Gamba Whipblocks “Safety Evolved”
Members of the SWR Team were delighted to meet up with the British Fluid Power Fluid Association at major construction event Hillhead 2018 to discuss the Whipblock. An innovative new safety device and the end result of a collaboration between SWR and Italian manufacturers Gamba Safety.It started in 2014 when owner Davide Gamba visited SWR to talk about their new product. The stand-out feature was its patented choke system on a wire rope coated with Kevlar and Polyester. This could be hooked on building roofs to keep engineers secure while carrying out work.
However, it became clear to Jason Lee (Managing Director of SWR) the choke system could be utilised in ways outside its original application. Such as a better alternative to whipchecks, a traditional safety measure for avoiding injury when there’s a pressurised hose or coupling failure.
Jason knew whipchecks are widely used for hose safety but their construction certainly leaves room for improvement.
“Traditional Whipchecks are produced by crimping a double length ferrule with the two wire rope ends meeting in the middle. This is not a traditional wire rope termination and doesn’t achieve a consistent breaking load performance. The aim of developing the product, which we called the Whipblock, was to achieve greater levels of consistent performance and certification”. Jason Lee - MD at SWR
The prospect of working together to create something new and exciting appealed to both companies so the Whipblock quickly went into development. While Gamba would manufacture the product, it was agreed to split research and testing between Italy and SWR’s workshop in the UK. A process that took real collaborative effort.
Jason said: “SWR and Gamba Safety are experts in their respected fields so it was agreed early on that both would be closely involved. We have a designated workshop and skilled production team at SWR which meant we could gauge development of the Whipblock every step of the way.
“Co-ordinating the workload between ourselves and Gamba presented challenges but we have and continue to enjoy a close working relationship. Both companies are very passionate about the product so regular flights between Italy and the UK became commonplace.”
For SWR and Gamba, safety and quality were paramount so the Whipblock was also externally tested by Bureau Veritas-a global leader in testing, inspection and certification. This led to the Whipblock receiving the CE mark for meeting all essential requirements of compliance and safety as stated by European Union directives.
After two years of thorough development and testing, the Whipblock is now ready for market. SWR and Gamba have the utmost confidence in their product and feel it improves on the whipcheck in every conceivable way.
Jason said: “We are really proud of our new product and think it’s a real step up from the traditional whipcheck.
“Close collaboration between two International companies has created something that could become a new industrial standard for hose and coupling safety.”
Find out more about the Whipblock Safety Cable
- Product Features
- Easy to apply patented choke system – pulls tighter as pressure increases
- No ‘loose’ springs or washers
- Less Abrasive to Hose than traditional whipchecks
- Loop Tension Not Reliant on “Wear” of Springs
- Kevlar/polyester coating with patented loop choke system reduces fragmentation
- Consistent high breaking load performance
- Batch destruction test for each order with full batch traceability and individual I.D. numbers
- 10 year guarantee
- Bespoke colours available
- Usage videos and comparable test results available
- Bureau Veritas certified and destruction tested in the UK
