130 Kilometers Between Two Inspections – Why Periodic Lifting Equipment Inspections Matter

Zsolt Kővári's expedition has reached another important milestone. After covering more than 3,000 kilometers, he has arrived in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

What makes the city special is that it is the world's lowest-lying capital: parts of it lie approximately 23 meters below sea level. From here, he continues his journey toward Central Asia, with his ultimate goal being to conquer the 7,010-meter Khan Tengri peak.

Nearly 90 percent of Kyrgyzstan's territory is mountainous, with much of the country already lying above 1,500 meters elevation. Between the ridges of the Tien Shan mountain range await passes that are themselves two to three times higher than Hungary's highest point.

From Baku to the Khan Tengri summit, Zsolt must overcome more than 7,000 meters of elevation gain.

At GÉPTESZT, the question naturally arose: what does this athletic achievement mean from a lifting equipment perspective?

If we wanted to overcome this elevation gain using an average lifting device with a 10-meter working height, we would need more than 700 lifts.

At first glance, this does not seem like a large number—for an intensively used lifting device, such a performance is hardly inconceivable. At 80–100 lifting operations daily, this accumulated vertical lifting distance could accumulate in just over a week.

But the truly interesting question is not the 700 operations, but what comes after.

Between periodic inspections, a lifting device can perform thousands of lifting cycles over a five to six month period. Every single lift represents stress on the structure. Ropes, chains, bearings, safety devices, and structural elements are subjected to continuous strain.

If a device performs an average of 100 lifts daily, then during a 5–6-month inspection cycle (for example, the planned duration of Zsolt's expedition), it can accumulate 11,000–13,000 lifts - which, in the case of our 10-meter lifting height device, totals 110–130 kilometers of vertical lifting distance. That is a very significant number.

This is precisely why periodic lifting equipment inspections are so important.

The aim of regular inspections is not merely regulatory compliance. Rather, it is to ensure that the device operates with the same reliability on the thousands or even ten-thousands of lifts as it does on the first.

Our technicians at GÉPTESZT work toward this goal day in and day out. The inspections we conduct aim to ensure that lifting devices safely and reliably complete the next several thousand lifting cycles.

Meanwhile, Zsolt still has thousands of meters of climbing ahead and the conquest of Khan Tengri. We continue to cheer him on for the next phase of the expedition.

The numbers may differ, but the challenge is shared: to perform reliably over the long term.

Followers can track Zsolt's journey on our Facebook page.

More interesting stories about Kővári Zsolt's journey and the B2TR expedition.