INNOVATION Nov-Dec 2019

under the microscope. The Acuren report concluded that “the rope suffered a catastrophic overload and fell to the ground when the remaining intact wires could no longer sustain the normal tension in the rope.” c ontinues on Page 33...

Examination of the physical evidence preserved on the wire fracture surfaces showed that the haul rope was cut through most of its thickness until final overload occurred. The Acuren team labelled each of the cut, partially cut, and snapped wires, and examined them

the legislation that applies to the design, installation, operation and maintenance of specific equipment in BC. Under the Act , owners and operators are required to notify Technical Safety BC of incidents, who will begin an incident investigation if required. Coleman teamed up with David Looney, senior safety officer for passenger ropeways, amusements rides and elevating devices at Technical Safety BC, with 40 years’ experience, to visit the site, collect evidence and define the scope of the investigation, including which aspects would require the involvement of professional engineers. The role of professional engineers in this case was to examine the condition of the cable to determine the modes of failure and to determine whether factors other than the cutting contributed to the cable’s failure. CHAIN OF EVIDENCE Key questions were on everyone’s mind: “Was it really cut? How was the cable cut? How much of the cable was cut before it failed? How long did it take to fail after being cut?” The role of the professional engineers was to examine the cable to answer these questions from the evidence, and identify if there were any defects or damage that could have caused or contributed to the failure. Was there any evidence that it failed for any reason other than a deliberate cut? Coleman coordinated with the RCMP and Acuren Group Inc. laboratories in Richmond. There, professional materials engineers with experience examining steel cables were responsible for the detailed tests, analysis and interpretation of the results from the cable examination. The laboratory team examined the wires and the frayed ends under electron microscopes and performed various metallurgical tests to measure the hardness, strength and integrity of the metal to validate that it conformed to its original certification standards.

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