant standard’s requirements.

Hobson Engineering contributes to this maturing environment by combining testing discipline, permanent traceability and transparent documentation to support safer lifting practice.

Asked for the main message he wants contractors to take from this, Washburn says, “Certification and traceability – they go hand in hand. A test report is only valuable if you can match it to the product in service. That is why the stamped trace code is essential. Combine that with the CE marking and you have confidence that the hardware will perform as required.”

As material handling and lifting tasks grow in complexity, the sector is moving towards hardware that can be verified quickly and trusted without hesitation. The focus on specification, compliance and traceability is now driving more informed on-site decisions, and connection hardware is recognised as a key control point in managing lifting risk across Australian construction.

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