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The Cordage Institute Mourns the Passing of Rollin Stirman
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Rollin H. Stirman, a long-time member and friend of the Cordage Institute, passed away peacefully in Miami, FL on September 20, 2018. Rollin lived an incredibly rich life filled with joy, love, and passion that he shared with everyone he met. He discovered paradise in 1954 at the age of 13 when he moved to Miami, FL from Bucks County, PA with his dad Rollin, mother Corabel, brother Charles and sister Corabel. Rollin was born in San Diego when his father was proudly serving in the U.S. Navy. After moving to Miami, he immediately fell in love with the city and all it had to offer, and no offers of work in other parts of the U.S. could pull him away from his beloved city.
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President's Message
Luis Padilla
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I wanted to cede the attention of this message to a celebration of Rollin’s life. I had the pleasure of meeting him though the Cordage Institute. He was always kind, friendly, and an incredibly interesting person with whom to share a conversation. I always saw his sketches as a reminder to slow down and look around. As we enter the holiday season, I hope everyone can spend time focusing on family and friends.
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Cordage Institute Happenings
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Call for Presentations for the 4
th
Cordage Institute and Eurocord Joint Conference
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As previously announced, the fourth Cordage Institute and Eurocord Joint Conference will be held on June 2-5, 2019 at the Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Virginia, which is located 12 miles from the Dulles International Airport, and 33 miles from Washington, DC.
The program will feature technical working group and committee meetings, technical and industry speakers, member presentations, golf, and other social activities. During the Technical Seminar on Tuesday, June 4th, members of both organizations are invited to present technical information to attendees.
If you are interested in presenting during the Technical Seminar, please send a summary of your presentation to James Wolfington at
info@ropecord.com
by
January 15, 2019.
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Attend the Winter 2019 Technical Meeting in Philadelphia, PA!
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The next meeting of the Cordage Institute's Technical Committee will be held on Tuesday, January 22nd and Wednesday, January 23rd.
Please contact the Cordage Institute office if you plan to attend.
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Call for Technical Committee Vice-Chair Nominations
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The Cordage Institute is currently accepting nominations for the Technical Committee Vice-Chair position.
Nominees must be a member in good standing, have served as a Subcommittee Chair, and have successfully facilitated at least one document through the development process.
The election will take place after the annual conference in June.
If you would like to nominate a candidate, please contact the Cordage Institute office at 610-971-4854 or
info@ropecord.com.
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Knots & Notes
by Sarah Padilla, Cordage Institute Technical Director
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Back by popular demand, the Knots and Notes section of RopecordNews will inform you of the standards being developed by the Cordage Institute, as well as by other industry organizations. As we develop this section of the newsletter, please let us know what type of content is of interest to you by sending an email to
sarah@ropecord.com or
info@ropecord.com.
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Standards Update
Updates from the Cordage Institute Standards sub-committees on how things are progressing since the last newsletter
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The Standard Review
Updates from other standards bodies that are relevant to the cordage industry.
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Member News and Press Releases
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Opinion:
Reliable Cut Protection for Roundslings
By Keith Rowsey, DSM Dyneema
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Cuts are often cited as a leading cause for synthetic roundsling failure, which is why it’s critical for operators to understand the dangers, and what steps should be taken to mitigate risks on the job.
In recent years, there’s been a shift from steel wire roundslings to synthetic solutions, primarily based on weight savings, ease of handling and elimination of hazards to both the operator and equipment. And although synthetic roundslings offer increased benefits in terms of safety and efficiency, cut hazards can quickly derail an operation without the proper protection in place. In fact, cuts are often cited as a leading cause for roundsling failure – with consequences ranging from equipment damage to even death.
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy published a technical report on Synthetic Sling Failure – Evaluations and Recommendations. Of the twelve cases evaluated, it found that sling failure occurred in all cases (10) where the synthetic sling was in contact with the edge of its load. The report also recommends that “adequate synthetic sling protection devices be used to protect slings in any lift where the sling comes in direct contact with the edge or corner of its load” to prevent failure. However, it acknowledges that no concise standard exists for cut protection – allowing inadequate protection and “room for error in a field where error is unacceptable.”
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Press Release:
TP Industrial Yarns:
A Value-Adding Transition
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In 2015, after decades of commitment to the trade of High Tenacity yarns, TP Industrial Yarns acquired its first Instron® testing machine. This made it possible for TP to perform tensile tests on High Performance yarns, with the capability to test up to a tensile strength of 7.000 lbs. Soon after, a second Instron® testing machine was added, as well as a yarn shrinkage testing machine, and a testing machine that enables the measurement of linear density.
The installation of testing machines – in a brand new laboratory – enabled TP to extend the added value to the company’s products. This furthermore allowed TP to safeguard the quality of all products that leave its production facility and provided the opportunity to engineer client-specific constructions.
TP is constantly looking into new methods to provide added value in the market of High Tenacity yarns. TP’s latest acquisition, a Yarn-on-Yarn (YoY) abrasion testing machine, was added to the company’s laboratory as part of the company’s product development strategy. As TP applies coating to its products, the company believes it is highly important that the impact of this is made measurable. ‘’Coated or uncoated material, we are able to provide the information our clients require regarding the properties of all our products,’’ says Peter de Bakker, CEO of TP Industrial Yarns. "With the addition of an abrasion testing machine, we are able to move forward in the context of improving performance."
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Fibre Rope Users’ Decision-Making Dilemma
By Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd
(DNV GL)
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DNV GL would like to invite the industry to take part in a workshop about the DNVGL-OS-E303 standard to get feedback on how the choice - between continued use, repair and discard - can be made with ease and with confidence, by the users of fibre rope solutions. This workshop will seek discussion between people who represent all the responsibilities involved from the beginning of product-making, to taking a rope product out of service because it is no longer safe to use.
DNV GL seeks to address the decision-maker’s dilemma through providing answers to questions such as:
- How to specify the functions of equipment?
- How to procure equipment without specifying the solution?
- How to provide an innovative solution towards a functional specification?
- How to clarify the responsibilities of parties who are involved in the technical solution?
- How to decide between continued use, or rope / system replacement?
Time: March 7-8, 2019
Place: DNV GL at Høvik, near Oslo, Norway
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A Massive Change: Nations Redefine the Kilogram
By Sarah Kaplan,
The Washington Post
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WASHINGTON — Humanity just made a weighty decision. On Friday, representatives of more than 60 nations, gathered in Versailles, France, approved a new definition for the kilogram.
Since the 19th century, scientists have based their definition of the fundamental unit of mass on a physical object — a shining platinum iridium cylinder stored in a locked vault in the bowels of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) in Sevres, France. A kilogram was equal to the heft of this aging hunk of metal, and this cylinder, by definition, weighed exactly a kilogram. If the cylinder changed, even a little bit, then the entire global system of measurement had to change, too.
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How Rope is Made at the Only Traditional Working Ropewalk in the World
By Charlie Floyd,
Insider Magazine
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This is the last traditional working ropewalk in the world. They use traditional methods, and 150-year-old equipment to make 500,000 pounds of rope each year.
Ropemaking is a simple process of twisting fibers together to create an extremely strong cable, and the principles haven't changed in years. There are two parts to the process, forming and closing. Forming starts with banks of yarn that are run through a die and twisted and compressed into one strand.
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Sea Lion Tangled in Rope on Vancouver Island
By Sarah Simpson,
Keremeos Review
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Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has received a report from a member of the public urging them to attend to a sea lion that looks like it’s been caught up in some type of rope.
The animal was seen on Friday by a crabber.
On Monday a DFO crew was in Cowichan Bay to investigate.
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January 22-23, 2019
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport
March 12-15, 2019
Den Haag, Netherlands
Mercure La Rochelle Vieux Port
March 19-20, 2019
Antwerp, Belgium
March 20-21, 2019
Antwerp, Belgium
April 7-10, 2019
Cleveland, Ohio
Hilton Cleveland Downtown
May 6-9, 2019
Houston, Texas
NRG Park
May 6-8, 2019
Cancun, Mexico
Casa Magna Marriott Resort
May 14-17, 2019
Frankfurt, Germany
June 2-5, 2019
Leesburg, Virginia (near Washington, DC)
Lansdowne Resort & Spa
June 20-26, 2019
Barcelona, Spain
October 28-31, 2019
Seattle, Washington
Washington State Convention Center
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RopecordNews
RopecordNews is published by the Cordage Institute. The Cordage Institute is an international association of rope, twine, and related manufacturers, their suppliers, and affiliated industries. Articles appearing in RopecordNews are the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Cordage Institute. Members are encouraged to contribute articles and items of interest by emailing them to
info@ropecord.com.
Rates for advertising
are available from the Institute.
Cordage Institute Headquarters
Peter M. Lance, Executive Director
Tel: 610-971-4854
Fax: 610-971-4859
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