Electricity Today T&D Magazine

Inspection, training, and safety support from the factory floor

BY BILL PUTNAM, Yale Cordage

Among the many tools on an electrical utility vehicle, the most widely and heavily used is the winch line. Offering the versatility of pulling, lifting, and setting equipment, the winch is found at the center of numerous critical tasks in the field. However, in the context of what the winch line is attached to—a truck often costing upwards of a quarter-million dollars—it is no surprise that the $200 to $1,500 winch line is often viewed as a replaceable accessory.

There is a growing trend, however, among electric utilities to treat their winch lines as investment pieces, choosing to work with one high-end manufacturer and distributor that can outfit all utility trucks with a standard set of ropes. The lines can be customized specifically for their company’s needs and interchangeable with similar units across an entire...